A few months ago, we had the distinct pleasure of coordinating a styled photo shoot at the request of Casa Romantica Cultural Center & Gardens for their new brochure. Perched on a bluff overlooking the historic San Clemente Pier, the magnificent Casa Romantica is a living demonstration of California history, culture and ecology – a showplace for the region. A wedding or styled photo shoot here is an event planners dream come true! Perhaps even more exciting, I had complete creative freedom for the design and details! Seriously, someone pinch me, I got to hire the Pocomoke City Wedding Photography for this session 🙂

Theme

The most successful styled photo shoots are bound by a clear vision and style inspiration.  I wanted the styling to reflect the timeless and authentic feel of this exquisite bluff-top estate….romantic, elegant and classic.

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Styled photo shoots are an exciting chance to inspire creativity and work with my favorite preferred vendors. These vendors are experts in their respective fields. Their collaboration and input was instrumental in the overall success of this project! I also wanted real couples as models for our photo shoot…I think you can feel that authenticity.

Photography/Videography

Bensten Photography was a natural choice.  I love working with this husband and wife team.  Not only are they fun and upbeat, they really understood my vision for this shoot and captured all the tiny details we spent months planning.

Steve Moses with Vantage Point Productions is one of my favorites..gorgeous work and so easy to work with!

Fashion

My first stop was at Casablanca Bridal Salon & Friar Tux to secure our show-stopping fashions. The handsome grooms donned Michael Kors 3piece suits with modern skinny ties. The bridal fashions showcased some of the hottest silhouettes in wedding dresses: trumpet and mermaid. Delicate lace and beading accented with gorgeous accessories provided by Styled by TC, the details were both simple and chic. Lauren from Design Visage provided professional makeup & hair styling.

Floral Design

Meeting with Bonnie Peterson, owner of The Tangled Vine, is always a treat! Together, we designed our inspiration boards to include tones of soft peach, blush pinks and whites with lots of foliage for texture.  We gained artistic inspiration from a pair of gold rosette chairs that I purchased at the 2nd Treasure store in San Juan Capistrano.  I couldn’t wait to use these chairs for an elegant sweetheart table!

Rentals

Signature Party Rentals is the exclusive rental company used at Casa Romantica.  They are also my favorite…easy choice!

While planning a styled photo shoot is a huge undertaking, one factor that makes it easier than a wedding is that you don’t need to rent tables and chair for hundreds!

For this project, we designed 4 vignettes. This was key in helping us with our rental orders, but also provided a basic ‘shot list’ for our photographers.

Vignette #1: 8ft farm table set for 8 guests in the Courtyard

Vignette #2: Sweetheart Table  – Of course we have to utilize that view!

Vignette #3: Cake Table

I love working with Jennifer at Plumeria Cake Studio.  She provides a sketch of the cake she’s planning, but the real thing always ends up looking even better!

Vignette 4: Ceremony on Ocean Terrace

Sunset and a warm ocean breeze makes for an unforgettable vow ceremony. Dean Holbein from Ceremonies of Significance served as Officiant. Dean and his lovely wife have been married for an impressive 40 years!

Catering

Christina from CarbonaraTrattoria  brought her chef de cuisine and did an amazing job on the food and signature cocktails! Peach Martini, Moscow Mules, artisan cheeses, beautiful canapés, along side Salmon and Vegetarian Pasta Penne.  We all shared a lovely meal after the shoot! Side perk!

Paper Goods

Invitation Design Studio did an amazing job on the invitations, menus and sand dollar table numbers:

Limosine

Randy Tooker from Lake Forest Limo provided his 1939 Rolls Royce Packard, offering the bride and groom the most stylish of departures on their big day.

An outstanding team, a clear vision, and LOADS of planning was all worthwhile! I am thrilled with the finished product and can’t wait to see Casa Romantica’s 2016 brochure featuring this shoot and all of the vendors who participated!

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