weddings
Yes, this is a blog post dedicated to my love of gorgeous wedding veils. It’s that simple. I’ve photographed so many veils over the years, whether it be for maternity sessions, boudoir sessions, or weddings. If you want some veil inspiration then you’ve come to the right place. Enjoy!
Read MoreSo many days I sit at my desk alone. I feel that I’m in this crazy journey of my business by myself. It’s so easy to get lost in the emails, invoices, accounting, editing, marketing, etc. There are times that I’m so busy with everything else, it feels that photography is such a minuscule part of what I do. The truth is, it is.
It’s the days that I get to get on the phone with a woman who is facing divorce head on and is deciding, in some of the darkest days of her life, that she wants to stand in front of my camera. She wants to open her wounds, show me her new scars, and trust me to tell her story.
It’s the days that a mom emails me, telling me that she is finally pregnant after trying for many years. That she wants me to photograph this growing child that lives so deep inside of her soul, before they’ve even met.
Read MoreI teamed up with the incredible Brian, from Myrtie Blue, to demonstrate how to make a beautiful floral arrangement from plants in your garden. He makes it look so effortless, and honestly, it is pretty easy! Brian's work is truly art, but his goal was to show that you are more than capable of doing some simpler arrangements, yourself. You can see the full write-up on Style Me Pretty.
Here is a list of materials you will need:
Favorite Centerpiece Bowl or Compote
Oasis Floral Foam - alternatively you can use a floral frog and chicken wire
Florist Bowl Tape
Floral Knife
Garden Pruners
Dozen Roses of choice from your grocer
Selection of Garden Clippings. We used:
Heucherella Foliage
Blooming Azalea
Bear Claw Fern
"Lady Banks" Rose
Blooming Spirea
Blooming Vinca Vine
Loropetalum Foliage
Blooming Blueberry
Instructions on putting it all together:
Buy a dozen roses from your grocer. Choose a color that makes you happy! Keep them in water until you are ready to arrange them.
Then head to the garden in the cool of the morning or evening and forage! Cut from your favorite plants. If you cut in the middle of the day chances are the cuttings will suffer from stress and not survive as long as you might like. Be judicious about where you cut so that your plants remain beautiful and well shaped after cutting.
Choose both blooming and non-blooming plants. The variety is amazing once you really look around your garden. If you don’t have access to a garden, then visit a garden center. There are always plenty of plants to cut and forage from at most garden centers. Plunge the cut ends into cool to tepid water for safe keeping.
Prepare you container. If using floral foam, float it in water prepared with floral preservative or a little sugary soda water and a tiny bit bleach. Tape the foam into the bowl.
Begin your arrangement. Start by inserting a few stems from the garden that might define the breadth or length of your centerpiece. Make secure and firm insertions into the foam about 12” deep.
Be conscious of how the plants appear in nature or how the stems layer themselves amongst each other. This will help your arrangement to take on that natural garden appeal.
Continue adding your garden cuttings moving back and forth from end to end and side to side; keeping in mind that the core of your arrangement will be a dozen roses and provide real central mass and focus to the finished piece.
Add shorter stems between longer ones to create depth and dimension.
When you have something that looks almost finished, add your roses. Place them mostly in the core of your arrangement, creating focus and mass. You have a dozen at your disposal, so feel free to experiment a little with placement.
Before you know it, you have a gorgeous garden foraged arrangement featuring a dozen roses from the grocer.
Finding your wedding dress can be hard enough, but then you add in the task of finding the perfect accessories to go with it. I love using resources, such as Pinterest, to help give me style inspirations, but that can become overwhelming and cumbersome.
I think the best thing to do is keep it true to you and your every day look. For example, if you're someone who has a classic wardrobe, you might opt for a classic veil. Let's look at some examples of veils (and of course, you have to also choose the length and detail).
This one keeps it classic, but I love the detail in the trim:
Here is a very thin veil. This style is one of my favorites because it is so simple that it doesn't take away from the dress. I feel that you could pair this veil with absolutely any style of wedding dress or even a gorgeous pantsuit. (Veil courtesy of Vocelles):
A classic mantilla is always beautiful and keeps with certain traditions (mantilla courtesy of St. Patrick:
Another classic look:
This floral veil was a showstopper!
Or, you can go with something off the wall and gorgeous, such as this creative veil from Jurgita Bridal:
Now, let's take a look at bridal headpieces. These are such a great way to add a little extra to your look. The great thing about them is that you can wear them with or without a veil. They bring this whimsical element that is sure to be a showstopper.
Here are a few examples of some favorites that I've photographed over the years:
(Courtesy Jurgita Bridal)
(Courtesy Vocelles; A Bridal Shoppe)
I love this embellished headband. (Courtesy Vocelles; A Bridal Shoppe)
These next two are hair pieces that look like flowers. I love how one bride used it as her "something blue"!
This bride opted for real flowers and the outcome is gorgeous!
If you don't want to wear any bridal head pieces, you do have other options. You can wear gorgeous statement jewelry, like the cameo necklace pictured bellow:
Or, you could skip all of the accessories and make a statement with your hair!
Whatever you decide, just remember that it's your wedding day and you should stay true to you.
For more inspiration, head on over to my Pinterest!
