Blueberry Bridal Luncheon and "Fall In Love" Reception: Green Wedding Styled Shoot Challenge 2020

On September 26th, 2020, the Green Wedding Guild held their first Sustainable Wedding Styled Shoot Challenge at Windy Hill Farm in North Carolina. We had four teams participating, each led by a Guild planner who created a wedding style while keeping to a set of sustainable guidelines. The guidelines are as follows:

• Flowers must be sourced locally and seasonally, and no floral foam may be used.

• No “new” items may be purchased for this shoot. Decor may be rented, borrowed, or thrifted.

• Attire & accessories may be pre-loved, from a rental company, or from a sustainable designer.

• Food (if used) should be seasonally & locally inspired.

• Stationery (if used) should contain recycled content, be sourced from sustainably managed forests, or in some other way promote sustainability (eg: seed paper, bamboo paper, etc.).

Each team created a beautiful and unique look, and we were blown away by each design! In this series of posts we want to share the styles created by each team, and some of the decisions our planners made to accomplish their look.

Blueberry Inspired Bridal Luncheon and "Fall In Love" Reception Styled by An Event to Remember

Photography by Rose Trail Images

This was such a great shoot to be a part of, especially during this time of Covid, to come together as a group with all the same green wedding thoughts. It helped to feed and fuel all of our creative juices as we came together to make a great look!

I was able to set up three different looks for this shoot. The location was a great inspiration, as well as the time of year. Fall is such a great time to get married: the colors are beautiful, the weather can be great, and it already has such a natural warmth that you can build off of.

Windy Hill Farm has such personality! It has, first of all, a great team that is so personable and easy to work with that you look forward to going there every time! Happiness is contagious, and that is them for sure - not to mention the happiness that is instantly brought to you when you see a baby goat running about and calling for its mom! On top of that, this outdoor location has such great spots for so many different look set ups. I was immediately drawn to the blueberry patch and the upstairs bar area of the barn. I knew immediately what looks I wanted to do!

I love finding vendors who get just as excited as we are about the look we are thinking of for photos shoots. This happened when we called Cupcakes d’Amour about the blueberry patch bridal luncheon. They were so excited to do one of their most popular cakes featuring blueberries (and let me tell you, It was delicious)!

It also happened when I called Southern Vintage Table about tablescape items for all three looks. I felt like a kid in a candy store going through her shop! I love letting a good set develop based on what vendors we are using and what they have available. This also is a great tip to keep things green: you use what vendors have at their disposal and keep things seasonal.

Southern Vintage Table had these great sets of fall color napkins with different patterns that became the inspiration for the “fall in love style”. They MADE the table! Pairing with great place setting sets from American Party Rentals. That on Windy Hill’s great tables made for a eclectic yet elegant look.

Sage and Swift did great food displays and items that were seasonal and beautiful.

We used recycled paper for the stationary sets. I actually love recycled paper more than others because of the texture and the great added look it gives!

For the florals, my favorite place to shop for flowers is the good ol' farmers market! It's seasonal, beautiful, so colorful, and supports small businesses most of the time. We used these for this style shoot and I think it was a perfect pairing.

Another favorite of mine was a copper bar set that I actually had in house. That became the main item for the upstairs bar. Everything that was there was borrowed or reused. It turned out perfect!

Of course, with any shoot though, one of the most important parts was having a great photographer. WOW, did I have a great one! Rose Trail Images came through for me and was so helpful and excited about everything! She made everything look even better. All in all, everything that I had envisioned came to a reality and I loved every bit of my team!

Vendor Team

Venue: Windy Hill Farm

Planning & Florals: An Event to Remember

Photographer: Rose Trail Images

Rentals: Southern Vintage Table, American Party Rentals

Catering: Sage & Swift

Cake: Cupcakes d'Amour

Video: Bovara Studios