Southern Weddings Volume 5
We had such a great time working with Southern Weddings Magazine again, this time on a concept set at Tuckahoe Plantation in Richmond, using a classic palette of green and white accented by the palest blue. I can’t wait to show you more behind the scenes of this shoot (photographed by Katie Stoops), but for now, you can get your copy on newsstands or by ordering here.
Southern Weddings V4 – Williamsburg Wedding Inspiration
We’re so honored to not only have a featured wedding in the latest issue of Southern Weddings Magazine, but to have also contributed to an editorial shoot that appears in the magazine.
On a hot and steamy day last June, my lovely assistant, Danielle, and I packed up and headed east for Williamsburg, where we met Sierra and Emily from Southern Weddings Magazine and Katie Stoops for a shoot at Colonial Williamsburg.
There are so many beautiful spots for weddings at Colonial Williamsburg. We shot at one of the Colonial houses on the property, and, although that particular house is not available for events, a few houses on the property are available for rental for wedding weekend lodging. Just imagine spending your wedding weekend with friends and family in an historical house on the Colonial Williamsburg property…so cool! You might also consider The Williamsburg Inn on the property for your wedding as well — gorgeous, classic location.
I love this favor, and it’s something that is super, super easy to recreate. We made poppers and filled them with peanuts as a nod to Virginia, which is known for its yummy Virginia Peanuts. Moya Minns with MMInk calligraphed the names, so the favors could do double duty and also function as place cards.
We imagined a couple named Susannah and Gardner Lowell, and developed a story around the two, imaging that both grew up in Virginia and met while attending William and Mary. Our fictitious couple returned to the town where they met to celebrate their wedding with friends and family. Although you can just barely see it in the image above, we incorporated a drawing of the campus’ Crim Dell bridge on the wine label. Crim Dell is also known as lover’s bridge. It’s said that if two lovers cross the bridge together and kiss at the crest of it, they will be together forever. Love that story…
This shot was a happy accident. We intended to shoot the table in a garden, but just as we finished setting the table and placing the flowers, black clouds moved in. We literally had seconds to move the table before the heavens opened. In the end, the alternate location really worked, don’t you think?
Classic never goes out of style, which is one reason why we really adored helping bring this story to life. Thanks to the Southern Weddings team for having us! We had a ball! And without further ado, the fabulous people who made this story happen…
Photography by Katie Stoops; Styling & Floral Design by Courtney Spencer of Merriment, assisted by Danielle Hines; Hair & Makeup by Avenue 42 Designs; Flowers provided by Fifty Flowers; Bridal Gown “Arabella” by Christos; Location, chairs, flatware; cake, petits fours, tarts and ham biscuits – Colonial Williamsburg; Invitation & Program designed by The Lettered Olive with calligraphy by Elizabeth Porcher Jones; Linens - La Tavola Linen; Glassware, plates and some silver trays- Festive Fare; Monograms, menus, place cards, popper wraps, drink sign – Moya Minns of MMInk; Coaster and wine label – Magpie Paper Works; Beau Bar sign – Chocolate Butterbean; Bride’s shoes (“Forbes” by Nina) & colored bridesmaid dresses from Bella Bridesmaid; Ivory bridesmaid gowns by Saja
holiday inspiration
If you haven’t see our holiday soiree over at Snippet and Ink, be sure to stop by Kathryn’s blog! We shot this pretty table a few weeks ago. What I love most about it is that the ideas are something you can easily interpret for your own holiday soiree.
If you don’t have mercury glass containers on hand, galvanized steel, which is easy to find at gardening stores and Lowe’s (of all places), can stand in their place. Janie used peonies, anemones and parrot tulips, but if they aren’t available to you, there are so many other pretty white blooms this time of year…white tulips, amaryllis and paper whites that are easy to find at grocery stores and greenhouses.
We used white hemstitch placemats and napkins and dark charcoal gray plates – the great thing about those materials is that they’re not so holiday you couldn’t reuse them later in the year. Mercury glass is also a really great basic I use throughout the year. It looks great at Halloween, and I could definitely see this decor transitioning well into the new year!
Vintage sheet music is so pretty at the holidays. Accordion fold strips and seam them together with glue for a pretty garland to decorate your mantle or tree, or turn it into paper pinwheels that look equally great on the table, tree, mantle or as embellishment on wrapped presents.
For unique ribbon look beyond the usual suspects. I went straight to the upholstery aisle at Hancock Fabrics and found lots of beautiful ivory trimming.
A croquembouche, like this one made by Jenny at Sweetest Thing Bakery, is the perfect treat for a refined holiday soiree.
I hung my collection of silver trays above the mantle with plate hangers you can find at any craft store. Floral decor mimicked what we used on the table. I added a vintage wooden container in the center for texture and filled it with jute twine and silver ornaments. I also added a white bust (on the far right of the mantle) and dressed her up in long strands of pearls and rhinestones.
I love this garland! It was a last minute idea that came to me um, probably an hour before the shoot! I found these tags at an antique store down the street, stamped them and strung them on jute twine. I’m going to use this same garland in a project I’m working on now…a really pretty Christmas card display in our kitchen window.
I hope you enjoyed our holiday soiree inspiration as much as we enjoyed pulling it together! Happy holidays to all of you!
{photography by Katie Stoops, floral design by Janie Medley, calligraphy by Pretty Pen Jen, pastry by Sweetest Thing Bakery, hair and makeup by Sarah Valentine at Mango Salon}
Casey + Blake
Loving Casey + Blake’s pretty engagement session photographed by Katie Stoops.
{images courtesy Open Air Photography}
