Boho Festival-Inspired Camping Styled Shoot in Louisville, Kentucky
I have a very special business achievement I’d love to share with you, friends. This spring I planned and coordinated my very first styled shoot! To say that I am proud is a vast understatement. *cries happy tears
WHAT IS A STYLED SHOOT?
For those curious, a styled shoot is a wedding setting styled by a team of wedding vendors to flex their creative muscles in a collaborative effort. The purpose of these shoots is to create and build networks, expand vendor portfolios, and to inspire creativity in the participants as well as future wedding clients. A styled photo shoot can cover any number of themes and genres, so the creative freedom is limitless!
MY VISION
I definitely wanted my first styled shoot to be unique; something different from others I’ve seen locally on social media. Since the pandemic I’ve seen the growing trend of camping weddings, especially far out west, and have become completely infatuated. I loved the idea of bringing some west coast aesthetic to the south, so I went on to formulate my vision of a glamping festival-inspired styled shoot, complete with a decorated yurt tent, intimate picnic setup, and all the folksy, rustic, bohemian vibes!
COLOR PALETTE
I read on several different resources that one of the trending wedding colors for 2021 is “electric tangerine.” That was one of the main reasons I wanted to incorporate that specific color, and also because I’ve been obsessed with the song “Tangerine” by Glass Animals. When the idea came that we could incorporate fresh fruit to further emphasize the tangerine color, I knew I wanted to run with it. I wanted an overall warm color palette, so I decided to pair the tangerine with dusty rose and a touch of burgundy. As I styled the flat lay shots with the paper goods and all the little details I had been collecting for this shoot, I was elated to see that it came together so beautifully.
DREAM TEAM
I teamed up with the most incredible group of vendors to help bring this vision to life. They all exceeded my expectations and it was a joy to work with everyone involved. If you’re currently planning a wedding/event or know someone who is, be sure to check out these amazing professionals!!
Huge thanks to The Woods at Cedar Springs for opening up their breathtaking venue to us. It’s a spacious, luxury wedding and event venue sitting on 10 acres in Louisville, Kentucky, and is a perfect location for both indoor and outdoor ceremonies. For my particular vision, the venue allowed us to set up for our “glamping” festival-inspired idea and it turned out absolutely stunning. The woodsy property paired exceptionally well with the folksy, bohemian vibes I was going for. It was all so dreamy!
I made a sweet friend in Rachel of Attic Trash Vintage and am very grateful to have had her help in bringing all my rustic, bohemian dreams come true. As our rentals vendor, she brought some of the neatest pieces to our shoot! Rachel’s business brings quirky, relatable vintage home decor & clothing to long-time collectors and vintage newcomers. She sells at local events as well as larger markets, and also maintains a clothing booth at The Domestic in Lexington, Kentucky.
Alexis of Wild Roots never fails to impress. I’ve photographed numerous weddings that feature her beautiful, sustainable floral designs and her work always blows me away. Alexis worked with me to accomplish my color scheme that included dusty rose, tangerine, and burgundy. I adore the whimsical look she executed in styling the florals (proving you don’t have to go huge with your florals to still have a striking visual impact). When we decided on tangerine for one of our main colors, I got the idea that I really wanted to incorporate fresh fruit. When I presented the idea to Alexis, she was like “Heck yes!” This is why she’s my favorite. If you’re looking for unique florals or a flower crown bar for your next event, Alexis is your girl!
The White Dress of Lexington provided our two breathtaking dresses, making Miss Alana (our model and “bride”) look and feel like the absolute QUEEN she is. I sent my inspiration board to the dress shop and they picked out the two best dresses they felt best aligned with our style concept. Needless to say, they totally nailed it. As soon as Alana tried them on, we were hooked. So much so that they let us feature both dresses instead of having to choose between them! The first gown is a stunning one-of-a-kind piece from a local designer. We enjoyed being able to show it off with and without the intricate sleeves that come with it. They were definitely giving us all the bohemian feels, which was perfect! The second dress was equally phenomenal. We styled it with the floral hat to bring in those rustic vibes, and we were all obsessed. Needless to say, both dresses were everything I could’ve hoped for and more. I would love to see more folksy, unconventional brides in the midwest!
Chloe of Makeup by Sarah Lynn is a total gem. I completely trusted her artistic vision and professional skills on set, and she killed it. Alana looked flawless! She incorporated those lovely blush tones from our color scheme into Alana’s makeup, and I was totally getting the festival bride vibes with the glittery highlights. Swoon! Then when Alana changed into our second dress, Chloe helped change up Alana’s look with a lovely side braid and moodier lip and eyes, and it was perfection.
Our guest book vinyl and acrylic signs were submitted by Calligraphy by Tracy. The blush hand-lettered signs turned out beautiful and were a great way to add a pop of color to certain areas of the set. I was super jazzed about the vinyl sign idea, and Tracy executed it flawlessly! You can tell she has a great sense of detail and precision in her work.
Food trucks and mobile bars are growing in popularity for elopements, so I definitely wanted to get in on that. Wandering Spirits is a traveling bar based out of Louisville, KY who’s services feature their stylish black trailer, lounge area, champagne bar, yard games, Instagram-able photo op, and expert bartenders. They’ll definitely help make your event’s bar a showstopper! I loved how we had them set up at the top of the stairs outside the venue entrance with that lovely tree line in the background. Both their bar and lounge area provided fantastic photo opps for our couple.
The delectable macarons are from one of my favorite shoppe’s in Lexington - La Petite Délicat. To coordinate with our color scheme, we went with their rose water, lavender, and vanilla bean flavors. They were the perfect sweet addition to our shoot, and they were even more perfect as we devoured them afterwards! If you haven’t taken a trip over to this precious shoppe to experience all the scrumptiousness, you seriously need to ASAP!
The wedding invitation and paper goods were designed by ya girl and printed through the professional print lab I utilize for all client orders. I had such a great time designing these to match the vision I had in my head for this shoot, so it was extremely satisfying to watch everything come together so beautifully after so much planning and coordinating.
Lastly, huge kudos to our incredible couple Alana + Trent for being such troopers. Not professional models and only boyfriend and girlfriend, these two endured the pressures of acting like a newly married couple for a day and were totally amaaazing. They were naturals in front of the camera and awesome at taking direction! I loved capturing their organic chemistry and precious glances. Their light and joy were truly infectious.
Now, on to the pictures! I hope you enjoy what we created!
// VENDOR LOVE //
Photography: Kirstie Dunston Photography | Location: Louisville, KY | Venue: The Woods at Cedar Springs | Rentals & Styling: Attic Trash Vintage | Florist: Wild Roots Farmer Florist | Dresses: The White Dress of Lexington | Makeup: Chloe - Makeup by Sarah Lynn | Paper Goods: Kirstie Dunston Photography | Calligraphy: Calligraphy by Tracy | Mobile Bar: Wandering Spirits | Macarons: La Petite Délicat | Models: Alana Watson & Trenton Marcum
