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From McGowan Images… It is of the utmost importance for me as a wedding photographer to continue shooting for MYSELF. I love the work I do for our clients, and every wedding is a new set of challenges. But there’s a special kind of giddy high that comes from designing and executing a shoot, simply because I wanted to bring a creative vision to life.

With this shoot, I pulled from all my childhood dreams of “Secret Garden”, and memories of when I’d play in my grandmother’s roses, pretending to be Mary Lennox, and hoping for buried keys and hidden doors. I reached out to my favorite designer with a few key words, knowing that I could trust her to pull it together. I simply said, “Secret Garden. A bride, playing alone, without her groom. A garland of old keys. Broken china and glassware. Fat, bright flowers.” It’s such a relief to know that I can trust someone to go from there! The day of the shoot didn’t even really feel like work. A gorgeous model, a cool spring day, and a beautiful set. Shoots like these remind me of why I do what I do for a living… I love taking beautiful pictures of beautiful things!

From megBdesign… As a lover of literature, I was on board for this shoot immediately. Chelsea sent me a message with a few brief, but very exact descriptions: Secret Garden. A bride, playing alone, without her groom. A garland of old keys. Broken china and glassware. Fat, bright flowers. As a designer/stylist, it’s my job to make these ideas come to life. To fill in the spaces, and create a holistic design that is a clear representation of the photographer’s wishes.

To be completely honest, this shoot almost felt like cheating, it came so naturally. I spent a day with my eighty-year-old grandparents, sifting through the antiques in their home and barn. I managed to finagle a few gorgeous pieces from the family collection; a pair of china bowls from Bavaria, a porcelain pitcher that belonged to my great aunt, two place settings of heirloom silver.  My Papaw also let me dig through his assortment of skeleton keys and locks. I found most everything else for the table at local thrift stores (because it’s generally unacceptable to break the family china for a photoshoot!). A few of the other details were last minute additions – the rose-colored ruffle garland, a little ivory elephant, beige taper candles. Overall, I tried my best to come across this design organically. I didn’t want it to feel overly planned, or overdone. I think I ended up using about 75% of the elements I brought with me to the shoot.

I’m learning that sometimes, the best outcome involves a little spontaneity. For the bride’s styling, we kept her look soft, romantic, with a childlike characteristic. A simple dress, and a gorgeous sash. Barefoot. A casual braid. Beautiful, but also innocent. My favorite flower market had a great selection of flowers to choose from: garden roses, peonies, hydrangeas, and spray roses. The one thing they didn’t have much of, was greenery. I was a little stressed out about the bouquet and table arrangements, until I arrived at our location. The little area we scouted out was covered in beautiful, twisting vines, and wild onion flowers. I immediately began to work on bringing some of the vines up onto the table, and into my design scheme. The bouquet was also reworked on-site, to accommodate our lucky break in foliage.

After working with McGowan Images a few times, I feel like this styled shoot was a little victory in my personal experience with shoot styling. We’re getting in the hang of things. I’m becoming a better packer. My confidence is building, and I’m learning to be flexible, and keep an open mind.

Photography: Chelsea McGowan of McGowan Images / Set Design & Styling: Meagan Bechtel of megBdesign / Location: Trinity River Park, Fort Worth, TX / Wedding Dress: Galina by David’s Bridal / Flowers: Central Market

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Central Market, Chelsea McGowan, David's Bridal, Forest, Fort Worth, Galina, Garland, Ivory, McGowan Images, Meagan Bechtel, megBdesign, Pink, Purple, Secret Garden, Texas Weddings, Trinity River Park, TX, Vintage Chic
Post categories: Photo Shoot, Texas Weddings

From Margo and Steve of Atelier Isabey…We both have a relatively laid back style and vibe so we immediately knew that we weren’t going to be having a typical New York ballroom style wedding. When scouting locations we instantly fell in love with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Jane Austen meets Secret Garden feel it had. We decided on the Cherry Esplanade as our ceremony location and chose whites, golds and greens as our color palette.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Atelier Isabey, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Jane Austen, New York Weddings, Secret Garden
Post categories: Brooklyn Weddings, New York Weddings, Traditional Elegance

Adrienne and Justin were married in October. The afternoon Catholic ceremony was held in Waterbury, Vemont. The reception followed at the historic Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield.

Adrienne’s dress is by Christos. Isn’t the detailing stunning?

