See Why Fall in California Will Have You Falling in Love Over and Over Again!

Samantha Melei
November 26, 2019
Categories: Photo Shoot, The Blog

To me, workshops are undeniably beautiful! The vendors involved put so much time, effort and detail into planning such an experience for everyone attending to showcase their best work and deliver something truly stunning! For Whiskers & Willow’s photography workshop, expect no different as you scroll below! HauteFetes Fine Weddings & Events were there to display their creative styling of this Fall inspired masterpiece at Sunstone Vineyards & Winery mixing a bit of Old World charm with modern touches and a blooming bouquet by Intertwine Flowers by Kelly Lenard. Take a look below and pause over that jaw-dropping Galia Lahav gown! (serious heart eyes!)

From Dani Blasena of HauteFêtes Fine Weddings and Events …Whichever season you choose to marry, there are always going to be pros and cons. That said, here in California, arguably some of our prettiest, and thus favorite, weddings take place in the early fall since that perfect light we are known for adds a soft golden glow, the florals and foliage have a dusty, sun-baked hue, and the evenings are still long and warm.

For the Whiskers & Willow Photography workshop, setting the scene in October made perfect sense and served as a seasonal jumping off point for our design inspiration. Coming together with the amazing vendor group led by Whiskers & Willow to create this exquisite editorial was a delightful and truly memorable experience for all of us and our attendees, and one we look forward to doing again in the future.

Looking to incorporate the timeless elegance of our designs with the vineyard romance of Sunstone, we set about creating a series of scenes that felt quintessentially Old World but also fun, youthful and modern. Over the course of the two days, attendees were led through a love story; an intimate pre-wedding boudoir session, the couple’s tender portraits, their wedding ceremony and reception, all replete with the most beautiful details and touching moments throughout.

We let our natural surroundings dictate the design and specifically, were inspired by the fields beyond Sunstone’s vineyards filled with golden grasses. The shape and texture of wheat really spoke to me and I saw it as a key design theme in the workshop, working with Plume to incorporate it into delicate hand-painted details in the stationery, and clustering it in sheaves in others.

For our color palette, we wanted it to be warm and soft, inspired by the sun-drenched colors of the dusty Santa Ynez river valley. While we love the deeper tones of fall foliage, we wanted to keep the florals light and embrace a softer palette with buttery creams and sages, combined with accents of terracotta and umber which Kelly Lenard of Intertwine created to perfection.

With that, we also loved the idea of playing with the early fall light, bringing it into the workshop by creating an interplay between light and shadow – sun-dappled shadows from the windows and magical flickering candlelight. We took it further, incorporating translucent textures like velum into the stationery suite and the barely-there gauziness of her exquisite Gahlia Lahav dress, and muted shadows cast by the branches of old oak trees in the setting sunlight.

Finally, for our reception table, Theoni’s beautiful velvet and wood furnishings met a custom fringed linen runner, with mottled mint-colored pillar candles, delicate scalloping in the Matouk napkins, and organic lines in the Casa de Perrin china and silverware keeping the setting cohesive and natural. Beautiful layered and textured personalized menus were created to add those perfect, and all-important finishing touches.”

We would like to thank special contributors to the workshop Stacey Foley and Richard Photo Lab, as well as our generous sponsors, Film Supply Club, Dubsado, Pic-Time, Dekora, C1ick, Locust Collection, and Angela Shae.

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