A Modern Woodland Wedding Inspiration Shoot
An off-the-beaten-path venue, woodland feels, nature inspired florals and decor, a beautiful couple, plus so many more things…. it all adds up to one heck of a perfect shoot!
On a normal little Wednesday afternoon, in the peculiar little town of Peculiar, Missouri... at a venue meant for those who value peace, tranquility, flowing river sounds and the magic that can only be found off the beaten path.....A sweet little couple, at the 7-month mark of precious marriage got all dressed up as bride and groom again.
With the incredible talent of some of Kansas City's finest wedding professionals, this dream styled shoot came to life! The goal overall was to have this look woodsy with a woodland feel - to have florals that had a wild and natural look to them, to showcase how beautiful nature truly is, to shake it up with perfect pops of color, and to throw in a couple who just complete that entire vision. To say we had a success in all those things would be an understatement!
I am BEYOND THRILLED with how this inspiration shoot came together! Planning shoots like this is such a good time, and it is so rewarding to see it all come to life and to photograph every square inch of it!!
Let's start off with showing just how incredible The Barn at Riverbend truly is.... You guys. This place is unreal. Off the beaten path, it really is a hidden gem! You add in two completely in love souls and then the over-the-top-amazing design of sweet Heather with Heart + Soul Floral Design Studio.....and what you've got on your hands is P E R F E C T I O N.
Just a few shots of this venue, and their outrageously gorgeous bridal suite - I mean really. JUST LOOK. If Joanna Gaines built a wedding venue... I'm convinced it'd look like this!
Erin with Hello Lovely doing what she does so so well!
OH and their grooms quarters...? Oh ya know, just an idyllic little cabin with a quaint back deck overlooking the river... no big deal!!
OH HEY perfect (and delicious!) little cake from McLain's Bakery and the unbelievably on-point styling of Alexa with the venue, and of course, Miss Heather of Heart + Soul again!!
From here, it's, what I'd like to call...shot after shot of what you get when you team up with incredible KC vendors and a venue that you won't soon forget!
And then it was time to move all these gorgeous florals to the venues ceremony site, and let's just chat about that for a second!! Easily one of the most unique ceremony spots I've ever seen, it sits on a hill beneath tall oaks, with a wooded pathway and built-in benches made from the very trees on their property... Y'all. It's unreal!
The Barn at Riverbend has sooooo manyyyyy awesome spots for photos, I could shoot here all the live-long day! Also....if Tessa and Devin are involved again, welllll......((endless heart eyes)).
Styled and inspiration shoots are such an awesome thing, and I have to tell you how inspiring and rewarding it is to find that idyllic couple to model for you... Devin and Tessa could not have been more awesome, more beautiful, more freakin' perfect for this day! I'm so so thankful to have met them, learned a little about their sweet story, and been a part of giving these guys a fun little wedding day 2.0!
Venue // The Barn at Riverbend
Floral // Heart + Soul Floral Design Studio
Bridal Gown // Emily Hart Bridal
Hair + Makeup // Hello Lovely Salon & Spa
Rentals // Ultrapom Event Rental
Linens // BBJ Linen
Cake // McLain's Bakery
Amazing Models // Tessa + Devin W.
Devin and Tessa run a YouTube channel, y'all! All about healthy relationships, love, and marriage! You should look them up here!
An Intimate Kansas City Wedding by the River // Ashley + Joe
With multi-page handwritten vows, they took their time, they said their words, and made their promises, and in between each page flip - their hands reached again and again for one another.
A wooded trail lined with bright fuchsia flowers lead their guests to the ceremony site. A site that held a whole lot of meaning, beautiful no doubt, but for Ashley and Joe this spot was so much more than that. An intimate wooded area full of giant lush and whispering trees on a sunny day in May is the spot they stood in - hand in hand - by the river. This spot known as the confluence of where the Missouri River and the Kansas River come together, it just made sense ya see - for Ashley, a Kansas girl, and Joe, a Missouri guy - this too would be the spot they would come together, and there they promised forever.