As guests arrived, little bells were handed out to the guests to use in Adrienne and Justin’s send-off (or so they thought!).  Much to the couple’s surprise, and thanks to her clever mom, their first kiss was rewarded by the sound of tinkling bells throughout the church. Adrienne says it’s a sound she will always remember with great joy! So cute!

What beautiful colors { … and the look on that calf’s face made me bust out laughing} !

Now, on to the reception … and this is where the details get truly amazing …

from Adrienne:  As a child, I was always really into the idea of an enchanted forest and “The Secret Garden”.  When our wedding planning started, I immediately knew that I wanted the reception to have a woodsy feel and the barn was an ideal setting. When the guests first entered the barn there was a big old wagon that presented us with the perfect opportunity to wow them.  I had our florists cover the wagon  with moss and grass that they had grown in their studio. Our escort “cards” were stuck into the grass to look like wooden flower markers. In addition to the floral arrangements that were made, the florists actually dug up tree saplings from the woods and fastened them to the beams.  They also hung lanterns that I purchased at Ikea onto the branches. It really created the perfect first impression and set the rustic, foresty tone I had dreamed of …

I wanted the centerpieces to look as if they were just growing out of tree stumps. The tall centerpieces consisted of white orchids mixed with manzanita branches and curly willow set into a vase wrapped with birch bark and topped with moss. The shorter centerpieces had the same birch wrapped vases with moss and ferns, roses, lisianthus, and ranunculus. We had candles in mosaic glass throughout the room and on the tables.  My mother tirelessly worked on the table numbers which consisted of wooden stands that she covered with moss and small birds nests.  The actual numbers were spray-painted and stuck into the nests.  We also included mini mushrooms that I had purchased online.  To top off the table settings, my mother found gold bird salt and pepper shakers which were absolutely adorable.  For table runners we purchased light sage brocade curtains that we had found online (on sale – love it!) and my grandmother cut and sewed them into runners.   We echoed the foresty feel in our wedding cake as well which was made to look like birch bark with flowers and ferns and two finches.  And again, our candy bar was covered with moss and signs made to look like flower markers, and mini mushrooms...

We’ve shown you some pretty great candy buffets on Style Me Pretty … but this is one of the best we’ve seen! If you’re going to do candy … this is the way to do it!

To back-track just a bit … Adrienne’s family was full of surprises!

from Adrienne … Right before the cocktail hour ended, my family decided to spring a few more surprises on us.  I am originally from Germany but moved to the States when I was a child.  Aside from my parents and brother 90% of our immediate family still lives in Germany.  I was fortunate that a good number of my family was able to come to the weddig.  And with them they brought some German traditions that I had no idea we were going to partake in.  First up was the tradition of cutting a log. The log represents the first obstacle that the couple must overcome in their marriage.  The couple then demonstrates their ability to work together and overcome the obstacle by sawing through the log.  The next tradition was cutting out a big heart drawn on a sheet which also had pictures of us all over it.  Cutting out the heart and then having the groom carry the bride through the opening of the sheet is the German equivalent to carrying the bride over the threshold.  Lastly, we released a cluster of balloons into the air with blessings and good wishes from our family and friends.

This wedding from Orchard Cove Photography embodies the spirit of Style Me Pretty! Your Wedding–Your Way–Your Style!!  So much of Adrienne & Justin’s wedding was a family effort. So many so-so-special touches that will live on in their hearts forever.

We can’t leave you without a final parting shot of Adrienne’s SMP’s-LBBB’s-now-famous-wedding-shoe-shot (first featured here on the LIttle Black Book Blog).

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Adrienne for supplying all of the fascinating details about your dream wedding … and to Amanda at Orchard Cove Photography for sending us these fabulous fotos!

Additional credits: Eileen Broderick Photography (photography assistance),  The Blue Toad (fabulous florals), Cooking From The Heart (Catering from Round Barn Farm), Irene’s Cakes By Design, Attire by J.Crew and Ann Taylor Celebrations, DJ: BTE Entertainment.

{to see the full gallery, click here!}

For another of Orchard Cove’s fun-filled (DIY) weddings, take a look at Ben and Hedda’s Fourth of July Long Island Wedding.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 26 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bell Ringing, Christos, Color Palette Green Pink, Orchard Cove Photography, Secret Garden, The Round Barn Farm, The Round Barn Farm Inn, Vermont, Waitsfield, Waterbury, Wedding Shoes, Woodlands Themed Wedding
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings