earthy wedding inspiration // salt lake city, ut

February 19, 2014

looking for some organic, whole-hearted, 115% pure love? you’ve come to the right place!

this stylized bridal inspiration shoot was a little bit out of the norm for me. don’t get me wrong, i love the natural beauty of the world! but i have never shot something so simply and completely organic– nothing with quite such a strong earthy vibe. though i’m a natural girl at heart (you know, the type that prefers to go make-up-less and walk around barefoot), i have never had the chance to shoot a wedding with these vibes.

the inspiration behind this shoot came from a mix of places. i wanted to put my own spin on the popular bohemian feel and experiment a bit with my styling of images, while staying away from the big trends; in short, i wanted to create something utterly original. i found the perfect gown (a “classic”, sewn in the late ’80s by the ridiculously talented janet preece) and one-of-a-kind silk & coal invitations. the simplicity of these two pieces set off the inspiration for the rest of the shoot.

the remainder of our shoot was dreamed up in collaboration with the talent at plain air design and mallory francks.

shanin + cole were the perfect models for the shoot! not only are they gorgeous; they really live the earthy lifestyle and thus gave off the perfect vibes for this shoot. they’re the kindest souls and were a dream to work with. as they were getting all made up, shanin kept quietly squealing, “whoooooa. so that’s what i look like in makeup! i told you they were perfect.

i’m obsessed with the simplicity of the cake’s design and florals. salt cake city executed our vision flawlessly and designed a wild-yet-elegant wedding cake. i love the combination of the rough, looks-like-your-grandma-just-iced-it bottom tier with the smooth fondant on the top tier. it brings the perfect balance of elegance and style.

the bouquet from mayflowers was equally as stunning! i love this part of the shoot because it shows true artistry. i gave the florist the broadest description of what we were looking for and told her to “have fun and just go with it,” so i just about died of excitement when i saw what she came up with! i love how each angle of the bouquet takes on a bit of a different spirit– a succulent on one side, a protea on another, and a feather on the other. the lushness of the bouquet adds a pop of color to our shoot and really compliments the couple’s attire and the surroundings so well. the linens and place settings from plain air design tied the whole thing together– so, dang, well.

and can we just revisit the dress again?! i love love love this original gown. i love the fact that it’s a one-of-a-kind. i love the embroidery on the bodice and the loose buttons down the back. and i love the fact that it’s still gorgeous and in style, over ten years later!

so now that i’ve gushed about every little thing i love about this shoot… let’s see some photos, yeah?