Grey Likes Weddings

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.

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:

Here is a sweet little Grecian inspired shoot that has me recalling a graduate course I once took in mythology. Here we see a few shots of “Aphrodite,” goddess of love. You can read more about the story this shoot is based on here, at photographer Caitlin Sheffer’s Blog. The nerd in me really loves a great tale from Greek Mythology. I think my fave part of this shoot is the gorgeous custom drawn invites from Ashly Hoth of Delivered by Hand.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Caitlin Sheffer Photography // CUSTOM DESIGNS: Ashley Hoth, Delivered by Hand // FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS & CAKE: Caitlin Sheffer // TABLE SETTING: Ashley Mansfield // MODEL: Megan McCue // APPAREL: Forever 21 & Target

Lasting love and anniversary shoots are just as exciting for us to celebrate as weddings! We were really touched to hear the story of Frank and Karen, who found each other later in life, both as single parents. You can read more about their entire story (and see TONS more gorgeous images) over on their photographer’s blog, Brooke Photo and Design. We’re absolutely in love with all these spring blooms by Sugar Branch Events! Be sure to check out all the fab vendors that made this shoot as beautiful as it is meaningful!

Brooke Photo and Design (photography), Ditzie Cakes (dessert table, treats, styling, and overall collaboration), Sugar Branch Events (floral arrangements, fresh daffodils, bouquet, and boutonniere), Archive Vintage Rentals (furniture, rentals, accessories, plates, glassware, tins and books), Nordstrom (Karen’s Dress), Megan Tracy (personal assistant)