ombré |ˈämˌbrā| adjective

– (of a fabric) having a dyed, printed, or woven design in which the color is graduated from light to dark.

Through pinterest*, a wonderful site for collecting visual inspiration online, I found myself drawn time and time again to the many beautiful images of ombré wedding cakes. There is something so captivating about the gradual, almost imperceptible change of color. I had a prom dress in high school that was yellow at the top and purple at the bottom, and somewhere in the middle the color change occurred, but it would’ve been impossible to pinpoint the exact spot. It was lovely.

Well, back in October, my friend Honey (owner/planner/designer extraordinaire at Honeydew Events) and I met up for a quick coffee date, and while chatting about life, business, and ordinary things, we came to realize that we were both interested in doing a stylized wedding shoot. I threw out the idea of incorporating my ever-growing love for all things ombré, and we were off on a journey to build something beautiful. After months of planning, crafting, and contacting vendors, the details finally all came together and the results are all contained within this single blog post.

I could write for days about all of the projects and ideas we came up with, but Honey, Mrs. DIY, will be sharing some tutorial posts in the coming months for many of our DIY elements. Lucky you! Less confusing tutorials from this DIY-challenged lady. :)

Before I continue, I have to give thanks to the many incredible vendors that contributed their time and talents to this shoot. Without them, this project wouldn’t have been possible. This was my first inspiration shoot, and I was blown away each time a new vendor jumped on board. The venue, the Hanover Arts & Activities Center, is especially dear to me, because just about a year and half ago, I married my best friend (that’s you, Rubes) under the same giant tree on which we hung the teal, ombré mirror (see the end of this post for lots of vendor link love).

Without any further ado…I hope you enjoy, and are inspired, by this springy, teal+peach+plum, ombré wedding shoot!

Can you believe this necklace? We stumbled upon it in New York & Co. You never know where you might find something perfect.

Does this dress look familiar? Probably because it is MY wedding dress! After I wore it in my rainbow wedding the poor thing was in disarray. The bottom was covered in mud (yay for rainy wedding days!) and frayed from lots of enthusiastic dancing. After a tea-length alteration by Oksana at Fashion Design (she is AMAZING, by the way), a dry clean, and a fresh steam, my dress was full of new life. Here you are ladies… a real-life example of a dress that you actually CAN shorten and wear again. :)

My brother, Russ, and my sister-in-law, Jenny, were the beautiful models.  They were on the blog with their little man, Charlie, not too long ago!

They were married in 2005 and had their reception at the very same venue. Since first-looks weren’t really a thing when they got married, my brother decided it would be fun to do one at the shoot! :) He’s so darn cute.

Russ took the first look a little bit further, and completely surprised Jenny with a brand new anniversary band!! How excited does she look!?

Jenny!!!! You are so beautiful!!!

This is probably my all-time favorite photo of these two.

I could have taken pictures of Jenny for hours. She was breathtaking. Her hair and make-up was done by Joy & Jennifer of Faces by Joy, who besides being rock stars at hair/make-up, are SO much fun to work with. (Thanks Joy and Jennifer!!!)

Yessiree, those are (my attempt at…don’t laugh too hard) DIY ombré trouser socks!

Okay this might be my real favorite… :)

Twirling, twirling, twirling!

The peach + plum, watercolor invitation, and all of the escort cards and table numbers were designed by Joe of Paper Freckles. If you are in the market for original, classy, and personal wedding stationary you needn’t look any further. :)

Thank you, Party Perfect, for the white chiavari chairs! The table wouldn’t have looked nearly as marvelous without them!!

Does anyone else think the little square teacups are adorable? They remind me of Chip from Beauty and the Beast. Thanks, Classic Party Rentals of VA!! :)

DIY ombré silverware. YEP! One of my favorite details. A tutorial will be on Honey’s blog soon!!!

Um, hello you, unbelievable plum ombré wedding cake, you! I was blown away by the detail and thought put into this cake. Kara, of A Cake to Remember, put so much time into making sure she designed an ombré cake that was different than the many that have been seen all over Pinterest.  The result? Wowza.

Honey designed all of the florals for the day, including the ombré plum centerpiece on the table. She is a lady of many talents!! The flowers were perfection and we got them from the lovely folks at Vogue Flowers.  If you haven’t visited The Flower Market, you should go! They are super helpful and it smells lovely. :)

All of the furniture you see in this shoot (except for the white chiavari chairs from Party Perfect) was borrowed from a brand new shop in Ashland, VA called Thrill of the Hunt. They sell awesome up-cycled furniture, and vintage gifts, and the selection is huge! But if you see something you like, you better buy it right away, because it will be gone when you come back!

And there you have it. I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I have. So many people worked their little butts off to make this happen, and I’m honored to have been the lucky lady to capture it all. Thank you for reading, thank you for looking, and most importantly thank you for sharing my love of photography. You guys rock. Every. Single. One of you.