Regal And Romantic Italian Charm at Bella Collina

Melissa Hammam
May 20, 2022
Categories: Photo Shoot, Seasonal Wedding Trend, Summer, The Blog, Wedding Style

You won’t believe the way baby’s breath was used at this Bella Collina wedding! Heather Benge Events dreamed up a heavenly day with a dreamlike quality that feels as if you’re inside a fairytale. Baby’s breath installations by Eva La Florist and Intrigue Designs create a feeling of walking through the clouds, and Lia Giannotti perfectly captured the ethereal elegance in her artful imagery. You can take a closer look at all the lovely in the full gallery.

From Lia Giannotti… Stepping into Bella Collina and taking in her grandeur makes you feel like you’re immediately transported into the Italian Countryside. All of the elements of this shoot came together in a truly opulent way. The lush neutral-toned florals, delicately detailed cake and romantic décor provided the perfect balance to the venue’s rustic charm. It was luxury at its finest, from large billowing containers of lush florals to the most beautiful baby’s breath installations that made the scene feel whimsical, romantic, and dreamlike. It was a feast for the eyes and had so many intricately crafted details. The neutral tones of blush and white stood out in beautiful contrast against the robust architecture of the surroundings. Adding elements of beautiful emerald green elevated the space and made it feel warm, rich, and inviting. My advice to couples who are inspired to step outside of the traditional, and create a more modern, yet soft, romantic, and whimsical look is to reach out to vendors who know how to create this look. They can help you brainstorm your visions and bring them to life. Also consider using the venue’s architecture to inspire floral installations and elements, such as the exquisite baby’s breath swaths wrapped around the columns, as well as creating a stunning focal backdrop for the cake. Used in this way, they softened the scene, and added beautiful visual interest, all while really bringing in the wow factor. Consider adding special touches, such as an intimate lounge area, inviting guests to sip their champagne, take in the scene, or mingle with other guests. This little nook was the perfect backdrop for placing lush emerald green furniture, surrounded by more opulent florals and candles, creating an experience, and an inviting space for all the guests to enjoy.

From Eva La Florist… Inspired by the grandeur of timeless luxury, the design featured crystal and gold materials with lush florals in a neutral color palette of white, ivory, and muted blush. The elegant details interwoven throughout the design created a timeless and romantic atmosphere. Flowers include English Garden Roses, Hydrangeas, and Orchids. The large pillars feature floral installations with lush baby’s breath wrapped around the pillars, cascading to the ground, creating a dreamy and romantic ambiance. Wedding cake designs often use flowers on the cake, but I love using flowers to create a focal for the cake. For this design, we created a floral installation using fresh baby’s breath that cascaded to the floor and placed the wedding cake on a stand with large golden rings to accent the cake. The dresser and candles added warmth and romance to the completed look. For couples looking to create a luxurious environment, look to large-scale containers and lifted floral arrangements that allow your guests to see across the table while enjoying the beauty of the centerpiece display. From Ari of Eleanors Bridal… Sia is an unreleased gown from our newest bridal collection, and we are excited to see the styling and imagery that brought her to life. Our gowns are created for modern brides that want a unique spin on traditional silhouettes while remaining elegant and fashion-forward. Seeing the whimsical nature of the inspiration board for this Bella Collina styled shoot led us to know this gown belonged in the series. The texture and movement of Sia’s sleeves contrasted with the rich and robust architecture of Bella Collina created a beautiful juxtaposition that gives brides the opportunity to explore an entirely new style.

From Michelle Crawford of My Bakers Cottage Cakes… Bakers Cottage Cakes always encourages our couples to share details that inspire what they envision for their special day. Whether their inspiration comes from their wedding invitations, venue, color scheme, or time of year they’re getting married, our goal is to create the cake of THEIR dreams! For this beautiful collaboration, we poured through the inspiration photos provided for this shoot. We focused on the details, both small and large, the invitations, the bridal shoes, color palettes, furniture rentals, florals, etc. The first thing that jumped out to me, was the use of textures, along with a clean, white-on-white color palette with subtle hints of green. The vibe was a mixture of unconventional & traditional details. So while designing our sweet girl, (all of our cakes get names & this one was named Daisy, for her hand painted flowers), I wanted to use texture to add an element of depth to the design. We also added hand-molded pieces of floral applique, that were torn on the edges to mimic antique pieces of fringed fabric. We then rolled our Fondant pieces that would cover the cake with a basket weave pattern. We tore the edges of these fondant pieces as well, and then gently wrapped the cakes. We were going for a visual design that gave the impression of being wrapped in an antique, sunbleached quilt. Instead of adding sugar flowers, we decided to hand paint the florals, using soft muted colors, and a technique that would make the paint crack in places, so it would add a patina to our desired look. To finalize our design, I created a mold of a family cameo pin, and we used it as a “button”, placing it where the fondant overlapped each other, completing the wrapped “fabric” design.