Honey, Bee Mine | Wedding Inspiration

It's late summer, and the air is heavy with honey bees. If they liked salt instead of sugar, they could drink from the sweat running down necks and backs, anywhere skin presses against itself. A breeze ruffles tree leaves, hair, any dress with a bit of rustle and flow. Porches and pitchers of lemonade were made for times like these. Slow times, sharing honey in common with the bees, the cool fizz of an iced drink, days broadening into the velvet of sweet summer nights. A time for shade and wide swaths of golden sunlight. A time for long slow walks, drinking freeze-pops with your sweetheart and caching stories for the cool months to come.

Imagine getting married this time of year. Take advantage of the sunlight, the dearth of rainy days. (But go inside for dinner and dancing to give your guests a bit of an A/C reprieve.) Blend lush gold tones in with the greens that surround everything, and allow flowers, hems, and hair to run a little wild because never is the earth more wild than late in summer. Pay homage to the honey bees, their slow, sultry buzzing dance, with honeycomb shapes and gauzy textures, as if the dress, the ribbons, the lighter-than-air curls could all fly away like wings. Sip cool, honey-filled drinks and eat anything made with cucumber. Let the honey in everything stick to your fingers, and stick them to the hands of your love, holding tight.

Most of all, go slow. Let the slowness help you savor the sweetness of the love that surrounds you. Steep in it, like tea, and sweeten it, and drink it in, and revel in the warmth of your perfect summertime love.

This beautiful shoot came to life as the brainchild of the amazing Gretchen Garrett of RedBird Events, helped into existence by my enthusiasm. We wanted to evoke the warmth and sweetness I describe above, the lushness of life and love in late summer, with some nods to the humble-yet-essential honey bee. The vision was almost entirely Gretchen's, and--as usual--her execution was flawless. If ever you needed a reason to hire an event coordinator, take this: Gretchen made every element for this shoot appear as if out of thin air, perfectly cohesive and magical, and, with her goddess-like networking skills, enlisted the help of some other amazing wedding pros to create this stunning end product.

I'd also like to draw attention to the fact that, since we were unable to secure a caterer for such a small job on such short notice, Gretchen and I did all the quasi-catering ourselves! She made cornbread and mixed drinks, and I made smoked salmon bites and two cold soups for shooters (cucumber-avocado and spicy gazpacho); and I'm not saying we're about to start a side business catering together or anything, but we're kind of awesome at it.

So without further ado, please enjoy more images from this amazing styled shoot. I am utterly in love with them. A complete list of vendors is at the bottom of the post--if you love their work as much as I do, please let them know! I'd like to give a special shout-out to Lauren and Ben, our sweet models, whose wedding I am very excited to photograph at the end of June 2015. Yay, Lauren & Ben!

Let me know what you love most about this shoot in the comments!

Vendors
We owe thanks to many awesome vendors who helped make this shoot a reality:

Event Planning & Design: Gretchen Garrett, RedBird Events
Ceremony Venue: Haywood Hall
Reception Venue: 214 Martin Street
Stationery: J'Marie Design Studios
Floral Design: Bowerbird Flowers
Rentals: Party Reflections
Cake: Edible Art
Gown: Astrid & Mercedes
Bridal Shop: Traditions by Anna
Menswear: Bernard's Formalwear
Hair: Primp Salonbar
Makeup: The Makeup Addict
Models: Lauren & Ben

Thank you all immensely for your beautiful work, time, and effort. You all are incredible human beings whom I'm very glad to know.

Can't get enough of this gorgeous light, and wish you could have dreamy photos like this at your wedding? Send us an email to set up a consultation!

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