As little girls, we all dreamed of what our someday wedding would be like, didn’t we? Maybe you acted it out in the backyard with Mr. Bear officiating, your dolls in grand attendance, a paper napkin on your head as the veil, Butler (the dog) standing in for the groom, and teeny-tiny wild flowers you picked from the grass to carry. Maybe you envisioned something with sparkles, something sweet and covered in ruffles, maybe you hoped that the little boy down the street would one day be your handsome groom. We all dreamed of our someday wedding in some form or another.
When I first laid eyes on this styled wedding shoot from Danielle Pasternak Wedding Coordinator (the very same shoot that won her a trip to the Backstage Bridal Pro Academy later this year), I knew it was as if a little girl’s dream wedding had come to life before her very eyes. Complete with miniature cakes and cookies, ice cold chocolate milk, the boy of her dreams from down the block, and Mama’s sparkly gold pumps for good luck. It was a return to innocence filled with nothing but pretty, grace and fabulous. Danielle, along with an amazing group of talented vendors including Kim Winey Photography, Maggpie Vintage Rentals, Central Park Flowers, Frosted and Momental Designs, brought what every little girl dreams of as her wedding to life.
Today, I would love for each of you who read this blog to do something for me. Are you ready? I want you to think back to that time as a little girl when you were picturing your wedding someday. As you look over these images and read Danielle’s beautiful description of this shoot, I’d love for each of you to relive and relove your vision all over again :) Enjoy!!
{The Concept from Danielle Pasternak} Graceful and fabulous. When I first read those words, about a million ideas went running through my head. They are such relative terms and ones that could truly be interpreted hundreds of different ways. The concept I decided to run with came about during a conversation with some fellow industry professionals.
A big trend we are seeing in the wedding world are miniature-sized items with a nod to our childhood. Finger foods, cake pops, mashed potato stations, and cupcakes are all starting to wipe out seven-layer cakes and twice baked potatoes. Why is this happening? I see all of these items as things that provided comfort in our youth. So, what better way to portray the current trends of the wedding industry married with the words of Fabulous and Graceful than to view a wedding from a young girl’s point-of-view. I like to think of this photo shoot as her dream wedding… some day.
The full tablescape came together using vintage china pieces, stunning gold flatware, mismatched chairs and stemware along with Grandma’s lace doilies to represent the Bride. The Groom’s taste came through in the centerpieces with candles, wooden crates, a large branch structure and some Spanish moss. To add some more sparkle and coordinate with the gold flatware, we glittered a wooden “3” to represent the table number. To greet each guest was a lovely cupcake because sometimes dessert can come first. On the menu for dinner was petite shrimp, grilled cheese bites with cream of tomato sips, a little spaghetti and meatball and a spoonful of mac.
The sweetheart table was designed using a vintage coffee table (just the right size) and a blush pink, vintage loveseat. The flowers were incorporated to match the bouquet of the Bride while candles were added to the groom’s side to tie in to the larger tablescape. Plates were raised onto small stands and two bite-sized cookies awaited their arrival.
After dinner, there would be some chatting and discussing held in the Milk and Cookie Lounge. More vintage sofas were brought in as well as a stack of old suitcases that were formed to make a coffee table. We had several different kinds of cookies to be enjoyed with a cold glass of white and/or chocolate milk.
Once the guests had their fill of cookies, they were invited to share a dance with their loved one and indulge in the sweet display complete with cake pops and miniature cakes. This is also where we decided to use old, metal letterpress letters to spell out “Grace & Fab”.
Overall, this shoot was truly about the innocent and soft views of what a wedding should be through the eyes of a child. To me, there isn’t anything more graceful or fabulous than that.
{Materials Used} One of my favorite parts about this shoot is that not one dollar was spent to create it. As a coordinator, I love bringing teams of people together and we were able to use items that we all had already. I created the table number from items in my craft closet: Mod Podge, gold glitter, and a wooden number “3”. I was able to use the same Mod Podge and gold glitter to add some sparkle to a pair of my nude pumps. I did learn that working with Mod Podge and glitter could be messy and incredibly addicting. At one point, I decided to just start adding glitter to everything in my kitchen. Thank goodness Mr. Blue Eyes (my man) came home in time to save some of it (including our pup).
