Happy Friday! I'm so excited to be able to share the second part of the photo shoot I did last Sunday with my sister-in-laws. Please welcome the newest Mrs. Todero to the blog! Arianna and Zack married in May of this year in a beautiful ceremony at 30 North in Pontiac. For this shoot we decided to go a little bolder with color choices and still make it super girly which is Arianna's favorite. I also decided to enhance the "we're in a fancy garden" feel with a thrifted silver tea set.  Here's the original inspiration board that we came up with together:

And here's how it came alive with photography from Sonshine Images.  Arianna is gorgeous as ever with her hair loosely back. And her headband? Turns out her dress originally was one shoulder and she decided she'd prefer strapless for her wedding so she had her seamstress cut it off. So glad she saved it though, how lovely is it as a head piece?

We made the moss covered table numbers for Arianna's wedding, they are available to be used for your wedding or we can DIY your own version with different color base or font for the numbers. 

The flowers used in this shoot were super affordable, all from the grocery store (Kroger) or from the bush in front of my work apartment. They feature purple gladiolas, white hydrangea, pinkish-purple mums, pink statice, blue-purple limonium, and a giant hosta leaf. The table arrangement also includes a couple of white dahlias. All came to nine dollars total!

 Gladiolas may just be my new favorite wedding flower for this time of year, a huge bunch is less than 3 bucks. If you did a large gladiola centerpiece (easy to arrange yourself!) you'd need 2 bunches so 6-8 dollar investment, on half of your tables, say you have 24 (240 person wedding) you're looking at $70-100 plus vases for half of your centerpieces. And they come in a wide variety of colors. 

What's your favorite part? The flowers or her dress strap turned head piece? That lovely braid across her crown? Do you have suggestions for my next shoots or want to do your own Flip the Dress shoot? Let me know!

Sources:
Flowers: Kroger Floral Department, arranged by HT Events
Linens: C & N Party Rentals, Royal Oak, MI
Photography: Michelle Todero, Sonshine Images

 When I started dreaming up this business I decided that I would hold as many promo photo shoots as I could but I wanted them to be collaborative in nature; not just my ideas but working with the "bride" to incorporate their ideas in a manner such that I would collaborate with YOU as a client of mine. So while brainstorming I came up with the idea of a "Flip the Dress" series where former brides would work with me to design a tablescape and theme for a photo shoot and then we'd make it happen. I just needed to find someone that would want to play dress up, dream up an alternate wedding theme and then make it all come together, her in her dress, with a table set up. Fun for the girl, fun for me, plus pictures for this website so you can see what I am capable of. 

So who would go first? Well....when I married Vince I also married into his family, his large family, which has been amazing. He is the oldest of five kids and two of his brothers also got married recently, in fact we had THREE Todero weddings from September 2011 to May 2013. This means I not only got four new siblings but also two more beautiful newly Mrs. Todero's to enjoy in the journey of life together. So I asked them if they'd be down to play and of course they said yes because they are just that awesome. 


Today I bring you Mrs. Michelle Todero! Michelle is a wonderfully creative soul, there's basically nothing that she can't do when it comes to artistic endeavors. She is a photographer and has her own business Sonshine Images. We came up with a "Green Goddess" theme and I developed this inspiration board: 

So greens, gold,  peach and pink were the plan. I also wanted to incorporate some unique elements in the florals, hence the artichokes and red cabbage in the centerpiece. And Michelle being a photographer, she agreed to take the photos and her husband Trevor took the ones that she is in. So without further ado, the images!

So what do you think? Love the artichokes or hate them? Michelle will be posting these and probably a few more on her Facebook page so be sure to go there and show her some love! 

Sources:
Flowers: Purchased at the Farmington Farmer's Market and arranged by HT Events. 
Linens: C&N Party Rentals in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Photography: Michelle Todero, Sonshine Images.