Classy Chic Styled Shoot – Leslie Alford Mims House – 8.10.17 – Holly Springs, NC

I want to dedicate this entire shoot and post to my late grandfather who passed away shortly before this shoot took place. I like to think that the beautiful day and the magical photos were because of him. He always supported me and my passion for photography.  

Another successful styled shoot in the books!

After a short break from a busy wedding / engagement season and months of planning this styled shoot I finally saw an amazing vision come to life. For this shoot I wanted to go for a relaxed feel to emulate a bride that’s just happy to be marrying the love of her life and nothing else in the world matters.  I wanted the dress, the venue and the flowers to all have a classic, boho, romantic vibe. Picking out the dress was a little tough at first. Each bride’s wedding gown is unique to themselves and I knew that I needed to find a dress that had a classic feel with touches of more modern looks. (Lace was a must!!) 

The amazing model of this shoot, Mari, did a wonderful job and trying on wedding gowns provided by Tre Bella Inc. in downtown Durham was so much fun. We narrowed down to a gorgeous Pronovias wedding down that had a beautiful silhouette and perfect for the shoot! I loved the lace sleeves and the long train that added wonderful movement to the photographs.

I am so grateful for the people at the Leslie Alford Mims House!! For one, it’s a gorgeous venue that I knew would be a perfect fit for the shoot and I was ecstatic when they allowed me to use their space for my styled shoot.

My favorite part of the planning process was the flowers. At first I was stuck on light pinks, apricots, hints of ivory and dark greenery. However, I came across yellow Catalina garden roses and instantly fell in love! (And I really mean it, I love love loveeee yellow flowers!!) My plans for the flowers headed towards more romantic, rustic Italian feel with the ruscus and the olive branches for the greenery. The bouquet was lush, filled with yellow catalina roses, yellow stock, white garden roses, light pink astilbe, ruscus, olive branch, and sand dollar eucalyptus. With the bouquet I also had a garland made with pops of flowers to have along the table, garlands are always a nice touch to any wedding ceremony / reception.

On the day of the styled shoot, Mari went to Raleigh and had her hair and makeup done by Makeup For Your Day. I had worked with them on my last styled shoot and they did a fantastic job and did not disappoint this time!! Mari was glowing and was an amazing model during the entire shoot! I could not imagine anyone else as the bride.

Also special shoutout to Nikki from Fancy This Photography, who was my assistant during the shoot and helped out very much AND did the wonderful calligraphy.

I hope ya’ll enjoy the beautiful photos! Stay tuned for more engagement shoots and wedding from fall 2017!

Loved incorporating her love for music and piano into the styled shoot! Bridal sessions are meant to make you, the bride, feel gorgeous and confident in your wedding dress!!