“Into the Woods” a Dark Woodland Wedding
Photo By: Missie Lafrenz
Every couple should have the feeling of a fairytale wedding, and that’s exactly what I wanted to capture in this styled shoot. I’m a big fan of the renaissance festival and a fantasy book lover, so it should come as no surpprise when I decided to make my fairytale wedding dreams come true.
What is a styled shoot? A "Styled Shoot" is a staged photo shoot that's similar to a real wedding, but with some key differences. It's a type of photo shoot that's often used in the wedding industry to showcase the skills and services of wedding vendors
The Details
The details on the wedding day are things like the wedding invites and save the dates, the rings, jewelry, signature scents, vow books, the veil, bridal shoes, etc. So when it came to picking the details for this shoot, I wanted to showcase a few different things. First, we had 3x seperate invitation suites to choose from and photograph. I wanted to give the photographers who were apart of this shoot creative freedom, because that’s when some of the best shots come out, so by giving them three different invitation suite formats, they were able to play around with colors, textures, and of course, extra details.
The Details
While the main details of these shots were the invitations, we had a few extra elements to really make these detail photos pop. With the theme of ‘dark woodlands’, I bought a few extra accessories for photographers to play around with that matched the theme, such as:
A pocket watch
A wax stamp and seals
Bridal earrings
Decorative ring box
Different fabrics
Florals
Skeleton keys
Spools of ribbon
The Tablescapes
I designed 3x tables for this shoot, 2x round tables and one long table so we could show off different decor ideas and styles.
Round Table #1
The first table we designed was a 60” round with a tall floral stand and hanging orbs as the main focal point. We also added in multi sized pillar candles along the bottom to give the tablescape a fuller look, then wove in greenery throughout the candles. Each spot at the table had a full place setting, including: a black rimmed charger plate, mismatched dining plates (plain black and ones with foral elements) green velvet napkins, black silverware, green water goblets, and amber champagne goblets.
Round Table # 2
This table focused the decor elements at eye level for guests, rather than adding in additional height to the space. I first started with multi heighted gold athena candles, then added a heavy greenery wreath around the candles. The goal of the thick greenery garland was to make the center of the table feel more full, without taking away from the decor elements. We then added in gold votive candles around the wreath, so that the candlelight was spread evenly throughout the table. This tablescape had full place settings as well, which included: Gold beaded charger plates, vintage floral dinner plates, a black menu, red velvet napkin, and gold silverware with vintage green goblets.
Long Table Decor
Instead of displaying another decor style on a round table, I wanted to feature a long table for the shoot as well. For this tablescape we used a long wooden harvest table, and used tall black floral stands to support a floating greenery garland running the length of the table. In the beginning, I was going to add glass orbs hanging down from the greenery, but ended up scratching the idea and instead adding in vintage gold candlestick holders with white taper candles. Adding these in really helped give the table a fuller look, and I even added in amber votive candles around the table outside of the greenery garland. I had the florist add in greenery running along the middle of the table as well, not only to help cover the floral stands, but because I wanted to create a ‘swampy’ and ‘foresty’ feel to the table. After all, this is a woodlands themed wedding, and I wanted it to feel like fairies were dining with us at this table. So we added greenery in the middle of the table, then popped in some spots of moss to help achieve the look. Just like the rest of the table, we had full place settings at each spot including: Gold beaded charger plates, black dining plates, black silverware, burnt orange velvet napkins in a knot fold, a snippet of fern, and a circular dinner menu resting upon it.
The Sweetheart Table
The sweetheart table in pretty much any wedding setting, is going to be the focal point of the room, with that being said, my goal was to make it stand out, while not being a distraction from the other tables. I had a lot of ideas for this table going in, but in the end, I decided to stick with a simpler setup that was equally just as stunning if I would’ve gone full out.
