The Southern Suite: Organic Wed Photoshoot in Manitoba
I’m excited to share with you today a beautiful photoshoot courtesy of a group of talented vendors from Southern Manitoba, collectively known as the “Southern Suite”. It’s organic goodness at it’s best, filled with boho details, natural arrangements, and wood-grained stationery. Some of the ‘ingredients’ used in the bouquet (apples, berries & succulents) should inspire us all to be a little bit creative for our own weddings, don’t you think? Happy Thursday everyone.
The Southern Suite is a collection of wedding vendors all working in Southern Manitoba. To introduce our team of vendors, we ran a contest where couples submitted their love stories and were voted on for the public’s favorite. Robin and Dan were one of our lucky winners and what a treat to work with – this lovely couple is getting married this winter and it was a great opportunity for them to get comfortable in front of the camera. Clearly, it worked!
When it came down to selecting themes we wanted something that was trendy, could be adapted to today’s weddings, and showcased our work and the couple flawlessly. Settling on an organic theme for our first session with Robin and Dan we styled the shoot in natural elements like wood, berries, and vintage furniture while playing up the soft and pretty side with a fitted lace gown, a flawy updo with a handmade boho halo and dreamy makeup to really contrast the elements.
We hauled out lots of goodies and printed things to the location in Morden, Manitoba to complete the Organic look. The location was picked for its long grass and rows of apple trees that created the perfect backdrop to toe in the details of the woods and fruits. The birdcages were a must for the overgrown bush, the vintage table was from a loyal customer’s Grandma that she graciously lent us.
The bouquet in this shoot was designed to be something with loads of unexpected elements and an atypical shape. Fresh Apples (we are the home town of the Corn and Apple Festival after all) succulents from our local greenhouse, berries still on the branch, droopy calla lilies, amaranthus, fall colored leaves, and more richly colored beauties.
The Southern Suite:
Flowers + Styling: Bloom
Accessories + Styling: Dove Tree Art & Design
Makeup: Glo Makeup Studios
Photography: Jack and Ruby Photography
Photography: Lani Elias Fine Art Photography
Stationery: Paper Airplanes
Hair: Shear Bliss Salon & Day Spa
Dress: Bliss Bridal Boutique
Jennifer of Tufts & Toile shares an utterly swoon-worthy styled shoot captured by Caitlin Free Photography that is just filled with beautiful details throughout. She teamed up with an absolutely talented group of Ontario wedding vendors to transform the countryside of Southern Ontario into the fields of Normandy. Inspired by the romance of french orchards, she used a mix of rustic and vintage pieces from her rental collection which was paired with loose floral arrangements from Roses & Twine Floral Studio. And to think this was Jennifer’s first styled shoot! Can’t imagine what’s next to come.
Says Jennifer: “My first styled shoot, entitled “French Orchard Romance”, was inspired by a love I’ve always had for all things French and the countryside. I don’t plan to visit the fields of Normandy anytime soon, so I wanted to bring them here, to the beautiful countryside of Southern Ontario. This styled shoot is how I envision a picture-perfect wedding within that setting, full of simplistic, rustic elements with a touch of elegance. It brought forth an amazing opportunity for me to feature a lot of unique pieces from my vintage and rustic-inspired rental collection. To sum up, shoot…it’s summertime French country-inspired beauty in an apple orchard setting, featuring a real couple in love.
Our real models, Paul & Pamela, have been married just shy of 9 months and their newlywed status was evident on set. They had the sweetest, most natural chemistry in front of the lens. Their love for each other was beautiful and downright adorable to witness. The couple wore their own wedding day attire. Pamela in a beautifully beaded lace gown from the Atelier Provenias collection and Paul’s style was more casual wearing classic black suspenders and a bowtie. Both outfits were accented by floral pieces created by floral designer, Myrica from Roses & Twine Floral Studio.
Myrica’s floral design captured the exact color and style I had envisioned for the set, using loads of white and soft greens with a subtle accent of blue, shown perfectly through the sea holly thistles. Her arrangements were loose and hand-tied, full of flowers inspired by France, including fruit blossoms, peonies, roses, and olive branches. The floral accent pieces for Pamela and Paul were French bohemian-inspired with a slightly wild feel. The olive branch was the main foliage accent that’s found throughout the shoot.
The olive branch carried into the stunning calligraphy that was hand-drawn by Aileen from Plume Calligraphy. Green watercolor olive branches and gold inked names on leaves as place cardholders. Charming beverage station signs and the saying, “Love of my Life” painted onto a vintage oval mirror, both in beautiful French script.
Paje from Honor Beauty created a truly stunning look for Pamela. Her makeup was kept fairly natural, a subtle luminous and glamorous feel with gorgeous smokey eyes and soft lips. Beautiful soft cascading curls in her hair fell to one side to perfectly balance the asymmetrical style of the floral crown. Paul’s look was effortless, with slightly grown in facial hair and just a little product used to control his natural curls. Every product used by Paje is fully vegan-based and cruelty-free.
The trio of cakes for the vintage crate dessert station was designed and supplied by Carla, The Cake Baker. Simplistic, yet elegantly designed and adorned with lovely flowers and foliage.
The European inspired cross-back café chairs and lace linens provided by Simply Beautiful Décor were the perfect pieces to complete the look for the main tablescape.
To truly bring my vision together, Caitlin of Caitlin Free Photography executed the look with the use of natural light throughout the shoot. There were cloudy and sun-filled moments throughout the afternoon and she balanced the light beautifully. Her technique and use of cool tones, bright and light-filled images complimented the design and feel of this styled shoot perfectly.”
Design, Coordination & Props/Decor: Tufts & Toile
Photography: Caitlin Free Photography
Floral Design: Roses & Twine Floral Studio
Calligraphy: Plume Calligraphy & Design
Linens & Dining Chairs: Simply Beautiful Décor
Cakes: The Cake Baker
Hair & Makeup: Honor Beauty
Bridal Gown: Atelier Provenias
Location: Bonnieheath Estate Lavender Farm & Winery
