We have been wanting to share this shoot for a while (Seattle Bride had dibs on it first), so we are beyond excited to show it to you now. Styled shoots (faux-weddings with models) are kind of a popular thing on blogs lately, and we weren’t sure initially how we felt about them. The idea is to show off the talents of awesome vendors and give couples in the planning process “inspiration.” It seems styled shoots have almost become mini editorial photo-shoots that are fun and pretty, but are fairly impractical for a modern/budget/real bride. It also seems a lot of elements are “in” right now, and most of the shoots seem to happen in locations brides we work with would not be able to use (such a a random field). So, we wanted to try to stay current and realistic without reproducing those go-to style items. Our goal was to make the wedding practical. This is a wedding that could exist in some form or another- for real. Many DIY elements were involved, an array of budget-friendly ideas, and items you could actually have if you wanted them. And all LOCAL!

The Inspiration: Our concept started with the idea of a modern “winter wedding” that featured touches of the holidays in a unique way. This can be seen in gold trim napkins folded and wrapped like presents in twine, clear filled-ornaments, touches of gold leaves and glitter, the illusion of “snow” through doilies and confetti, a beautiful white dessert table, and a special warm treat for the favors (among other details). The colors were primarily white with gold trim, and dashes of red berries.  We also used blue/green hues for contrast here and there, to keep things fresh and “cold”.  We loved the idea of hanging things from tree branches at outdoor receptions and wanted to recreate that idea indoors. We did so by dangling hand-sewn materials from pieces of wood, including scraps, doilies, ribbon, twine and gold sprayed flowers.

The Vendors: We used more vendors than you may see in a lot of styled shoots and we would personally recommend each one (see the bottom of the page for more info.). We are so grateful to all of the vendors, especially Brian for allowing us to shoot at WithinSodo and those who spent extra time creating and acquiring custom pieces for the shoot. Every vendor involved was local and available in, and around, the Seattle area. Many of them also travel or ship their items. More importantly, these are talented people who are kind and fun to work with. Though it was a styled shoot, the day felt very festive and was filled with genuine laughter. Also, a special thanks to our beautiful models (seriously… aren’t they stunning?) for making our “wedding” a success.  Part II images will be posted soon.