The photographer, Kim Winey of Kim Winey Photography, did an outstanding job of capturing all of the details. Maggie Farrell of Maggpie Vintage Rentals was kind enough to allow us to use her showroom space as well as all of her amazing vintage pieces within it. The beautiful hand-painted stationery was graciously donated by Kristy Rice of Momental Designs and the floral centerpiece, bouquet and boutonniere were donated by Central Park Flowers. Julie, of Frosted, created some lovely (and tasty!) sweets for us and even included some extra for us all to take home and enjoy! Overall, this shoot was a blast to work on and the opportunity to work with such a team was a dream come true for myself.
Danielle’s words, “This shoot was truly about the innocent and soft views of what a wedding should be through the eyes of a child” have stuck with me since I read them the first time. She said after that that there wasn’t anything more graceful or fabulous to her than that. I couldn’t agree with her words more. There is nothing more beautiful than love through the eyes of a child. A wedding day would be no different. It’s simple, and lovely, maybe with a touch of something sparkly. But it’s simple, filled with only the things that matter like chocolate milk and cookies, and of course, the boy who stole her heart. Thank you, Danielle, (and all the vendors who made this shoot beautiful), for giving us this glimpse into a child’s heart and mind and for reminding us what weddings really should be all about. xoxo
Danielle Pasternak Wedding Coordinator is a fabulous member of our Vendor Boutique. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
This is so stinkin’ adorable! Beautiful photography and styling, my goodness! Looks so dreamy and nostalgic, I just love it.
Thank you so much, Shannon!!!! xoxoxo
OHMYGOSH this is the most beautiful / adorable / precious / stunning thing i’ve ever seen!!!!!! what fun and creativity!!!
I think we had the same reaction to this shoot, you and I :) Thanks so much, girl!! xoxoxo
So happy and grateful to see this shoot on here! It was a great collaboration and I’m so thankful to everyone who was a part of it! xo.
Thank YOU!!! It was an absolute honor, blessing and dream come true to share this shoot and your work today! You and all the vendors who made it happen did such an AMAZING job! I can’t stop looking at the photos. Just beautiful. Thank you so much for allowing me to be part of it! xoxoxo
These munkins are ADORABLE! And your new profile photo to the right there is STUNNING. Of course. You’re such a babe :)
Thank you, Rhi!!! On both counts ;)
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! Danielle you did such an beautiful job stylizing this :) I love the “little rascals” feel of this! Amazing work.
She did an AMAZING job on the styling of this shoot! I can’t stop looking at the photos :) Thanks for reading, Heather!! xoxo
All the comments above have said it all! This is a truly lovingly styled and beautifully photographed shoot!
Thank you so much, Lissa! xoxo
[...] I’m loving… This inspiration shoot featured on Heart Love Weddings is dreamy, nostalgic and beautifully [...]
[...] the goodness we shared on the blog this week! And boy, was there a bunch of goodness! :) First up, the most beautiful/adorable/priceless/stunning shoot I have ever seen! A little girl’s dream wedding… someday, complete with only the things [...]
Wooow these photos are sooo amazing – the kids are sooo adorable you just want to eat them up :D Love this series :D
So, so true :) Thanks so much for stopping by! xo
[...] Photos Kim Winey Photography via Source [...]
Where did you purchase the little girls dress? It’s absolutely beautiful and fits my wedding theme so perfectly!!
Hi Angelica!
The little girl’s dress was purchased through the Etsy Shop: GuRliGlAm :)
Hope this helps make your wedding day dreams come true!!
Warmly,
Alexandra
Hi! I want to order this flowergirl dress. Who should I contact and is she still making these?
Hi Jenna,
Yes, she is!! Here’s a link (also available in the post itself at the bottom) to the Etsy Shop and Seller: Gurliglam
Best of luck!!
Warmly,
Alexandra