Southern Weddings

Welcome back to part two of our Paper, Cotton, and Flour love fest! I thought it might be fun to present the shoot with its three materials separated out, so you can see a little more of the concept behind the shoot. Let’s start with paper! (But don’t forget to see ALL the gorgeous images from Joey + Jessica in the gallery!)

Bella Figura provided all of the invitations for this shoot, and they couldn’t have been a better pick, seeing as all of their designs are printed on 100% tree-free cotton paper. You can read a bit more about Bella’s eco commitments here.

We also had a favor for each element, and for paper, we chose a mini kraft paper bag tied off with a blue satin bow. The possibilities are endless for what to include inside!

This BHLDN dress, with its intricate rickrack, pleating, and trim, was perfectly evocative of folded paper details. Jennifer’s neatly braided updo echoed the dress lines nicely, don’t you think? We also loved the “paper” cake, with its sharply-punched eyelet pattern.

Ready for the piece de resistance of the paper set? That would be the masterful bouquet crafted by Jenny of The Crimson Poppy. It’s almost too good to believe, right? Yes, all of those gorgeous blooms are individually crafted from paper. Love this bouquet? Hold tight, because you’ll have a chance to win one in just a bit!

Lastly, we couldn’t resist setting our paper address against some fluffy paper poms, courtesy of Pom Love.

Moving on to cotton! First, of course, is the showstopper of the piece, and perhaps the entire magazine: the striped cotton gown from Ian Stuart.

Our favor for cotton was a sweet little cloth drawstring bag filled with pecans. We chose a patterned one, but love the simple muslin bags from here, too.

Jennifer of Ambrosia Cake Creations draped the cotton cake with a trail of spun sugar.

The minute I saw the pompom shoe clips from BHLDN, I knew they’d be perfect for this shoot — don’t they remind you of cotton bolls? And I think every bride should have a cotton boll garland decking her and her groom’s reception chairs.

Finally, we have flour! Obviously the location played into this element — we were shooting at a working cotton mill in North Carolina. The ruffled wedding gown from Vera Wang fit right in.

For our “flour” favor, biscuits were an easy choice! We wrapped these babies from Bojangles in waxed paper and tied them off with cotton twine.

Last but not least, we have the beautiful flour cake – my favorite of the trio. The coconut dusting was just perfect!

The talented vendors who made this shoot happen:

Photography: Joey + Jessica of Veil and Bow // Film processing: Richard Photo Lab // Paper florals: The Crimson Poppy // Natural florals: Floral Visions // Hair and makeup: Jennifer Ericksen // Pale blue stripe wedding gown: “Libertine” by Ian Stuart // Long ivory gown: “Fern” by Vera Wang // Short gown: “Fondant Tea Dress” by BHLDN // Pompom shoe clips: BHLDN // Paper poms: PomLove // Stationery: Bella Figura // Cotton bolls: The Cotton Man // Cakes: Ambrosia Cake Creations // Model: Directions USA

P.S. Love Joey + Jessica as much as we do? Check out their past SW features:
A lovely Charleston garden wedding
A pink and orange South Carolina wedding
A classic Biltmore wedding
The V3 cover shoot

Written with love by Emily