Wedding Styled Shoot at Whitehurst Gallery

The Whitehurst Gallery in Tarpon Springs, Florida is a beautiful venue on it's own. When some local photographers reached out asking me to assist with planning a styled photoshoot at this venue, I knew I needed a simple design that wouldn't compete with or take away from the natural beauty of the venue.

The Design Process

This was the inspiration the photographers shared with me for the photoshoot. What I gathered from this inspo board is that they wanted a very monochromatic look. They emphasized that the champagne tower was very important to them which meant I needed to incorporate it into my design.

From there, we got to work.

I started by sourcing the chandeliers shown in the top right inspo photo. I found some that were awfully similar but ended up not being available on our photoshoot date. I always like to incorporate up and coming wedding trends so I thought of including some table lamps into my design. I thought "what if I could find a chandelier inspired table lamp?" Leave it to Amazon to have exactly what I needed. The lamps we found were incredible and fit the design perfectly.

Working on linens and tabletop rentals was a fairly ease fete as I've worked with so many incredible vendors over the years. Connie Duglin Linens and Oak & Ash provided some impeccable rentals for this photoshoot and I couldn't be more thankful for their partnership.

I also needed a stationery designer for menus and place cards. I reached out to Linen & Letter who were more than happy to provide for us! They also included some incredible linen signage that we tied to the back of the car. Seriously, could not recommend them more!

One of the last vendors I was looking for was a floral designer. When it comes to a styled photoshoot, floral design is still a beast of it's own. While a shoot is not as large scale as a full wedding day is, there is still so much prep that goes on behind the scenes. I reached out to my Instagram community asking if there were any florists that wanted to partner on this shoot. Luckily, Bustle & Blooms was more than happy to contribute to the day. She not only provided some of the best florals I've ever seen but also some much needed moral support!

One of the last pieces that the photographers wanted to incorporate was a vintage white convertible for some getaway photos. Unfortunately, the closest I could find was in Orlando and it wasn't QUITE what we were looking for. So we compromised and found a more modern white convertible - a Porche 911 - that was available to rent for a photoshoot. This was comical in itself because renting the car meant I got to drive it around all day. I spent the morning picking up final rentals with my sister/assistant following me in my car because, let's be honest, a Porch 911 isn't meant for hauling stuff.

Shoot Day

Photoshoot day is here. My car is packed to the brim with rentals and I've got the keys to the Porche (lol). Amazon delivered the chandelier lamps with seconds to spare. And we're on our way.

Bernie at Whitehurst Gallery greeted us with open arms and a warm smile. She couldn't have been sweeter to us all day long. She helped us with tables and chairs and getting a lay of the land.

This photoshoot was in late April... in Florida. To say it was hot is an understatement. With the sun beating down on us, we got to work. Hauling tables, chairs and rentals up to the rooftop. Come to find out, each of the hanging crystals on the chandelier lamps needed to be hung one by one. So my sister/assistant got to work on those.

When the design came together, I was speechless. It was stunning and I couldn't believe it was something I designed and put together.

The "no-see-ums" were out to get us that day but, judging by the photos, we won.

*All photos by Pine & Forge