Behind the Scenes at An Adventure in Cheshire
An Alice in Wonderland Inspired Styled shoot
As a KWP intern no day looks the same – this has stood true throughout our entire styled shoot project. As an intern at Kristen Weaver Photography, our final project entailed planning and executing an inspired wedding shoot. My partner, Colette and I loved the idea of framing our styled shoot around the Disney original film, Alice in Wonderland. If Alice got married today, what would that look like? That is how “An Adventure in Cheshire” came about.
Throughout the last 6 months Colette and I were constantly throwing ideas at each other, what would “An Adventure in Cheshire” look like for us? After months of working on our styled shoot it was truly rewarding to see everything come to light. Throughout the creative process Kristen was a great resource for making our ideas come to fruition. We wouldn’t have been able to bring our ideas together without our amazing team! In the end, Colette and I walked away with experience that we will take with us for a lifetime.
Getting to know each of these vendors and surrounding ourselves by such creative individuals was such an amazing experience!
The Venue: Cypress Grove
I was desperately searching for an English Tea garden in Florida – I was shocked to find that there was nothing of the sorts. That’s when I finally discovered Cypress Grove. What caught my eye about this location is there rose garden, the beautiful estate house, and of course the grand estate. Working with their planning team was a breeze and they were extremely accommodating! We were able to create the perfect tea party aesthetic we were wanting for An Adventure in Cheshire.
The Cake: Florida Sweets & Co
Nicole from Florida Sweets & Co was the perfect person to bring our ideas to light! A major part of the Alice in Wonderland story is the mad tea party scene. This is what we wanted to portray, and when we proposed the idea to Nicole she jumped on board immediately. Her vision included a simple yet elegant one tiered cake and small cupcakes to go into the tea table sets. Florida Sweets & Co was an amazing partner to work with and I couldn’t have imagined a better cake fit for our shoot!
Stationary: Paper Goat Post
Colette and I went back and forth on different stationary companies that we could use for our final shoot. That’s when it came to Colette – a few months prior she shadowed a small stationary company based in Orlando named Paper Goat Post. When we reached out they were more than happy to help our vision come to life! PGP were everything we had wanted for our shoot and they were so easy to collaborate with!
Florals: Bluegrass Chic
From the very start I knew that I wanted our shoots to include a lot of different varieties and colors. Michelle was a great help throughout our entire process – we even asked her to shed light and use her creativity throughout the project! Her team created beautiful bouquets, table runners, and even a alpaca wreath!
The Rentals:
Colette and I were lucky enough to work with two different rental companies for our Adventure in Cheshire shoot. The first being RW Style – which is partners with the Cypress Grove location! They were so easy to work with and had many mid century furniture pieces. The wooden dresser that we chose made a statement and worked perfectly as a dessert bar! The mismatched velvet couches that they provided us made our shoot more interesting and proved fitting for our storybook aesthetic.
The other rental company we partnered with was The Vintage Dish. After stumbling upon their website, we could not have found a better match for our vision. The beautiful china plates and tea cups she provided us with were exactly what we were looking for! All the dish rentals went together perfectly and we couldn’t have done with without the help of Kristin- The Vintage Dish owner! She was so helpful in the assembling process and patient throughout the chaos of the day!
The Look: Model, Dress, Makeup
When choosing the model for our shoot, we had the perfect vision in mind- blonde and blue eyed, resembling Alice. After being in contact with Modern Muse Models, we found our perfect match. Lane embodied Alice to a T and was so fun to work with! Her youthful look and stunning blue eyes photographed so well! We got to meet up with Lane prior to the shoot as she tried on dresses at The Bridal Finery. Jackie from The Bridal Finery helped us throw together a mini fashion show, leading us to the perfect dress! The free-flowing material and floral detailing was to die for and we knew it had to be the one for our Alice for her Adventure in Cheshire!
When it came to makeup and hair, we worked with Dorka Artistry, who has worked with Kristen and the interns many of times for styled shoots. Dorka is such a dream to work with and always does an amazing job! The more natural makeup she chose for Lane complimented her so well! We truly loved how all the elements came together.
The Alpacas
The theme that we chose for our shoot gave us a lot of room to play! We went back in forth over what other exciting element we should include to make the shoot that much more engaging! Leave it to Kristen to find Alpacas in the matter of hours! PSILOVEYOU Productions arrived to scene with two alpacas and a llama in hand. Their team was so patient and helpful with the handling of the animals. They were truly the star of the show as everyone gathered to take pictures and pet them. It was such a unique and entertaining experience that we won’t forget!
Videography: Captured By Elle Photo + Video
From the beginning, Colette and I knew we wanted to work with a videographer for our shoot. Elle’s work is truly beautiful and she was so open to taking on the task. We gave Elle the creative freedom to film the shoot in the way she best saw fit. Elle and her partner Jerzy definitely delivered and the video turned out flawless! Elle said they tried something a little different from what she typically does when filming and we loved it! Take your own Adventure in Cheshire as we have provided Elle’s video below!
