Regardless of where you plan to marry, Sterling Photography International has some tips for you if you are planning a destination wedding. Sterling recently packed his Orlando bags to photograph Jaclyn and Dylan’s dreamy destination wedding in Asheville, North Carolina. Let’s enjoy some highlights from that wedding. And, we will learn some of Sterling’s tips for destination brides.
Dreamy Tip Number One: What Came First: The Vision or the Venue?
The Bride and Groom Embrace in Front of the Fireplace at Homewood, Ashville, NC
The Catch to this tip is that it doesn’t matter whether you fall in love with the venue or the vision, as long as they match.
The couple recently married in one of the most popular areas for weddings in the country: Asheville, North Carolina. The image that pops into many people’s head is that of the famed Biltmore Estate.
However, brides have many choices of venue in the area. As soon as Jaclyn saw the venue at “My Beloved Homewood,” she knew it would be the perfect, intimate place for her wedding. It’s an American castle, a great restored manor home full of timeless style and elegance.
Great Gatsby Wedding
It would be home to the couple’s vision of a fabulous Great Gatsby wedding. The great room with its castle-like exterior and its pure 1920’s breath-taking art-deco interior provided an inspirational place for a dreamy ceremony of her iconic idea of the ceremony.
Many years ago, “Homewood was the home of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Carole. She has hosted the likes of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Vanderbilts as Bela Bartok played Mrs. Carole’s grand piano in the Great Room.” Thus it was new in the Jazz Age and present in the Roaring ’20s. Homewood was also known as the Great Gatsby Era. To find out more about this historic, fully restored 1920’s manor, check out their online resource .
Dreamy Tip Number Two: Remember Your Venue will be the Backdrop of Your Photographs
Celebrate the scenic elements of your venue with a professional photographer who has the talent and training to make the best of every background. From her first visit, the bride imagined photographs in various landscaped areas.
From the wooded area surrounding the manor, to the castle steps, historic, cherry-paneled Great Room, the bride made sure there were plenty of photographic options.
The Couple’s Wedding Invitation Set Up the Gatsby Theme With Art-Deco Graphic Design
Every dreamy area of the grounds embraced the couple and their friends and families with timeless memory-making, opportunities. And Sterling made use of every one of those memory-making backgrounds.
Love is in the Details
Like many brides of today, Jaclyn is detail oriented. Thus Art-Deco graphic style of her invitation reflected the Great Gatsby era.
Jaclyn, with help of BobbyMark’s Designs, planned a surprising journey for the guests of her wedding. First, she kept her ceremony decor subtle and elegant. Flower petals and candles on the floor and the fireplace accentuated the rich architecture of the room.
Bobby and Mark of the prestigious aforementioned Asheville design team trimmed the chandelier in glorious greenery.
Likewise, they set the fireplace mantle ablaze with candles in variegated clear vases. And the bouquets bloomed in jewel tones against soft pastels.
The flowers carried touches of the couple’s signature colors of burgundy, royal blue, and gold. From close up to telephoto depths, Sterling’s camera caught every dreamy moment of the sweet ceremony under the golden dome.
This is What We Mean By Guest-Centric:
Designers Transform the Grand Hall Into an Opulent 1920 Gatsby Party.
Our second Sterling tip means that you plan little surprises for your guests and take them on a journey through the theme you choose.
When the ceremony ended and guests went to another area for cocktails, then the designers transformed the Great Room. They changed everything about the Great Room. Far beyond the crystal and china, they designed elements that changed the room dramatically. Candles, flowers, feathers and crystals were brought to the scene.
Thus, Jaclyn’s vision was accomplished. And the wedding reception and dinner would reflect all the glittering opulence and sumptuous grandeur of a Great Gatsby party. So, imagine the surprise of the guests as they glided into the room and discovered the transformation. And Sterling’s camera went to work.
He captured the individual design components as well as the lavish vista of the transformed Great Room. He caught the dreaminess of the lighting as it glistened on tall golden candelabra. His lenses captured the new textures in the room.
Note the frothy ostrich feathers and blooms that crowned the candelabra. And the rich tables decked with flowers and candles for grandeur and romance. The result, it was timeless decor that echoed luxury of the time we call the Jazz Age or the Roaring 20’s.
Imagine the breathless re-entrance of the guests as they walked into the transformed party in the redecorated Great Room. What had been simple and elegant for the ceremony was now rich and elegant. And it was definitely designed by BobbyMarks Designs, to be the ultimate take on an elaborate 1920’s party scene.
Sterling’s Dreamy Tip Number Three: Hire the Best Vendors You Can Afford During a Pre-Visit
The Ceremony Was Simply Elegant Under the Golden Dome by Candlelight
This tip has an important corollary for destination brides. If you are a destination bride, Sterling strongly suggests you pre-visit your destination. Then, you can make vendor arrangements face-to-face with your vendors. Find the ones, whose personalities inspire you, as Bobby and Mark inspired Jaclyn. Find the vendors who feature people you like.
So, Jaclyn found such people at BobbyMarks Design and Sterling Photography International, as well as her other vendors. And they made her dreamy vision come to life with their floral arrangements and grand décor elements. They helped her create a transformative experience for her wedding guests from the ceremony to the reception.
For a few moments, they all lived in the elegance and beauty of the Great Gatsby Era. And thanks to the talents of Sterling, they will have those dreamy moments forever in his lux and iconic images from the wedding day.
