Secret Garden Inspiration Shoot

Okay, I am positively swooning over this styled shoot from Elissa Keno Events and shot by Kellie Kano, debuting a new wedding venue in the area called Stoneleigh Estate. Does it get much better than this rolling lawn, stunning architecture and peaches galore? And don’t even get me started on that breathtaking Jenny Packham gown.

From the photographer, Kellie Kano: This inspiration shoot is an editorial that was shot for a new wedding venue called Stoneleigh Estate. It’s a gorgeous historic mansion in the rolling hills of Virginia with gardens designed by some of the most famous landscape architects around. I love the reflecting pool & moss covered brick on the terrace… it has such an old-world feel to it.

Elissa & I pulled together a great group of talent for the shoot & loved what they created. Our inspiration came from the secret garden feel of the venue (also the location for ceremonies) and we decided to incorporate fresh fruit & succulents into the design to keep the southern-vintage feel. The linens, apple crates, glassware & silver are all vintage finds..even the table that was used is from one of my favorite vintage shops downtown.

Robin with Maxie B’s made 2 darling cakes for us to use in our peach & grey color scheme & Elissa and I hand stamped the kraft bags for the peach favor table. Rachael with Tre Bella brought a stunning Jenny Packham gown for our model Kelsey to wear, AND she created the beautiful florals for the shoot (such a talented, amazing gal!).

stoneleigh estate wedding inspiration from kellie kano photography

View all images from this shoot in the gallery

Wedding Vendors (Stanleytown, VA and Durham, NC):

Wedding Venue: Stoneleigh Estate / Wedding Photographer: Kellie Kano Photography / Event Design: Elissa Keno Events / Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham from Tre Bella Bridal / Wedding Hair: Salon Medusa / Wedding Flowers: Tre Bella Florist / Wedding Invitations: Paperwhites Press / Bakery: Maxie B’s Bakery

February 28th, 2012 | 9 Comments | Email to a friend
Category: Wedding Design

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Historic Cedarwood Wedding

No matter what, we’re pretty much guaranteed to love any wedding at the amazing Historic Cedarwood, and even more so when they’re photographed by the great Creative Push. Stephanie and Matt are college sweethearts who filled their wedding day with references to classic literature and poetry. I don’t know about you, but I’m totally crushing on the groomsmen’s gingham shirts!

From the bride, Stephanie: Matthew and I met on the first day of college. He was chosen to pump up the crowd at an assembly and so he walked to the front of the auditorium, ripped off this shirt and ran around in front of hundreds of unknown freshmen. I looked at the girl sitting next to me and said, “I want to meet THAT guy!” Ten minutes later we we found ourselves in the same orientation group, became friends and grew closer together every day until he proposed!

We involved our parents and guests in a Eucharist ceremony and we wrote our own vows. Matthew is in Divinity School at Duke University, and having our guests participate in a spiritual way was important to us and made our vows feel more powerful. Our ceremony felt like a very intimate and sacred event.

As an English major now teaching language arts, I wanted our wedding styling to reflect our love of literature and poetry. Our table decorations included eclectic and vintage decor including an antique typewriter, ink wells, books and framed poems… We used vintage tablecloths from the 50′s as table toppers and napkins were tied with tags printed with a literary quotes of famous authors. We covered our monogram with sheets from an antique book.

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Music:
We played classical music during the ceremony, bluegrass music at cocktail hour and Mowtown oldies and DuWop style music for the reception.
First Dance: “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” Ella Fitzgerald
Guests’ First Dance: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” Stevie Wonder

Wedding Vendors (Nashville, TN):

Wedding Venue: Historic Cedarwood / Wedding Photographer: Creative Push / Flowers, Décor, Event styling and Planning: Cedarwood Weddings / Wedding Dress: Jasmine Couture / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Ali Ro / Hair and Makeup: Salon FX / Wedding Caterer: A Dream Come True / Wedding Cake: Patty Cakes / Transportation: Nashville Wedding Cars

Historic Cedarwood is a member of our wedding vendor guide Blue Label.

February 28th, 2012 | 13 Comments | Email to a friend
Category: Vintage Weddings

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Clay Bouquet Shop

If you want a more lasting alternative to fresh flowers for your bridal or bridesmaid bouquet, check out Clay Bouquet Shop. They create wedding bouquets and accessories from clay, crystals, brooches and feathers. They also offer lovely, vintage-inspired headbands, sashes, and hair combs made with Swarovski crystals.

Clay Bouquet Shop also creates custom items for brides and their bridesmaids, so don’t hesitate to ask if you’re looking for something that is not listed. Follow them on Facebook or Twitter for new items, wedding photos, sneak peeks of photoshoots, and giveaway announcements. Clay Bouquet Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate to one Ruffled reader. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below, indicating what item you would choose if you won! Winner will be announced in the Weekly Wrap Up. They are also offering Ruffled readers free priority shipping (or a $7 credit on International shipping) on orders placed by Saturday, March 3rd. Use coupon code RuffledFreeShipping during checkout.

February 28th, 2012 | 15 Comments | Email to a friend
Category: Giveaways, Sponsored Posts

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Las Vegas Desert Wedding Shoot

I don’t what it is about weddings and photoshoots in desert settings that get me giddy with excitement. This one by Brushfire Photography and Scheme Events is no exception. Fluffy, romantic pink flowers are mixed with succulents for the arrangements, with heaping dashes of oranges and teals throughout the tablescape. The color palette against the natural backdrop is just plain delicious.

From the photographer, Brittany: We wanted the shoot to appeal to DIY brides and the destination crowd since it has many DIY elements and was put together at Valley of Fire State Park in Las Vegas, Nevada. We chose Seven Sisters at Valley of Fire State Park because it is such a unique landscape. It is about an hour drive off the Las Vegas Strip and the perfect location for a couple who wants to get away. When driving there, the road curves around the desert and towering rock formations without any red rock in sight. You know you have arrived when you get around the final curve and see bright red rocks hundreds of feet tall in the distance to create a huge valley of fire.

Kelly and Shawn were not a real couple but they got along right away and we all had such a great time climbing the rocks and admiring the contrast of bright red rocks and blue mountains in the distance. Occasionally a car would drive by, but for the most part we had the gorgeous Seven Sisters all to ourselves. We decided to use a stitched theme for all the design elements. Milestone Paper Company did an amazing job with the paper designs and it was a perfect match to Scheme Events design. We wanted small hints of the desert represented and did that by including the small succulents and the cholla cactus skeleton. While I was stitching one of the paper elements I noticed the book title was Stone Dreams. We all immediately fell in love with the idea and found it was the perfect description of how we were feeling at The Valley of Fire.

We love these yarn wrapped letters on yarn! We pinned this tutorial in one of our boards over at Pinterest.

View all images from this shoot in the gallery

Wedding Vendors (Las Vegas, NV):

Venue: Fire State Park / Wedding Photographer: Brushfire Photography / Event Planner: Scheme Events / Wedding Flowers: Flowers of the Field / Wedding Dress: Couture Bride / Groom’s Attire: Tuxedo Junction / Hair Stylist: Natasha Chamberlin / Wedding Invitations: A Milestone Paper Co. / Heirlooms and Extras: Dirty Dishes / Linens and Coverings: La Tavola / Equipment Rentals: RSVP Party Rentals