Today I’m thrilled to finally be sharing the styled elopement shoot I hosted and photographed a couple months ago. I had a vision to create a moody, relaxed, and laid back intimate wedding/elopement styled shoot and found some wildly talented local creatives to partner with for this shoot.
I seek to serve laid back couples who are looking for authentic and meaningful images to capture their unique day, so when I was putting this session together, I purposely looked for ways to make it feel simple, down to earth, and with lots of meaningful touches.
I found the perfect venue and contacted the owners of The Ripple Retreat, a local Sobro Airbnb which is darling. Rebecca, the host, lives nearby and was quick to help and easy to communicate with for our time at her space. The house felt so calm, simple, and inviting, with beautiful touches of color and natural design elements throughout. (I’m trying to block a time off for my husband and I to stay there sometime for a stay-cation!)
My models are some good friends of ours, who were so down for getting some styled wedding shots, and the bride wore her original dress and the rings were the ones they gave each other on their wedding day. How sweet is that! I wanted to work with a couple so that I could get some real connection between them. Eva and Jeffrey were so wonderful to work with! Fun fact: they run a screen printing business called The Wandering Press, and do live event printing!
The bride’s makeup was done so beautifully by Diana of Simply Blue, who is so kind and is incredibly talented at what she does. Hair, the gorgeous hair, was done by Martha of Vow Artistry, who worked alongside Diana and created exactly the look I was hoping for.
Ok the earrings. You guys, these earrings are some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Designed custom for the shoot and hand-crafted by Sarah of Chival Jewelry, these pieces stood out so beautifully. Sarah spends hours on each of her creations, and also makes them with love for each person who wears them.
I knew I wanted something unique for the florals, and luckily I was able to find Shila of Wild Clover Floral, who has a passion for creating one-of-a-kind florals. She took my general ideas and ran with them in the most amazing way, creating an installation for the shoot, along with gorgeous bridal florals. She also styled the florals for the table, complete with beautiful candle holders done with greens and water – something I have not seen and am obsessed with now!
I reached out to Kaitlyn DeSpain, a local artist who created not only the stunning invitation suite with a unique design and a piece of art in and of itself, but also supplied a hand-carved stamped tapestry she created with inspired floral prints. The colors fit so well with my vision, and her work is seriously so unique and amazing.
The cake – you guys this cake was everything I’d hoped it would be. Bri Haarer, who bakes as a side hustle was kind enough to make a naked cake for the session, with lemon and berry touches. It brought in such a simple, yet elegant touch to the table as our centerpiece.
The most beautiful thing about this session is all the amazing folks who came together with their creative passions to make this thing happen. I’m all about #communityovercompetition and one of the coolest things is seeing others live out the things that make their hearts light up. The vision I had for this shoot fell together so perfectly, and I feel so fortunate I was able to capture the beauty manifested from the minds of wildly talented humans.
Enjoy the images below, and please go check out all of the artists and makers who participated!! xo
Makeup: Diana, Simply Blue
Hair: Martha, Vow Artistry
Earrings: Sarah, Chival Jewelry
Venue: The Ripple Retreat, Sobro
Invitation Suite and Table linen: Kaitlyn DeSpain
Florals: Shila, Wild Clover Floral
Cake: Bri Haarer
Photography: Leah Rife Photo
