Colorful, Spring Queer Wedding Styled Shoot at Sarabande

We had a BLAST creating this colorful styled shoot at one of Chicago’s newest venues in Roscoe Village - Sarabande. “What is a styled shoot?” you might ask: this is where a team of various wedding vendors come together to showcase their talents to add to their portfolios. Basically, we put together a pretend aspirational wedding- with all the creative aspects we've been itching to create.  Then a photographer captures our work and all the vendors get the images to use on their websites or on social media to attract the clients they want. For this shoot, I wanted to showcase a queer wedding since I didn't have that many in my portfolio and it aligns with my love is love ideology. I also wanted to create something colorful, ethereal and filled to the brim with flowers!! Special thanks to all the talented vendors who helped us make this shoot come to life- especially Ed and Aileen Photography . Will go more into detail about the vendors below!

For this shoot, I knew I wanted to create an epic statement piece for a groom to wear. So I created an over-the-shoulder-Boutonniere. This was a first for me! It was so fun to make.  Essentially, it's glued flowers on a strip of faux leather and then pinned to the jacket.  I was happy to see it looked just as fresh at the end of the day and completely intact- so it would definitely pass the test for a real full wedding day! 

Flowers used in the over-the-shoulder-boutonniere were phael anthura shanghai orchids, peach ranunculus, pieres japonica, feather ferns, germini gerponi disco, along with some other elements.

For the ceremony arch, I wanted to create something that would envelop the couple- like a fairytale setting they could walk into and sit amongst the flowers.  

When first dreaming up this shoot, I immediately contacted Ed and Aileen Photography and was so happy they said yes! They are so talented! They had the couple doing the most interesting poses, incorporated special lighting and they just know how to have fun and make everyone feel at ease.  

I also worked closely with Bridget Mary Weddings & Events  to help bring this shoot to life. Planners do so much for these things! She coordinated all the other vendors, helped select chairs, napkins, stationary, drinkware, silverware, suits, jewelry and more!  She wrote out the timeline, picked up and dropped off the rental items and is now working on submitting this shoot to all sorts of magazines and online publications.  She also brought in lunch for everyone which was much needed on this busy day! A styled shoot takes about 8 hours from start to finish.  

For the tablescape, we wanted to create a dynamic “floral meadow” down the center of the table. This was made without floral foam, using low dishes with pin frogs. We then covered the low dishes with moss and greenery to appear as if they are all connected and growing from the table. This showcases how much further we can take dinner table centerpieces - going beyond simple garlands or individual centerpieces.

We added colorful, tall taper candles and pleated clear votives. The tablescape look was completed with textured glassware by The Festive Frog, gorgeous paper goods by Amore Creative, and fun napkins by Windy City Linens.

We designed the centerpiece with snapdragons, gladiator allium, ranunculus, stock, spider mums, germinis, pieres japonica, peach and lavender roses, and orchids.

The epic cake by Bittersweet Bakery needed a breathtaking setting to go with it. So we created another “meadow” with the same technique we described for the tablescape.

We got so lucky with the best models! They were so fun to work with and they were up for anything!

A big thank you to all of the vendors who worked with me on this shoot. I hope we get to be a team again soon for a real wedding! 

Vendor Team:

Planner: Bridget Mary Weddings & Events 

Photo: Ed and Aileen Photography

Florals: Romee Willow Florals

Venue: Sarabande

Makeup: Laura Elizabeth Beauty

Tableware: The Festive Frog

Linens: Windy City Linens

Bakery: Bittersweet Bakery

Stationery: Amore Creative

Rings/Jewelry: MadBeret

Chairs: Tablescapes

Suits: The Suit Shop