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I first conceived of this shoot only a short moment after Thanksgiving had ended.  This year we are hosting Christmas dinner for all of our family members and I wanted to get a jump start on all that needed to be done to prep for Christmas.  Naturally getting a tree was a first on my To Do list and in my brief search I quickly become enchanted with the idea of a cut your own Christmas tree farm.  This desire quickly spilled into, how amazing would this sort of a locale be as a holiday wedding spot, and such, this utterly stunning Holiday wedding inspiration shoot was born!  Together with my favorite duo, New York wedding photographer Melissa Kruse Photography & hair + makeup artist Eden Di Bianco, what was an incredibly tight timeline, found all the moving parts beautifully falling into place with ease, save for one Nor’easter!  The essence for the shoot as a whole was organic boho chic.  The second we conceived of the whole vibe for the shoot, I knew the perfect dress and there was no doubt in mind it simply had to be this one alone, the maddeningly gorgeous ‘Elizabeth’ from Monique Lhuillier‘s most recent Fall 2015 Collection.  A wedding dress that truly has no match, an overall tone of rose gold to the gown with hand detailing from top to bottom, an elegant high neckline & a winter bride’s best friend, long sleeves.  Whats more, this stunning gown comes with a unique detail point, a tulle cape like feature of a wing softly falling from each shoulder.  We wanted our groom to have a more modern, dare I even say hipster like feel, with equal polish and sophistication to our Elizabeth gown, as such, dark wash cuffed blue jeans, indigo blazer, red plaid shirt & bowtie were the perfect combination giving our groom a rugged yet totally on point feel.  Speaking of on point, believe it or not, my favorite attribute to the shoot as a whole, was never in the original game plan!  The day before the shoot, our gorgeous model bride and I had a fitting, got to discussing this and that when it came up that she also dances pointe ballet!  I knew without a shadow of a doubt how amazing the added touch of pointe ballet could be, et voilà, quite possibly one of my favorite images yet to date was born!  The rest of the styling to our holiday wedding was a lush mix of modern & vintage pieces, from 200 year old china & retro wood crates to modern etched champagne glasses & chevron wood and metal table.  The final 2 pieces of the puzzle were blooms & cake.  Succulents & blood red peonies were the perfect holiday hues without being too literal, while we did away with a traditional wedding cake in favor of a more unique twisted rum cake, a true holiday treat!  I may be biased, but this is easily one of my ultimate favorite inspiration shoots ever, an earthy yet wildly polished bohemian holiday wedding, one that gives a solid nod to the season without dripping in literal displays of it.

Parting Words ~ First and foremost, I would love to give a big thanks and hugs to Melissa & Eden, my fellow creative crackheads.  Only you guys would see what I see, throw caution into the wind and get it done no matter the time frame, for the sake of making magic.  To our ‘bride & groom’ Valerie Hornbach & Rafe Andrews, you both were utter stars, a true pleasure to work with and get to know, and I adored how well you guys took a freezing day and turned it into something simply beyond.  To anyone reading this looking for folks to work with in the future, I could not recommend these 4 enough, seriously.

Vendor Love

Photographer: Melissa Kruse Photography | Hair + Makeup: Eden Di Bianco | Wedding Dress + Veil + Headband: Monique Lhuillier | Creative + Props + Styling + Cake + Floral: Storyboard Wedding | Locale: Privately Owned Tree Farm