Grey Likes Weddings

My sweet friends, Bonnie Tsang (photographer), Lauryl Lane (botanical stylist), and Megan Gonzalez (paperie proprietress of MaeMae Paperie) recently put together a feature on the Language of Flowers. I love the nod to the Victorian tradition of using flowers to convey meaning. Today, we harken back to the days of Austen for a peek at the art of an unspoken message.

First published in Paris in 1818, Charlotte de La Tour’s classic Le langage des fleurs first brought floral meanings to the masses. Although meanings had long been associated with different floral specimens, the Victorians, in particular their poets and artists, used the meanings of flowers to convey messages in art, literature, and even in day-to-day settings. de La Tour’s book gathered known floral meanings rooted in ancient history and laid those meanings out, creating a reference guide that we still draw from today. While we no longer attend balls carrying nosegays that can indicate if we are unattached or not, we can definitely use the lost language of flowers to convey meaning through a simple gift.

Photography by Bonnie Tsang
Floral Styling + Text by Lauryl Lane
Graphic Design by MaeMae Paperie
Location at Palihouse, West Hollywood

Floral meaning resources:
Victoria’s Dictionary of Flowers
Wikipedia Language of Flowers
FlowerMeaning.org

A few weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity of attending an “Edible Auditing”, hosted by the most chic caterer, Room Forty. Alexa of Sterling Engagements designed the entire event, and I was absolutely bowled over! I sat with some of the industry’s best wedding planners and ogled over all the genius and inspiration ideas! Are you ready for some spectacular pretties and ideas (all shot by the absolutely wonderful Ryan Garvin Photography)?

First up, check out the beautiful invites design by Prim and Prixie:

Vibiana is the most stunning possible venue in existence!

All the florals by Shawna Yamamoto Event Design were jaw dropping. I loved that the decor was very inspired by the food! You can see a Kale arrangement, and an artichoke below. There were also bunches of rosemary and mint scattered along the table. We even received herbs to plan as part of our favor.

Room Forty also has a mixologist on staff who creates custom drinks for pairings! This “Orangerie Punch Bowl” cocktail featured hibiscus, jasmine and even included an edible flower as a garnish!

I love how Room Forty serves their food! And it’s hilarious on the right–do you see all of us shooting the food with our phones??? It was just so beautiful!

Below are my two favorite elements of our TEN course meal! On the left is just the garnish for a delicious soup. The actual soup part was poured at the table out of a beautiful pitcher! What fun! On the right is a whiskey cocktail that had real smoke wafting out of the glass. What an amazing experience to really grasp the smokiness in the whiskey. I’m not much of a whiskey lover, but it was an amazing cocktail!

All the napkins embroidered with lace and place mats were created just for the event by Dahlia of Designer Specialty Linens.

We enjoyed live classical guitar from ESPIMUSIC Entertainment. It was amazing!

A little gift box to take home, which was delicious salad elements, home made vinaigrette and a recipe!

Below left is a shot of Steve, the force behind Room Forty, and me after our meal. I was so full, I barely made it home!

It’s always amazing to share with you the best of the best in the industry, and give you a chance to see what vendors can dream up if you give them room to dream with you! These are also amazing vendors to contact if you are in the industry, or a bride planning a wedding!

Just over a week or ago, I had the insanely amazing privilege of being asked to be a guest speaker in the Creative Live course “Getting Published: Shooting an Editorial Wedding with Jasmine Star“. We spent what seemed like a very fast two hours discussing from my perspective as an editor and a stylist, guidelines for photographers that want to see more of their weddings published. As part of Jasmine’s course, she assembled a very talented team of Seattle weddings designers to illustrate these techniques! Today, we are sharing with you that gorgeous shoot! If you are interested in purchasing the entire course online, you can head here!

If you love the idea of learning how to shoot weddings for publication, we’ve got some exciting news! We’ve just announced the release of our next Shoot This Not That workshop, which will take place October 10th and 11th in Montecito, California. The workshop will be a two day expansion on the short two hour intro that I taught with Jasmine. Not only will we go into further detail about the concrete steps you can take to aid you in publication, but we’ll also allow you the opportunity to work hands on with editorial material and industry pros. Plus, you’ll have the rare opportunity to get in deptch feedback on your very own submissions to find out what you might be missing and how you can improve to meet editorial standards! To find out more about our workshop and all that we’ll be covering and including, check out Shoot This Not That. Be sure to nab a seat before we fill up!

Now, without further ado, a very special recap of Creative Live! Very special thanks for Jasmine Star for sharing her gorgeous images and for being such a generous teacher! Also, major props to designer Kelsey Eads of Sugarcomb for all styling! To see more images of this shoot and find out more about what went into the creative development, be sure to head over to Jasmine’s blog!

Resources — Styling and Design: Kelsey Eads of Sugarcomb // Flowers: Meghan Stoller of Mum Floral Design // Cake: Kara Burfeind of The Sweet Side  // Paper Goods: Todd Karam of TKTJ Designs // Linens & Pillows: Susan Trenery of Susan’s Couture // Hair & Makeup: Tiffany Lowry of Tiffany Colors // Fashion: Sherri Garcia of Styled Seattle // Photographer: Jasmine of Jasmine Star Photography // Bride’s Dress: Jim Hjelm provided by La Belle Elaine’s in Seattle // All accessories, hair piece, necklaces and bracelet made by Sally Crew (exclusive to La Belle Elaine’s) // Bridesmaids: Dress and headband from Banana Republic // Groom and groomsmen: complete looks from Men’s Wearhouse.

Darlings! If you haven’t yet heard of Traveler’s Joy, you must check it out! It is a honeymoon registry website that allows you to register for your travel, as well as specific honeymoon related activities and products.

One of my favorite parts of Traveler’s Joy is that you get to register for big ticket items, like a $500 camera, and then break up the cost into multiple gifts of $100.

I really think honeymoon registries are so great, especially because you can really personalize the experience for friends and family who want to contribute to your trip! The sky is the limit, so I love the idea of adventurous hiking excursions…

…mountaintop picnics…

…or just simply extra time on the island.

Setting up your registry is SUPER quick and easy, so head here to get started. You can also read some of the members’ stories for a little honeymoon inspiration!

One of our Grey Collective members, Brea McDonald, recently sent over this urban loft shoot that was such a fresh take on wedding inspiration, that we felt compelled to let you in on the action! This loveliness was all styled and design by Beautiful Days and shot by Brea McDonald Photography! Let’s get into it, shall we?

Resources that came together for this rad shoot: