Hello Dreamery Readers! Did you miss me? Well I’m back! Life as an intern has been quite busy!
Has it really been over a week since my photoshoot? It seems so fresh in my mind, yet in the past week since the shoot, I’ve spent time with my family from Scotland in NYC and then went to the shore to relax. I was forced to relax in a sense due to my computer crashing but by the grace of god, and the geniuses at the Apple Store, I am back and here to tell you all about my Fall Photoshoot with Dreamery Events.At the shoot!
Diana gave me the task, on the very first day of my internship, to create a fall wedding styled photo shoot as content to market Dreamery. I was so excited because it gave me the chance to really dive into my creative side and learn how to plan a wedding, from start to finish. I started, as many people do, with Pinterest and looked for inspiration that stood out to me and I was able to create this amazing set up. I created what we at Dreamery like to call a Mood Board, a place where you gather your ideas and begin to create a vision and plan for your event.
Before I get into the details of this wonderful day, I want to give a MASSIVE Thank You to all of the vendors mentioned in this post. Each one worked with me to create this photoshoot, donating their products, services, and time so that I could make my dream shoot a reality. I would also like to thank my family, for not only letting me turn our house into my workspace for a week, but for helping me on the day of. My twin brother and Great Uncle, both on vacation visiting, didn’t need to help me unload all the supplies, but did so with smiles on their faces and some extra help from JD and Carter, my two other muscle men! My boyfriend, Nick for listening to me rant about the shoot even when he had no idea what I was talking about. My friends from near and far for supporting me endlessly and giving me their options on the shoot.
Marni from the wonderful and beautiful venue, The Crystal Plaza in Livingston, NJ was there on the day to help out and was an absolute joy to work with. She helped even in 95 degree heat and didn’t mind at all. My mother served as my assistant at the venue, and I cannot thank her enough! Not only did she keep me calm when things went wrong, but she and my father have always allowed me to follow my dreams and help harbor my creativity. My mother also served as my model for close up shots, after I begged her a bit! The biggest of thank you’s goes to my boss, Diana. She answered every single question I had no matter how small and never said anything when I’d send her a string of texts at 3AM. I can’t believe my summer of working with her is almost over. I will take everything I’ve learned from her and hopefully be as good of an event planner as she is one day.
When it came time to designing this shoot I knew it would be better to keep everything on a smaller scale, and I have been loving the sweetheart table trend over a long head table, so I went with that. Additionally, I wanted to style a guest and a gift table and since I’m a sucker for cake, a cake table was necessary as well.
When choosing colors, I went with deep reds and burgundy which were offset with champagne hues and light glittery golds. To soften everything and bring a bit more femininity to the look, I added a few touches of blush tones.
If I am being completely honest, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to floral design at the beginning of this project. My knowledge of flowers was limited to some flowers, but had no idea of what was in season or how many colors each flower came in. I’m embarrassed to admit that I went to a florist in June and asked if I could get some tulips to decorate my office. But, after working with Diana, I now know a lot more about flowers, which will be very helpful in my career!
For the shoot, we used carnations, in tones that matched the color scheme. Carnations come in a vase array of wonderful hues that they’re a great flower to incorporate in any wedding style. There were “Black Magic” roses, “Vendela” roses, “Dark Burgundy” calla lilies, and Silver Dollar Eucalyptus for a touch of greenery. I also added my own personal touch by creating paper flowers using a copy of The Hunger Games.
In order to add a rustic feel, I used lanterns, wood slabs and mason jars. I decided to make some glitter acorns to add a touch of sparkle in some of the jars along with a few hints of sticks and leaves to touch upon the fall theme a bit more. The flowers atop the lanterns softened the rustic look and made it a bit more elegant as well.
Adding the touches of copper with the small trees as place card holders also provided a rustic look. My father actually handmade all of the copper trees for me, which he kindly let me paint. The small wood coasters highlighted that rustic fall look, and became one of my favorite details. For more information about the copper trees and coasters, please visit the links provided at the end of this post. You couldn’t have a rustic fall wedding without burlap. Custom burlap banners were gracely placed on the sweetheart table and vintage suitcase guests placed their cards into. Having the banner over the suitcase raised with wooden dowels added dimension and height to the table, making for an interesting look. The suitcase actually belonged to my Grandmother, making it a personable and authentic detail that has lots of character to it.The guest table settings touched upon the gold and burgundy colors. With pretty menus and burgundy napkins, the settings are both aesthetically pleasing and practical, all while keeping in our color scheme.
Tulle on the backs of the chairs provided an extra pop of burgundy, but the sweetheart table got a special touch with added florals, bringing attention to the couple from all angles.For favors, I thought hot chocolate was the perfect gift for guests at a fall wedding to keep them warm as the days get colder! I also used a quote from an Elvis Presley song “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, that fit the theme as well.
A wedding is not complete without cake! We opted to use a real cake instead of a foam cake and am so glad we did! This creation channeled the gold in our vision, and using the same flowers we incorporated in the rest of the decor, created a more natural and cohesive look. The cake topper is not traditional yet adds a bit of modern flair to the wedding. Plus, this cake tasted even better than it looked!
This experience has been one of a kind. While I didn’t plan a real wedding, I have grown quite attached to this project as I would have a real event. Lily and Mark, the names I used on the invitations, became almost a real couple to me. I was able to create a reception that I hope a real engaged couple would fall in love with, like I did.
As I mentioned, this project could not have happened without the help of my amazing vendors…
Styling, Photography, Invitation & Menu Design, Floral arrangement : Kayla Langborgh | Venue : The Crystal Plaza | Linens, Lanterns, Dinnerware, Glassware, Stemware, Tables, Chairs & Cake Stand : Party Rental Ltd. | Florals & Calligraphy : Dreamery Events | Copper Tree Place Card Stands : DK Copper Sculptures | Wood Coasters : That Family Shop | Cake : Sally Tracy Cake | Cake Topper : PS Weddings and Events |