The Sweetheart Table
The main pieces I started with, was the wicker loveseat and the wooden sweetheart table; those were the two pieces I KNEW I wanted to include. My friend who owns a vintage rental company partners with a tapestry company that offers these STUNNING hand dyed tapestries, and I knew I wanted to include them, but wasn’t sure if I wanted them hung, or used as a runner. In the end I opted on using them as a runner, since I haven’t seen that done before from this particular company. In doing this, it also brought color in to the bottom of the table, where I felt as though the decor would’ve been overshadowed by the darkness of the room had I not. I added in multi sized lanterns on either side of the head table, then placed some flowing greenery atop the table to bring together all the design elements. I then placed vintage gold candlesticks in the greenery to create that intimate feeling candlelight gives off, and voila! The sweetheart table came together!
The Cake
The cake was one of my favorite elements of this shoot. It was something where all the details came together perfectly to create something beautiful! When designing the cake space, I knew I wanted to have it atop a vintage wooden vanity with a greenery wall behind it, but after that, I just let my creative freedom take hold in the moment. I had some wooden stumps I placed the cake on, added a few vintage green books, a candelabra, and mini leather suitcase along with some greenery, and I felt the entire aesthetic come together.
The Cake
This stunning cake was created by Parinda Cupcakes, a company I have followed and admired for a LONG time. Parinda specializes in creating cakes and cupcakes with floral designs that are quite literally the definition of, “Looks too good to eat”. So it’s no surprise that when I opted for a cake specializing in floral elements, I called May, the owner of Parinda Cupcakes.
One of my favorite details in these shots, is all the moss. Our planner Mercedes was in charge of adding in the moss elements to this table, and at one point I remember looking over to see her trying to open the leather suitcase. I just remember thinking, “I know it’s supposed to be a card box, but I really don’t want to have it open for the shoot, I want it closed… I’ll just shut it when she’s not looking, lol”. But little did I know, she wanted to open it so she could stuff moss inside- GENIUS! It may seem like a little detail, but the shot wouldn’t have been the same if the suitcase didn’t have moss sticking out; it just completed the look!
The Flowers (Or Lack Thereof)
Floral will make or break a shoot, but I wanted to try something different, I wanted to limit our floral, and instead focus on greenery. This has been a trend I’ve started seeing more of, where a bride would rather limit the floral in her bouquet, and instead add sticks, pamps, feathers, and even in one case, an artichoke. It may seem strange to some, but if you’re going for a woodland theme, limiting the floral elements helps really bring your theme to life.
The Floral
When you think of a brdial bouquet, you probably think of a big bushel of flowers. I wanted to try something different, step outside of the box, and push the envelope to see if there are couples out there who want to try greenery bouquets instead. Over the past few years, I have had quite a few brides who wanted to limit the florals in their bouquet, and instead add in different elements like sticks, feathers, pampas, etc. So with this shoot, we expirimented on the bridal bouquet and other ‘floral’ elements to really try and limit the flowers we added in.
As you can see from the photos, most of our floral elements include different types of greenery, such as:
Leather Leaf
Plumosa Fern
Italian Ruscus
We strayed away from typical wedding greenery such as eucalyptus, silver dollar, huck greenery,etc.
Really the only florals we had at the shoot were for the bridal bouquet, which consisted of:
Burgundy Hanging Amaranthus
Scabiosa Pods
Pinecones
Ball Dahlias
The Lounge Setup
Lounges have become SO popular not just for weddings, but for other get togethers and events as well; which is exactly why I wanted to showcase one for this shoot! My goal for this lounge setup, was to make it feel like a fairy princess lounge amongst the trees, which I feel like to an extent I achieved. We placed the lounge setup strategically, that way the trees would be in the background of all the photos, and the one spot that had an unwanted view, we covered with the rattan room divider.
The Lounge Setup
I love including lounge setups on the wedding day! Not only is it a great photo opportunity for your bridal portraits, but guests love it too! In this lounge setup we included:
A Vintage Forest Green Couch
2x Black Hand Dyed Vintage Chairs
A Vintage Leather Trunk as the Coffee Table
A Large Black, Ivory, and Burgundy Rug
Wooden Side Table with Vintage Gold Candlesticks
Wicker Room Divider
Hanging Gold Chandelier
The Ceremony
The ceremony space is the first thing your guests see when it comes to your wedding day, so I always try to make the space stand out. Floral elements definitely help in that sense, but when you cut out florals like we did for this shoot, that’s where things can start to get tricky in creating a perfect ceremony arch.
