An English garden wedding. That just sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? Something out of a fairy tale or a Jane Austen novel. Well, this vintage garden photo shoot, put together by Events by Heather Ham, is perfectly fit for a modern day Emma and Mr. Knightley. This team, including the talented Suthi of Picotte Weddings behind the camera (both photography and cinematography), created so many fun, unexpected areas including a photo booth, drink station, cake table and entrance table, full of pink and blue, vintage details and overflowing with lush flower arrangements. Spend some time in each meticulously decorated area in the full gallery!
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We’re not ready to leave the garden just yet! Picotte Weddings not only has amazing photography skills but they also have some of the best wedding cinematography around!
It all started with a bouquet. I saw this amazing bouquet in all warm and bright shades of pinks and oranges tied off with a vibrant teal ribbon. I’d always wanted to do a wedding inspired by it, so when Susan, of Peony & Plum approached me I showed her the bouquet and our brains started to churn with ideas. As each vendor agreed to be a part of this inspiration shoot, all of the pieces just seemed to fit and the look we were going for seemed to just fall into place as if each of us was just the right puzzle piece and fit together seamlessly to create this Antique English Garden inspiration. And an inspiration shoot was truly realized through the eye of our amazing and wonderful photographer, Suthi Picotte of Picotte Photography.
Stone Manor, where the inspiration shoot took place, is a hidden gem in the mountains of Malibu, has a breathtaking view of the Pacific Coast and has so much character and charm, that pulled the whole look together. To offset the very meticulous grounds and stone laid walkways and walls, we chose to use all vintage pieces from a farm table, to mismatching chairs, antique glassware, and some fabulous vintage suitcases. We has so much fun perusing through all of the items that Archive Vintage Rentals had to offer, that it was hard to narrow down our selections, as everything they have is fantastic. One of my favorite vintage rental pieces of the day was the aqua blue sideboard. We placed this sideboard as the escort card table beneath an ivy covered arch that framed it perfectly. We placed moss and potted herbs in a vintage suitcase with paper escort cards from Calligraphy Katrina. We had fun with the props and added moss and flowers peaking out of the top drawer and stacked some more vintage suitcases and pitchers overflowing with peonies, garden roses, and amaranthus.
The flowers, oh the flowers. Peony & Plum did an amazing job. The flowers were just marvelous… whimsical… breathtaking. I was blown away when Susan arrived with all of the arrangements, many of which were in white ceramic pitchers to add a little country home feel to the day, a bit more casual, but still classy. Susan also placed peonies, garden roses, hanging amaranthus, moss, berries, and herbs in an eclectic mix of vessels in shades of pinks and blues from Archive Vintage Rentals
Fantasy Frostings blew me away with this simple, yet truly unique cake with custom made fondant flowers that look like fabric that had been folded to form whimsical roses. The cake was placed on top of a vintage suitcase on top of the same antique aqua sideboard in front of a custom photo booth backdrop created by Picotte Photo with sewn fabric panels in coordinating patterns and colors to go with the color scheme and the vintage vibe of the whole inspiration. As you can tell, we had a lot of fun with props on this table including the crocheted table runners
And the main table, oh did we have fun with this. We wanted to showcase the charm of the vintage furniture from Archive and really enhance it’s history with all of the sweet elements of the flowers, pillows in coordinating colors from La Tavola, and all of the table top details. We had a cloud shape that was incorporated into all of the main stationary pieces from the invitation to the oh so sweet menu cards in coordinating light pink and turquoise blue, which had an alternative mauve or turquoise velveteen ribbon and each then adorned with it’s own antique brooch. The centerpieces were an array of pink and blue antique glassware, mason jars, white ceramic pitchers, and cake plates all filled with peonies, garden roses, amaranthus, lisianthus, berries, and herbs. Susan also created a small flower piece to place in the chandelier that was custom made by the owners of Stone Manor and their landscape lighting company. The property is filled with it from chandeliers to smaller lighting in the shapes of flowers, mushrooms, and lanterns.
Our models, Kristen and Dan, got married this past summer and jumped at the chance to take more wedding pictures. Stacy Bisel did a fantastic job on Kristen’s hair and makeup giving her a soft and romantic look. The “bride” wore a custom couture gown from the ever so talented Alina Pizzano who created this crocheted masterpiece. They had so much fun with the custom photo booth, and who doesn’t love props like a chalkboard speech bubble, lips, and mustaches. Suthi took them all over the grounds to capture some romantics of the couple. We also created an outdoor living room complete with a rocking chair, antique mirror, and a birdcage.
And Calligraphy Katrina put all of the finishing touches together with all of the paper goods, creating a custom invitation set (through her couture line of stationary called Maison Du Papier) using the cloud shaped pattern, as well as the escort cards, photo booth sign, menus, beverage tent cards, plus Bride & Groom Pennants that read “Kristen’s Hubby” and Daniel’s Wifey”. It’s all about the personal touches that truly brings an event to life and makes it one of a kind.
Photography, Cinematography + Photo Booth: Picotte Weddings, Inc. / Event Designer: Events by Heather Ham / Floral Designer: Peony & Plum / Location: Stone Manor / Rentals: Archive Vintage Rentals / Linens: La Tavola / Cake: Fantasy Frostings / Invitations: Maison Du Papier / Calligraphy: Calligraphy Katrina / Dress: Alina Pizzano Couture / Hair + Makeup: Stacy Bisel Make-up + Hair Design