The Plaza Photo Shoot from Carmen Santorelli Photography

When a group of New York’s finest vendors team up to create a drop-dead gorgeous inspiration shoot at The Plaza, magic happens.  Plain and simple.  And when that team of vendors includes the genius stylings of Stacie Shea Events, breathtaking blooms by Splendid Stems and some of the prettiest paper goods you will ever see from Ten Four Paper, well.  It’s magic times one million.  All captured in devastatingly beautiful images by Carmen Santorelli Photography, this, my friends, is what we call photo shoot perfection.  See it all here.

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From Carmen Santorelli PhotographyThis styled shoot encompasses all the glamour and elegance that any girl has ever dreamed of. We first picked our location, the ever-fabulous Plaza Hotel in NYC, which set the tone for the whole story. Stacie and I tried to create our own fairy tale with just the right amount of sparkle, opulence and romance. The breathtaking Ines di Santo gowns (Neige and Amour), gracefully provided by Bridal Reflections, were the perfect mix of dramatic and romantic. Erica Ogawa did her magic with the makeup and hair. Karen of Splendid Stems took our breath away with the most amazing floral designs. She used hydrangea, anemones, orchids, astilbe, bunny tail celosia, oak ivy and spirea branches. The linens were so opulent that she did not want to compete with them, but instead enhance them with modern, free-form elegance that included some old world romance to celebrate the historic Plaza Hotel. Ten Four Paper created the invitations and all of the paper items, and Jessica Haley’s spectacular calligraphy work makes us wish we had her talent.

Sugar Flower Cake Shop created all of cake and desserts, and we were blown away by the beauty and deliciousness of her creations. For the main wedding cake, they wanted to create a contrast between the softness of the pink/peach/cream flowers and the bronze tones of the sugar decor, while maintaining an overall opulence within a clean and simple design. Even though the main cake they used for the shoot was faux, they envisioned it to be an almond cake, layered with strawberry purée and cream filling, iced with our lemon buttercream. To continue the pink and copper color scheme, they used a lot of almond and raspberry in the dessert table. It helps that July and August are the height of raspberry season here in New York! There are a few other fresh berries sprinkled in for contrast. All of our berries came from the Union Square greenmarket.

Photography: Carmen Santorelli Photography / Photography Assistant: Helga Schaefer / Photo Shoot Venue: The Plaza in New York, New York / Event Planning: Stacie Shea Events / Floral Design: Splendid Stems / Wedding Cakes + Desserts: Sugar Flower Cake Shop / Paper Goods: Ten Four Paper / Calligraphy: Jessica Haley Ink / Linens: La Tavola / Dishes + Glassware: The Plaza Hotel + Rent Vintage China / Wedding Dresses: Ines DiSanto via Bridal Reflections / Hair Accessories: Bridal Reflections / Hair + Makeup: Erica Ogawa / Tuxedo: Calvin Klein via Men’s Wearhouse (Stamford, Connecticut) / Models: Randall Harris + Molly Randall