Bold and Colorful Wedding Inspiration for the Fashion Forward Bride

Lauren Megerdichian
March 16, 2019
Categories: Photo Shoot, The Blog

If you’re the type of bride who lives for all things Dolce & Gabbana, isn’t afraid to be bold with color and desires a fashion-forward look for your wedding day, then this editorial from Toast Santa Barbara is all the inspiration you’ll ever need. Every last detail of this shoot from the flowers to the cake just screams elevated elegance. We’re lovinggg the daring color scheme of hot pinks, bright yellows and rich teal. Keep on scrolling through these stunning photos from Rebecca Yale Photography to see it all (including all THREE gorgeous gowns)!

From Toast Santa Barbara… For this editorial we were inspired to create something bold and colorful, yet still bridal and elegant. We were inspired by a floral print Dolce & Gabbana dress and developed a design concept based around that piece.

The goal was grand and opulent! Gold hand-painted china, vintage crystal glassware, rich velvet linens, colorful gowns, ornate lace, and a fabulous estate. The shoot took place at an old-world, beautifully restored, private estate in Montecito. The property had unique gardens, sprawling lawns, and the estate made for the perfect backdrop. We knew we wanted to utilize the incredible spring flowers we were getting and incorporate color into the entirety of the shoot.

We also wanted to make sure we created a classic bridal look as well, so it only made sense to create three different bridal looks to encompass a range of bridal fashion. The first, a black, floral-patterned, Monique Lhuillier gown, was the perfect statement dress we were hoping for! The sweeping length of the gown, the daring slit, and the bold colors created the perfect dramatic feel. We paired the dress with a bouquet to match, filled with cascading lengths of passion vine and colorful garden roses.

The second look was our classic bridal look. Paired with a stunning Monique Lhuillier lace wedding gown, we used a golden crown from Hushed Commotion to keep the feeling of an opulent affair. We kept the bouquet neutral but added muted hues of our shoot’s color palette. Instead of the bright pinks and yellows, we opted for mauves and mustards. The third and final look was a playful, high-low after-party gown, with a bright and full, coral charm peony bouquet! What better style gown to cut your cake and dance the night away in than that! It was important that the ceremony backdrop was grand and exquisite, so what better place than the front of this incredible estate?!

We set up vintage pews from Found Vintage Rentals adorned with southern smilax garlands and hand-dyed silk ribbon. The ceremony front was framed with large, lush arrangements in bright, bold pinks and corals all set in front of a majestic fountain. The reception table brought all of these elements together; filled with lush flowers overflowing in an elongated golden urn, taper candles in gold candelabras, beeswax candle votives, vibrant table runner and napkins, and little wooden canary birds and miniature robin’s egg nests.

Combined with vintage crystal glassware, gold flatware and hand-thrown and hand-painted china from The Ark, each place setting was topped with a peacock colored napkin, a golden tassel, and a menu with the guest’s name printed. Creating our vision for the cake was one of the most fun parts of the shoot! Again, we wanted bold, colorful, and something you hadn’t seen before! With help from Lele Patisserie, this vision came to life! Lele added edible gold leafing to a three-tier peacock colored cake.

We used mock orange blooms, blueberry vine, coral charm peonies, and garden roses to create a playful design that would mirror the playfulness of the third dress! We even added a wooden canary to tie in the canaries in the reception arrangement. We topped the table with a lush velvet linen from La Tavola, more hot pink and coral blooms, and natural beeswax candles.