For The Bride Who Does Things Her Own Way: Tropical Wedding Inspiration

I love photographing weddings that have different and unique elements tucked into them, and one of the core messages in my business is supporting couples who want to do things their way. So, we thought what better way to style this than as a bridal inspiration shoot focused on a couple who is really rocking it and doing everything their own way to make the wedding day feel meaningful for them!

I partnered with the lovely Melissa from Melissa Twist Events to create this shoot. We set out to style a tropical styled wedding for all the couples getting married close to home in Canada, but wishing they could elope to Miami Beach or Barbados instead! Our vision was Miami Beach meets the June Motel, and wanted to create a set of wedding day inspiration that was relaxed, fun loving, summery, and oh so easy!

It’s one of my favourite things when the bride and groom spend their whole wedding day together, rather than having to wait until their ceremony at 4pm to finally see one another. So, we decided that our lovely couple would do everything together all day, from getting ready together, to going for margaritas and tacos for a relaxed lunch date, to taking a couple of hours at the beach to enjoy a beautiful summer day off together before finally heading to their ceremony and reception. If you’re not sure about straying from the traditional wedding day timeline, take a look through the shots below for some inspiration!

While I love a good classic white and green bouquet, this summer I found myself craving colour! I contacted Sherry from Willow and Stems to envision and create the colourful florals for this shoot because she has such a unique and creative way of approaching every project. She created a spectacular colourful bridal bouquet, tropical inspired arch for the waterfront ceremony, and spectacular bohemian bridal table. She even set about designing the most creative floral installation for the front of a paddle board, but sadly the wind and waves kept our couple from enjoying the wedding day paddle boarding session of my dreams. Our groom was styled with a sharp floral tie in lieu of a boutonniere, and I truly can’t think of a better summery groom style if flowers for your lapel aren’t your thing!

My favourite part of the shoot by far was our lunchtime trip to Bent Taco, for our bride, groom, (and styling team), to enjoy a lunch time taco and margarita break. I don’t know about you, but compared to most wedding days when I see parties barely picking at questionable sandwich trays while they’re getting ready, I would definitely schedule in a fun lunch break for food and drinks that everybody actually enjoys. Your wedding day is one big party, and food is such an important part of every party, why not have some fun with it!

Overall this shoot is meant to be fun, relaxed, and flirty. Long gone are the days when weddings were mainly transactional and religious affairs for a couple and their families, but many of the old traditions from these days still remain. If you’re leaning away from much of the expected ‘traditionalism’ of a wedding day, but aren’t sure what you can sub in instead to make your day unique, take a look through the shoot below for some inspiration. Your wedding day can basically be a big-ass party to celebrate your love with your closest 10 or 100 people, so why not make it what a part is supposed to be, fun, relaxed, and flirty!

xo
-c