This circus-inspired wedding photo shoot by Chloe O’Brien Photography has me wanting to shout my love and adoration from the tippity top of the big tent! If you are a circus-loving, vintage-admiring, DIY-digging bride or groom you are going to seriously fall in love with all the pretty inspiration packed into this entire shoot. And all of it so easy to recreate! We love that! See every last detail in the full gallery!
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From Chloe O’Brien Photography… This one is all about the power of DIY! With the shoot, I wanted to create almost all of the elements myself using a weapon every bride should be armed with: Pinterest. The color orange and vintage details were my starting point, and from there I wanted to use a combination of each with gold accents to tell the story of the contemporary circus bride and groom in a historic local setting. I had a wonderful creative team here in Halifax who were generous enough to contribute time and products to the shoot, and from there I filled in the details.
Armed with burlap, soft creamy tulle, days of combing thrift stores for vintage broaches and buttons, a funky printed orange cotton blend from a local fabric store and the inspiration of the internet, I went to work. I chopped two table runners, hot glued and sewed little bags with pretty gold buttons, and wrapped a tall glass vase with the burlap. The burlap bags became fun entertainment favors, if you will, of gold, spray-painted monkeys-in-a-barrel. The table runners served to cover the main table and the tasty bar of sweet & salty treats. The orange printed fabric was cut down to the section that was all a gorgeous antique vibrant orange and became a hand-sewn DIY bow tie for the “groom”and the handle ribbon wrap of the “bride’s” bouquet to tie in both elements. Hot glue was quickly becoming my best friend.The bridal bouquet — you guessed it — was DIY. Hand-sewn satin roses, tufts of unfinished ivory linen and an abundance of vintage buttons and brooches for a long-lasting keepsake. The description tags, menus and name cards were inspired by the lovely invitation Duly Noted created but again were DIY. The name card holders were another DIY project — plastic circus animal toys spray-painted gold. An antique typewriter, hand-carved elephants, vintage frames, old top hat and antique dishes served to bring all the decor together. The cake was a masterpiece by Misty with a DIY spray-painted cake topper. Here in the Canadian Atlantic, the sea is ever prominent and so the menu was oysters, lobster and a red velvet cheesecake dessert to highlight famed local cuisine. To not let “the circus” overpower the beauty of the models and and the roughness of some of the DIY elements, more subtle indicators, such as the magic act of pulling the bunny out of the hat, were added as opposed to bright tents and an in-your-face theme. The typography, popcorn, peanuts and candy apples touched on this as well. Of course to finish off the wedding of the circus bride and groom, you need to have your first dance with the circus slowly moving around you. Enter performers from Atlantic Cirque.
Photography: Chloe O’Brien Photography / Venue: The Dalhousie University Club in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada / Floral Design, Favors, Table Runners + Bow Tie: DIY / Invitations: Duly Noted Stationery / Wedding Cake: Mimi’s Cakes & Bakes / Cheesecake: Sweet Hereafter / Circus Performers: Atlantic Cirque / Rentals: MacFarlands / Wedding Dress: Mori Lee via Winchester’s Bridal & Formals / Shoes: Steve Madden / Suit: Moores / Hair + Makeup: Meg Ryan