Ever since I attended Abby Grace‘s workshop last fall (check out that post here!), I have had a desire to team up with other creative dreamers in southwest Virginia for a styled shoot!  A styled shoot that reflected a little bit of the understated elegance of the south, a whole lot of creative talent, and (hopefully) a little bit of inspiration for future LRP couples!

But honestly, I was a little scared of this process.  How do I even begin to coordinate something like this?  How do I find amazing creatives (and a beautiful venue) who might want to collaborate with little old me??  And if it weren’t for our amazing NRV Tuesday’s Together chapter of The Rising Tide Society, this swoon-worthy styled shoot never would have happened!  (P.S. if you are a creative, a maker, an artist – or if you aspire to be – and you don’t have a community of likeminded creatives who support and encourage you, you should definitely get involved in The Rising Tide Society and your local Tuesday’s Together group!  That’s another post for another day, but I will just say that this group has inspired me, encouraged me, and my little business would not be where it is today if it weren’t for our local Tuesday’s Together group!  I am so, so grateful for this community!)

Through our Tuesday’s Together meetings, I met Emily of Emily In Love.  Emily was gracious enough to agree to take care of the planning – and y’all, she is the one who made it all happen!  She coordinated schedules, she reached out to this amazing team of creatives, and she took care of details I never even would have thought of!!  She is AMAZING and I cannot thank her enough for everything she did to bring this vision of romantic, southern chic wedding inspiration to life.

And the amazing ladies who shared their time and talent with me on a Sunday afternoon?! Y’all, they blew me away.  Every single detail was swoon-worthy!  Before you skip right to the pretty, go check out these incredibly talented creatives via their web sites and instagram!!

planning by Emily in Love (@emilyinlove_)

hosted by Sundara Events (@sundaraevents)

hair + makeup by Melinda Cumbee of CharMarie Salon (@mlchairstylist)

florals by Cara Cait Creative (@caracaitcreate)

invitation suite calligraphy + watercolor art by Otis and Millie Co. (@otis_and_millie)

cake by Fresh Baked (@freshbakedva)

dress by Casablanca Bridal (@casablancabridal), on loan from Chantilly Lace Bridals (@chantillylacebridals)

bridal jewelry on loan from Kent Jewelers (@kent.jewelers)

Last, but absolutely not least, a huge thank you to my dear friends Laura and James for being our models for the day!  It was so important to me that our models were a real couple, with a real marriage and a real love and devotion to each other, because my style of photography depends on the authentic relationship between the people I have the honor of photographing!  It’s that relationship that results in images that are more than just “pretty” – images that are truly meaningful, and beautiful.  These two have been married seven years, and I love how their genuine relationship makes these images so much more than just “pretty.”  So thank you, Laura and James, for being part of this shoot with us!

I was so in love with these florals by Caitlin of Cara Cait Creative and these perfect watercolor + gold calligraphy invitation suites by Brynn of Otis and Millie Co!  Ahh, all the heart eyes!

and this Casablanaca Bridals dress?!  It had me swooning from the moment I saw it hanging on the rack at Chantilly Lace!

The color inspiration for our shoot was cool mint, soft summer peach, and gold – and I loved how the rose gold accents in these wedding bands from Kent Jewelers tied in perfectly with the peach florals!

Y’all.  I. was. swooning over this tablescape that Emily and Cari created!  SO stunning!  It makes me long for one last warm summer evening with my favorite people!

and Brynn just whipped up all of these watercolor signs like it was nothing!  aren’t they so adorable?!

Brynn also did the place cards!  #perfectlittledetails! 🙂

And I fell in love with Sundara’s beautiful collection of vintage dinner plates!  I loved the heirloom feel they added to the tablescape!

Cue our perfect models!  I’m blessed to call these two friends, and I’m so grateful they were willing to be our models!  They seriously could not be any cuter together.  And that swoon-worthy gown was even more stunning on Laura!

Isn’t Laura so pretty??  Love, love, love her hair & makeup by my favorite stylist in the world, Melinda!

GAH, I love this centerpiece!!!

And of course this bouquet!  love those dainty ribbons!

This next shot under the willow tree was one of the first portraits we took and it is one of my favorites!!

See what I mean?  They’re just adorable.  They make it too easy on me!

Another favorite!

Another favorite!  I can’t help it, I have so many!

Gosh, I love this next one, too.  So quiet and romantic! <3

These two do a lot of giggling together… and I. love. it.

if you ask me, this next shot belongs on a canvas!  all the heart eyes!

Sundara Events has this super adorable wicker cart – how stinking cute is that for a cake + champagne table?!  (also, I’m in love with this shot of James & Laura on the right.)

Brynn’s handiwork again with this adorable pop, fizz, clink sign!

Doesn’t this cake look amazing??

Y’all, I LOVED this porch with its perfect white porch swing!  ahhh, give me beautiful southern porches all day long, every day. <3

these two… the perfect way to end the shoot! <3

Friends, thanks checking out all of the gorgeousness that these talented ladies created!!  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!  🙂