With multi-page handwritten vows, they took their time, they said their words, made their promises, and in between each page flip - their hands reached again and again for one another. Their dear friend announced it as official, they were husband and wife and a contagious joy spread quickly across both of their faces like a wildfire. As guests cleared out it came down to the two of them, that special spot they were in, those whispering trees all around, golden evening sun and that united river by their side.
These two had one heck of a beautiful wedding day and their love story really tops the charts on the definition of beautiful!!
When a trail like this leads to where you get married.....you know it's going to be INCREDIBLE!
The amazing team behind this perfect day!
Planning + Coordination | The Veil KC
Ceremony Location | Kaw Point Park
Reception Venue | 2016 Main
Florals | Hyvee
Bridal Gown | Bride KC
DJ | Elite Sounds
Cake | Clever Cakes by Ashley
Catering | Garozzo's
Rentals | Ultrapom
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Photography | Elizabeth Ladean Photography | Instagram | Facebook
Revisit Ashley + Joe's engagement session at English Landing Park!
An Ethereal Woodsy Boho-inspired Styled Shoot
When a real life Anne of Green Gables couple teams up with a woodsy boho styled shoot, MAGIC happens
Last summer, a mega-huge idea came to fruition between myself and a dear local venue owner (turned dear friend)... Alex over at The Legacy at Green Hills. Between her epic venue and property, a simple fishing boat, a real-life and oh so perfect couple, completed with an ideal dress, exquisite florals, and so much more - this shoot became reality! And my friends.........
it is finally time to share it all with you!!
A HUGE huge hugeeee thank you to this amazing group of KC wedding pros who came together to make this shoot a dream come true:
Venue // The Legacy at Green Hills
Florals // Wild Hill Flowers
Rentals (the taplescape, glassware, flatware, chairs) // Ultrapom
Ring Box // The Mrs. Box
Cake // Adorn Cakes
Bridal Gown // Fabulous Frocks of Kansas City
Bridal Gown Designer // Garnish & Frill
Makeup // Miles Makeup
Hair // Candis Ashley Artistry
Invitation Suite // East & West Designs
Our models – Real life couple // Emily & Logan
Ultimately, I could rattle on and on about how thrilled I am to have done a shoot like this (and I am, I sooooo am)....but as always, all I can say could never compare to the real story behind the two lovebirds in these photos, who are so much more than great models, and great friends. Their story mirrors exactly what Alex and I dreamed up for this shoot.
Emily and Logan were beyond the perfect and obvious choice. Two souls who are wildly adventurous, who desperately want to sell all they own, travel the world together, and live life out of an old school teardrop pull-behind trailer. Wooded areas hold their hearts. Nature and all its glory is the biggest inspiration for them both, and in this day and age we live in - Emily and Logan constantly dream of a simplistic and nomadic approach to life. Here's their story! -
They first met when she was 12, and he was 13. Two home-schooled kids who through the forces of fate, ended up in the same home school program, the same church, the same sports, and more. Emily and Logan's story reminds many of the precious story of Anne (of Green Gables, that is) and her love, Gilbert Blythe. Though Logan never quite picked on Emily to the degree Gilbert did to Anne....their upbringings, their innocence, and their childhoods mimic that famous story.
Their friendship grew from friends, to a deep bond over those first 5 years, and by the time Emily was "allowed" to date, per her parents, at age 17, she knew her heart had been given to Logan many years before. She says "He was mine, and I, his." over and over as she retells their story.
Eight months of dating happened before these two ever even shared their first kiss. They took their time, they let every moment, every feeling, and every butterfly sink in.
In September 2009, Logan asked Emily to marry him, at a little wooded picnic, just the two of them. They said We Do, and We Will on June 5, 2010. And though their wedding day was everything they dreamed and nothing but a wonderful memory - Emily attests to the pressures most brides feel - the pressure to appease everyone else. Ideally, their real wedding would have been exactly as this stylized shoot was. Intimate, peaceful, woodsy, natural, with golden sun-setting hues in the woods, and just the two of them vowing forever.
Well, my sweet friends, here's to hoping that playing pretend wedding day in that exact setting felt like the real deal all over again!