The Ceremony
The arbor we used was built in at the venue, but it was the perfect shape to give us the look I was going for. I wanted the greenery to cascade down from the top in a sort of whimsical way, and to help give it that effect we added a few little details. First, we hung glass orbs with candles at different heights throughout the length of the arbor. We then placed mini LED votive candles in the orbs to give off more candlelight. We also added in white wisteria hanging down from the top, to help add in some additional color.
We then took different sized lanterns and placed them around the base of the arch to bring focus downward. The venue had these super cute hanging lanterns lining the path of the ceremony walkway which also helped add to the aesthetic. Finally, we took large rugs and lined them haphazardly down the aisle for the walkway.
Our Beverage Burro
This little man (or should I say donkey) Pedro stole the show at this styled shoot! If you don’t know, it’s been an up and coming trend to have a miniature donkey at the cocktail hour with a saddle, handing out beers and other beverages to your guests. Hence the name beverage burro! It’s a really fun addition to any wedding, and I promise you, it wu=ill be the talk of the town for years to come!
The Beverage Burro
This is Pedro, a working man at Apres Bar Co. and honestly, the star of the show when it came to this styled shoot. He was such a sweetie and loved getting all the pets, treats, and attention we had to offer him!
Our florist created a floral crown for Pedro to wear, and in some instances beverage burros have a floral collar as well; but for this shoot we just opted for the crown ;)
The Bride
Our model for the shoot was Allyssa, a stunning bride who I had the pleasure of working with last year for her wedding in Bondurant, Iowa. When I pictured the models for this shoot, I knew Allyssa was my girl, and her bright red hair was what sealed the deal for me!
The Bride
When it came to the dress, my vision was clear: It HAD to look like something a fairy princess would get married in, but seeing as how fairy princesses don’t actually exist, it was up to my imagination as to what it should look like. I wanted to stay away from floral patterns on the dress because, even though this is a woodland shoot, I see floral wedding dresses almost every single weekend, and I needed to do something different.
The last dress I ever would’ve expected to have for the shoot, ended up being the one we went with. I attended the dress fitting with our model at Kalon Bridal Shop, and after trying on dress after dress, none of them really felt right for the shoot. Then we tried on the one pictured… I can’t explain it, but that dress felt right. For starters, it looked like the dress Feyre got married in, in the book ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’, so already it had the fairy princess vibes. Plus, when our model Allyssa ran in the dress, it had this beautiful flowing look to it that complately captured a fairytale look.
The second dress we picked for the shoot, featured alot of lace and pearl elements which I absolutely adored! It was her secondary dress so it wasn’t in majority of the photos, but it still did a good job of capturing that fairytale aesthetic I was foing for.
Our Vendors:
planner & designer // Elizabeth Bliss Events @elizabeth_bliss_events
assistant planner // Mercedes Burger @mercedeseventss
lead photographer // Missie Lafrenz Photography @missielafrenzphotofarm
photographers // @edenlane.co , @jessthoriusphotography , @arrowheadphotography319 , @shyannerusherart , @mcstockard.photography
content creation // Fire and Fern Creative @fireandferncreative
venue // Harpors Vineyard @harporsvineyard
decor // 11:11 Event Co. @1111eventco
florist // Ellabank Blossoms @ellabankblossoms
vintage rentals // Annata Vintage Co. @annatavintageco
beverage burro // Apres Bar Co. @apresbarco , @drinkwithpedro
cake // Parinda Cupcakes @parindacupcakes
dress // Kalon Bridal Studio @kalonbridalstudio
suit // Skeffingtons Formalwear @skeffingtonsformalwear
makeup // Jules Lash Beauty @juleslashes_beauty
hair // Copper and Fringe @copperfringebeautyco
rings // @vytvir , @willworkjewelry
models // Allyssa and William Morris @thatoneredheadchick0 , @willie.morris.54
