For this shoot, I joined forces with Champagne Weddings and Tara immediately got the vision. I enjoyed every part of the planning with Tara and the entire team. When it came to waking up before 3am to travel to the gorgeous Wind Mountain Ranch, I was too full of excitement to mind one bit. You can read more about the team and thought behind every detail here today on Style Me Pretty! 

From Champagne Wedding Coordination:

Champagne Wedding Coordination headed the event design for the shoot, but the inspiration and design planning was a collaborate effort from Mary Alice Hall Photography along with their team of creative Portland wedding vendors.

The winter’s dawn inspiration came from our love of 19^th century romantic literature and Jane Austen’s timeless novel, Pride & Prejudice. We created a romantic and whimsical mood while keeping the design modern and timeless.

Our all-time favorite scene in the novel and movie is when Mr. Darcy meets Elizabeth in the woods at dawn. The sunlight gleams on their faces and it’s as if they are the only two on the earth. As soon as we decided on our theme we knew that Wind Mountain Ranch in Stevenson, Washington was the perfect location. The ranch sits alongside the Columbia River, 50 miles from Portland and passes the Bridge of the Gods. Our team drove out in the calm darkness and were awakened by the stunning river and mountain views. The silent and foggy setting made us all feel as if we were dreaming and transformed back to England.

On our shoot, Pride & Prejudice as our overall theme and we had wonderful time pulling in thoughtful details from the period piece. For the overall color palette we chose scarlet red, ivory, blush and dusty gray and – we also knew we wanted to incorporate as much luxe textile as possible with velvet, fur, wool, and feathers. Something Borrowed provided incredible vintage furniture and accessories. A scarlet red velvet settee was the perfect seat for our bridal party. A white sheepskin throw and brant burgundy afghan brought warmth and texture to our bride and groom in our fireside lounge. Lane’ at Something Borrowed provided mis-matched, gold-rimmed vintage china for our formal place settings, along with crystal champagne flutes, wine goblets and gold flatware.

The gorgeous blooms, by Blum Floral Design, she used garden roses, peonies, hydrangea, amaryllis, ranunculus and tulips to create a soft, romantic look.  She added a lot of thistles, dusty miller and several varieties of eucalyptus for texture and a cool grey blue undertone. Cranberries in vases and strung on wires added more of the rich color and texture. The dining table, a gorgeous six foot farmhouse table provided by Something Borrowed. We created an elegant and unique design by using brass pillar candles, lush flowers, vintage books and our favorite cooper vessels. You can’t imagine winter without fresh cranberries, we strung them on wires for chair ties and placed in vases which added rich color and texture to our dining table.

White Pepper’s pancake wedding cake was the main highlight of our brunch buffet – The scrumptious fluffy cakes were topped with French Vanilla buttercream, fresh berries and dripping with maple syrup. We created an intimate brunch, and the delectable brunch spread sat at a classic white Lucille desk alongside our French bar cart set as a coffee bar-with colorful, vintage teacup & saucers. Freshly brewed by Chemex, Stumptown Guatemala Bella Vista coffee, not only acted as a prop but the warm coffee helped us stay warm throughout the shoot!

Our brunch theme hors d’oeuvres weren’t only appetizing but it encompassed our theme of texture and bold color! Beet Pickled Deviled Egg, Sweet Celery Hood River Bosc Pear, Prosciutto, Pistachio Brioche Toast, House Blend Almond Granola, Greek Yogurt, Strawberry and an Herb and baby greens salad with breakfast berries and a lemon vinaigrette. Our wedding party celebrated and toasted with a Classic Mimosa Argyle 2011 Vintage Brut accompanied by fresh orange juice and grapefruit.

We wanted to create a unique and dreamy seating chart. The board was made of wooden ribbon spools. Each name was pinned to the rich colored velvet ribbon. Sitting alongside was our handwritten-letter invitation, and Trista carried the calligraphy theme to the place cards at our dining table.

The English Dept. lent us three beautiful wedding gowns and gorgeous accessories. For the bride she wore Leanne Marshall’s, Danielle. An Ivory and nude lace illusion bodice gown with full silk organza skirt. Accompanied by the in-house Elizabeth sash. The Double strand of glass rhinestones on ivory silk grosgrain ribbon sash gave contrast, texture and definition.

Our lovely bridesmaids wore Claire La Faye, Bespoken in blush and pale grey. Crossover chiffon gathered bodice with Alencon lace and silk pleating, asymmetric draping and pleating detail at waistline. This wedding gown is also available in off white, ivory, blush, robin’s egg blue and nude. Our dashing groom wore a trim fit, pure wool “Heather Gray Allure” tuxedo by Jean Yves from Este’s Men’s Clothing.

Portland Make-up and Hair provided the hair and makeup look for our shoot. One of the universally favored aspects of the shoot was the cap veil, our stylists transformed our bride into an updated version of Elizabeth Bennet. Her second look was fun a sophisticated and she wore Mignonne Handmade Plume D’or, brass feather motif headband to add a touch of whimsical drama. Our bridesmaids were styled with loose curls and tucked back for elegance with their feather hair clips.

The collaborative winter’s dawn inspired stylized shoot was a dream come true and we hope it inspires you!