Raspberry Styled Photoshoot

I cannot say enough amazing things about this beautiful styled photo shoot and all the wonderful Vendors who collaborated to make it a success!  Although it was probably the equivalent work of planning a mini wedding (minus the food and drinks), it was well worth it and we all had so much fun on site at the Art museum! (there might have been mimosas involved)

My main objective with this shoot was to show couples that you don't have to be afraid of using pink in the Fall and colder months.  I know, surprise, surprise... I have a bit of an obsession with the color. So many of my brides fall into the trap of feeling like they need to go with the typical Fall colors of burgundy, orange, yellow, etc.  Well, I'm telling you here and now that you absolutely DO NOT! While those colors are absolutely lovely, I have so many brides that have a fondness for pink like I do (and not just blush).  This styled shoot shows some ways you can incorporate pops of the brighter pink (or raspberry color) into a Fall or Winter wedding without making it feel like you're trying to make it summer....

The very talented Vessel Floral suggested adding the pops of black.  At first, I'll be honest, I was a little weary..... you don't see a lot of black at weddings and it's certainly not a color that screams "bridal".  But, it TOTALLY worked! (of course it did, because they know what they're talking about when it comes to design).  Although this is a bold color choice, it's an excellent way to help darken the pops of pink and instantly makes you feel like it's a colder month and not Spring or Summer.

Can we also just say how stunning this cake is?!  Jan Kish with La Petit Fleur sure knows how to WOW your guests with a beautiful cake!  I am really embracing this black cake trend....

You don't have to decide between a traditional wedding cake or mini desserts: DO BOTH PEOPLE! There are so many beautiful ways to display desserts that can really enhance the decor of your wedding.  Take these adorable terrariums from Aiden & Grace for example.... they are some really unique ways to display your desserts other than traditional trays and platters.

Christy with the Paper Vow, designed our signage and invitations.  These beautiful paper products really tied everything together.  In my opionin, you cannot have enough signage at a wedding.  Guests need diretion and like to know what they're looking at.  It's also a great way to add pops of your color and decor to the day.

I could go on for days about this shoot but I'll leave you with some final images and the list of Vendors I collaborated with:

VENDORS:

Venue: Columbus Museum of Art

Dresses, shoes, hair piece, earrings, veils: La Jeune Marie

Floral Design: Vessel Floral Design

Hair: Claire O'Toole

Makeup: Columbus Bridal Makeup

Photography: 614 Wedding Photography

Pipe & Drape: Party Pleasers

Cake and cupcakes: La Petit Fleur

Stationary and signage: The Paper Vow

Linens and table settings: Event Source

Cake stands and love seats: Aiden & Grace

Getting Ready

Venue: Athletic Club of Columbus

Photo credit: Kimberly Potterf

The “getting ready” process is a large part of your wedding day.  Most ceremonies don’t start until 4:30pm so most of your wedding day won’t be spent at the actual reception.  How you spend your day and where you get ready is equally important as your reception details.

The ladies: From working hundreds of wedding over the years, I stand firm in my opinion that the wedding party should try and get ready in one location if possible.  It can be pretty stressful trying to coordinate rides to and from the salon and it leaves a lot of room for error (leaving items behind, traffic, weather, etc.).  If you get ready at the venue or at someone’s house, it’s completely private and you can make it into your personal haven.  Creating a music playlist while you get ready will set the vibe for your day and make for a fun, stress-free environment. I had one of my brides bring scented candles which, at first I thought was a bit odd but when I walked into her room, the smell of vanilla was so calming and soothing…..I loved it!

Assign a specific person to pick up food and drinks.  Things like bagels, fruit, coffee, granola bars, and muffins work well.  Brunch items you can set out that people can munch on throughout the day.  Make sure to bring plenty of napkins and wipes and assign 1 or 2 people to clean up throughout the day so that the room doesn’t get trashed. That can happen quickly and easily!  If you get ready at the venue, determine ahead of time if they will have things like cups, ice, sugar packets for coffee, stirrers, etc. Determine ahead of time what items need to stay in the room when you’re finished getting ready and what will be packed up.  The less you can transport, the better!

Venue: Columbus Museum of Art

Photo Credit: 614 Wedding Photography

Playlists recommendations:

http://www.weddingshoppeinc.com/blog/index.php/2015/05/01/the-perfect-wedding-morning-playlist/

 http://bridalmusings.com/2014/06/ultimate-pre-wedding-playlist/

The Guys: Have an activity planned out!  For the women, it’s a long, extensive regimen of getting ready and we love it but for the guys, it typically takes about 5 minutes to put their pants on they’re good-to-go.  I see time and again groomsmen hanging around with nothing to do, getting restless and antsy.  The girls always have them arrive super early just in case and they just hang around with nothing to do…… so they start drinking.  Heavily.  That’s why I always recommend having a planned out activity during the day for the guys if possible to get their minds off things, keep the drinking to minimum, and give them something to do with the day.

As I recommended with the ladies, it is preferable if the guys get ready on-site if possible.  In my experience, there is always at least one groomsmen that forgets his socks or tie if he needs to transport clothing and personal items to a different location.  I think it ‘s always better if the groomsmen can get ready on their own and show up at the ceremony location ready to go.  You can always get pictures of them putting on their bow ties and jackets there.

My biggest recommendation for the guys is to assign a specific person for the following tasks:  pocket squares, bowties, and boutonnieres.  I don’t think I’ve worked a wedding where someone actually thought of this ahead of time.  Groomsmen always struggle with figuring out how to fold a pocket square and spend 45 minutes looking it up on YouTube.  If you have a Wedding Planner, this is the perfect task for them.  Often times, Photographers will assist with this but double check ahead of time.  This can be one of those tasks that can hold up the timeline if no one knows how to do it.  Make sure you determine ahead of time what kind of pocket square you want because there are lot of different folds.

Please feel free to share your tips and plans for getting ready the day of the wedding!

Venue: Columbus Museum of Art

Makeup:  Columbus Bridal Makeup

Hair: Claire O'Toole

Dress: La Jeune Marie

Photo Credit: 614 Wedding Photography