04/06/2026
Seven years ago hosted a workshop in Tuscany, Italy that I signed up for without looking at the description because all I wanted was to go to Italy. 🍷🇮🇹When I got there, I realized it was a planning and design retreat, and not an exclusive photography retreat… What I didn’t expect was to learn so much and to be so inspired. There’s something that’s stuck with me all these years later, and it was Manda saying that when she is planning a design it often stems from one singular element like a napkin that then influences everything else.
Fast forward to 2025 and my husband and I decided to start a rental business . There was a new world of design that I got to tap into with the wedding world & it felt like a new part of my brain got unlocked.
Over the past year, I’ve been eyeing singular elements knowing that I would want to put them together into a styled shoot one day. It started with our scalloped umbrellas that feel like Palm Springs to me.
Being a lover of arches and round elements, I knew would have to be the location because the doors at the front entrance were to die for.
Then came the chrome, the color of the year, and I knew we had to use it across each element of the set up. It felt fun, edgy, and like a big party! I just knew it would pop against the timeless, black and white elements of the venue.
Then there was the dress, I have been drooling over the Ember dress for over a year. + when I spontaneously met our model at a coffee shop, a couple months ago I just knew that she would be perfect for it. Paired with an old money pin striped suit for Nate and we’re set!
Finally, the martini tower, inspired by a baby shower theme "a tini one is on the way" that I saw while planning for the little boy who's growing inside my tummy. Was it risky to do a styled shoot at 36 weeks pregnant?
Absolutely.
But if there's one thing I wanna teach my son it's that you should always follow your dreams, no matter how hard or challenging it may get. When you surround yourself with incredible people, they will always show up for you. Friday truly was such testament of that seeing everybody come together to help bring this vision for life. They physically lifted when I couldn't & worked so hard to make it perfect!
God was sowing the seeds of this shoot for years and I didn't even realize it until I started editing photos and reflecting. He's always working, way before you even know what He is architecting for your future
The VENDORS who made it happen:
Photographer / Design
Venue
Florist
Rentals
HMUA .hairmua
Dress
Tan .esthetics
Content Creation
Cake
Stationary .designstudio
Photobooth
Models
