Time to share a work project I had been working on last year! I had been talking with the owner of Boxwood Lodge about doing some sort of shoot out there ever since my sister used the venue for her wedding back in 2011. Everything about the property is dying to be photographed!! Well, it was only a few years in the making, but it was on my "must complete" list for 2014. I have been a part of styled shoots before- where I simply show up and shoot, but I have never tried to plan one of these shoots…thats a whole different ballgame! We shot this styled shoot in April of 2014, but as it turns out, the shoot was picked up for a featured spread in Carolina Bride this current issue, so we waited for the issue to be released to finally share the photos! You can see it in print now in the Jan-March issue:) oh, and check out our cover image, too;)
When I had the idea for the shoot, I knew what I wanted to do/accomplish, but I #1 just had a baby and #2 was drowning in the work I was still trying to do while just having said baby(oh yea, and a toddler) I had already lined up some of the vendors before Shepherd was born(really only the dress shop and venue), but there was still so much to do and plan for our shoot. Monica, owner of Bellisima in downtown Salisbury was with me on the ground level of planning the shoot and helped to connect some of other potential vendors, but I knew at that point we had to bring on a planner. Ashley was a 2013 bride of mine and is a planner extraordinaire- and also had bought her own wedding gown at Belissima, so it all seemed very kismet to ask her if she wanted to be a part of what we were doing! I knew her "get it done" attitude was exactly what we needed. As it turned out, she had just left her venue planning job to do full service wedding planning on her own with a new company, Kerri Leigh Weddings and Events. She totally ran with our very broad concept and made the WHOLE ENTIRE SHOOT AMAZING. Inspired by magnolia's, she made this southern wedding come to life. I can take credit for nothing you see here, it was all Ashley- her amazing vision, complete attention to detail, working with each vendor, finding vendors I didn't even know we needed- and working her little booty off setting up our whole day and making it look like a real live wedding(minus 100 of your closest friends and family).
We really wanted to showcase each of our amazing vendors- who are some of THE ABSOLUTE BEST in all of the wedding industry. I do not say that lightly. Every. single. one. gets my stamp of approval. If you have not hired them for your wedding and you are still planning, literally RUN to hire them. You will not regret it! All that to say, Ashley worked with each of them to make everything seamlessly tie together. Quite honestly, even being in this business myself, I could not have made a vision come together like she did. I cannot recommend her enough! Boxwood itself was the main inspiration for us and adding that touch of southern charm made for the exact type of classy, timeless wedding we were all going for.
I knew Danielle and Drew were perfect for being our "wedding couple". Thankfully they agreed (props to Drew for participating in essentially playing dress-up)! Lindsey made Danielle look picture perfect and Monica had an amazing concept of "One Dress, Three Ways". There are really only two dresses in this shoot, but yet 4 looks! One dress alone can be worn 3 different ways! Perfect for the girls who are wanting to mix up their look throughout the day- genius! Chelish Moore created the most beautiful, southern florals- I have a feeling many of my 2015 brides will use as inspiration. I love white flowers, but really think they need "something else" to make them pop- and this bouquet is THE PERFECT example of that.
I am really proud of everyones hard work and dedication to make our shoot a success! Please check out each of the vendors below- everything you see was begged/borrowed/renter/created for our shoot and available for your event as well!
planning + design: kerri leigh weddings and events | venue: boxwood estate | bridal gowns + accessories: bellissima of salisbury | florist: chelish moore flowers | invitations + paper goods: the lettered lily | hair + makeup: be pretty | harpist: harps n things | transportation: hotrod getaways | linens + tabletop rentals: party reflections | menswear: bruce's tuxedo | cake + macaroons: tart sweets | monogrammed bouquet ribbon: oatmeal lace
Thank you, Lindsey, for the amazing photos and the opportunity to participate in such an elegant style shoot! It was such a beautiful venue to visit and your couple, a joy! ~Cyndi @ HotRod GetAway