MOODY BREWERY WEDDING SHOOT
THE PLANNING PROCESS
Last December, I teamed up with a phenomenal group of vendors to create a rustic, winter inspired styled shoot at Pensacola’s (then) newest brewery Odd Colony. As soon as I found the newest brew spot on Instagram, I quickly stalked all their progress pictures and knew I had to plan something there the second it opened! What drew me in were all of its’ moody colors and eclectic design pieces. It reminded me of a place you’d find back in San Diego or even New Orleans! So obviously I was already crushing hard on this venue. The day I met up with Kayla, my partner and photographer on this project, we both instantly started envisioning so many cool ideas to shoot with the large gallery wall, velvet couches and exposed brick backdrops. As a creative, there is such a rush when you walk into a space and can instantly feel inspired and flooded with ideas! The pictures Kayla took of the day will blow your mind, this venue is effortlessly cool and the friends who own it, their wives who designed it and every one involved at Odd Colony were so easy and kind to work with.
My goal for the shoot was to of course, think outside the box. What design elements could we choose that would allow people to see the photos and understand that it was winter related with out compromising style and design. We opted for the hunter green, a Christmas time classic, and paired it with gold and let the colors of the venue’s interior play into the look. I also decided to use deer antlers as a prop when styling because I knew that the venue had antlers in a few different areas of their design, like their beer pulls as well as a few hanging ones spread out. Using the antlers not only allowed the look to flow with the venue’s vibes but helped pull in more of that winter feel for our shoot! That’s a really important detail that I like taking into consideration whenever planning to style an event or shoot, you have to look at the overall space and what makes sense with the entire design. Having a cohesive theme will only amplify your entire look and when guests are admiring your event they’ll definitely notice!
THE DREAM TEAM
As I mentioned, I worked with a really great group of vendors on this project. Pairing up with Kayla of Kayla Nicole Photography to plan this entire shoot was so easy, as she was a great team player and just a really sweet and laid back person to work with. She was able to fill the holes if I missed anything and just showed up the day of and absolutely killed it! Her photos are so beautifully captured and she has an incredible way of shooting those in between moments that are my favorite. I can’t speak highly enough about this talented woman!
Up next is our fabulous florist! Whitney of Whitney Norris Florals took all the inspiration I sent her and completely nailed the design. I envisioned having a cloud of dried florals hanging somewhere and then doing an asymmetrical arch against the black painted wall where we’d set up a ceremony spot. The use of the dried grass and flowers gave a nice light palette against a very dark and rustic back drop, so the contrast was gorgeous! Lastly, I really wanted to do a funky bouquet that had some not so popular pieces added so that Whitney’s work would stand out against the rest and she with out another word made the funky, neutral bouquet of my dreams! I just loved working with her on this project and I would 10/10 recommend her to any one in need of an awesome florist with style that goes beyond traditional.
As for our makeup queen, we went with Meagan McNair my go to on the gulf coast! I have worked with Meagan on multiple occasions and she literally NEVER lets me down. She takes her gift of hair and makeup artistry and gives women incredible confidence! Though she had an easy model Lisa, who is a babe all the time, she applied a very romantic, glowy look to our model and it was just enough highlighting that allowed our “bride” to look complete. One thing I appreciate about Meagan is that she listens to her clients and she knew our model didn’t like heavy make up so keeping it simple but tasteful speaks volumes of her professionalism and knowledge as an artist.
Lastly for our vendor line up, we couldn’t have created the magic that we did with out the spectacular Bonne Vie Specialty. Her cake and macaroons blew my mind! Not only did she create something so beautiful from scratch but my goodness, the taste was even better! I will literally call this woman for every event I have in the future because her hard work, kindness and love for what she does tops the local cake game for me! She is based in Florida so she is perfect for handling all the downtown Pensacola clients I adore taking and seems to understand design and modern trends so well. I’m sure whatever you can imagine, this woman can bake into a cake!
EXTRAS
A few other details I wanted to note about the shoot: We also used food from Bodacious Brew. Blake, the owner of Odd Colony mentioned wanting to market morning and afternoon events at their venue so we went ahead and planned the shoot to be brunch inspired as well as Christmasy. So photographed, you’ll see Bodacious’ scrumptious quiches, one was rosemary and olive oil and the other was andouille sausage, served with fresh fruit and we paired them with two different beers from Odd Colony. Honestly, if I don’t inspire more people to start having brunch weddings after this then I don’t know where I missed because they not only looked pretty together but made for a fun and flavorful menu. To keep the brunch theme going we also brought in some classic glazed donuts from Krispy Kreme.
Listing out the details might sound like we were trying to do too much but really when you plan an event there are so many little things that go into making it special. I think collectively we all pulled together a lot of great ideas and made each of them work. From the winter theme to the brunch ideas and the deer antlers, this styled shoot will forever hold a special place in my heart. Extra grateful for each and every person involved. Cheers!
