Midsummer Night’s Ballet Wedding Inspiration

Enchanted wedding inspiration meets the New York City ballet in this stylish shoot from Diane Hu Photography and Busy Bride Planning + Consulting, and we couldn’t be happier. Dreamy details are laced throughout the entire shoot, inspired by Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, including two darling flower girls dressed as fairies. Add some pointe shoes, and we’re good to go!

From the stylist, Jackie of Busy Bride Planning + Consulting: We (Jackie Travers from Busy Bride Planning + Consulting, and Diane Hu from Diane Hu Photography) were inspired by the enchanted land of magical fairies, elegant lovers, and lush green woodlands from A Midsummer Night’s Dream as performed by the NYC Ballet. We thought it would be fun to style a playful wedding filled with romance, whimsy, and mischief!

Romance: We invited professional ballerina, Stephanie Salts, from the Lustig Dance Theatre of New Jersey, and New York City actor, Matthew Dunigan, to play the role of Shakespearean lovers. Through movement and dance, we captured delicate, intimate moments between our model bride and groom. The bride wore a gorgeous, custom Rebecca Schoneveld wedding gown with a lace corset bodice that accentuated her petite figure and a dramatic, long pleated skirt that allowed our ballerina bride to pirouette, arabesque, and chassé with ease. City Girl Flowers and Olivia Yun Lim made a delicate flower bridal crown comprised of light pink, blush and white roses to match our woodland theme.

Whimsy: We wanted to create a magical setting filled with unique, handmade details and fanciful décor. We filled our tablescape with assorted vintage chinaware. Each place setting varied just slightly to avoid looking “too” perfect! Park Slope Press created lovely letterpress table numbers and an exquisite ethereal invitation suite. The outdoor garden space at My Moon Bar and Restaurant has green ivy draped along stone walls and is surrounded by lush greenery, which provided the perfect woodland wonderland backdrop. City Girl Flowers and Olivia Yun Lim placed delicate flowers in hanging mason jars along the outdoor deck – the jars appeared to float in the sky. Our escort cards were hand made using small potted plants tied with a beautiful ribbon and displaying each guests’ name on a miniature white flags. The “ring bearer pillow” was also handmade with a moss-filled antique wooden box (found at a local antique store) and a gold ribbon to secure the rings. Our dessert table was full of refreshing summer treats: pitchers filled with strawberry lemonade, a donut tower decorated with flowers, and a simple vanilla cake adorned with blueberries. All of our DIY décor are simple, beautiful, and inexpensive projects that any bride-to-be can take on!

Mischief: Our A Midsummer Night’s Dream Ballet shoot would not have been complete without our adorable (and mischievous!) flower girl fairies, Emma (age 3) and Cameron (age 5). Janelle Funari New York provided stunning, hand-made couture dresses with French painted laces, silk taffeta and vintage trimmings. Petal Halo created custom-made flower headbands. The very talented Etsy shop, Enchanted Fairyware, created beautiful handmade fairy accents, including magical ballet style slippers and enchanted sparkle fairy wings. We are so grateful for the tremendously talented vendors who helped bring this magical story to life through dance, delicate details and whimsical décor!