“Would you like an adventure now, or shall we have tea first”
Any guess as to where this quote originated? If you said Alice in Wonderland, you are correct! Today on the blog I wanted to share with you a styled shoot I worked on back in July! This shoot was 100% inspired by a whimsical, Alice in Wonderland garden tea party. Over the winter, I had started to think how cool of a shoot this would be – so many vibrant colors, mismatched vintage dishware, and a fun, outdoor setting. I also may or may not have been watching Alice Through The Looking Glass and just kept fantasizing about being a guest at a Mad Hatter Tea Party and how fun that would be. I had been emailing back and forth with Smith Farm Gardens in East Haddam to set up a time to see the venue and when I did finally get a chance to visit – I knew this would be the perfect spot for this shoot. The venue is just meant for outdoor weddings - the perfectly green grass, manicured gardens overflowing with colorful florals, rock walls with ivy, and a beautifully restored 1778 farm house.
Our amazing photographer, Carla Ten Eyck, and I met over drinks at the Delamar in West Hartford. I had just started my business and was interested in getting to know other vendors in the area. She was one of the first to reach out to me and I was thrilled to set up a meeting with her as she is such a well-known photographer in Connecticut. We chatted for a couple hours about weddings and business and discussed doing a styled shoot together. We set a date for mid-July and I got to work on assembling the rest of the team!
In addition to featuring the Alice in Wonderland theme, Carla and I also thought it would be great to get some different content while we had everyone there, so I started thinking about another concept. The venue has a beautiful orchard on the property that I knew I wanted to feature and I thought, what could be cuter than a picnic in an apple orchard?! I love bohemian-inspired design and our model-to-be, Caity, showed me what she was planning to wear for this part of the shoot and it literally screamed “boho-picnic”. The majority of décor for this part of the shoot were pieces that I actually had on hand (can you tell I wanted to be a 60’s era hippie?!) Lady Slipper Events and Riverhouse Catering provided some additional décor as well as a gorgeous picnic spread.
I literally cannot say enough good things about everyone who worked on this shoot. I know July is right in the middle of wedding season and everyone still put their best foot forward and made time for the shoot. Steve Martins at The Rustic Barn in Killingworth, CT literally custom-built this farm table for the shoot and let me borrow this gorgeous vintage dresser that we re-purposed as a cake stand.
Everything turned out exactly as I had envisioned it and this team was a HUGE part of its success. I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing professionals and people who really love to support one another and create something as magical as this shoot! More images are featured on my Gallery page under the Smith Farm Gardens album! I hope you love these photos as much as I do!
Vendor Team:
Venue: Smith Farm Gardens - @smithfarmgardensct
Planner/Designer: Alyssa Jean Signature Events - @alyssajeanevents
Photographer: Carla Ten Eyck - @c10ike
Hair & Makeup - Amy Fiordelisi - @amylisi
Florals: Amberworks Floral Design - @amberworksfloraldesign
Stationery – Phillips Design - @phillipsdesigns
Cake/Desserts: A Little Something Cake - @alittesomethingcakestudio
Models: Caity & Ryan
Rentals:
Lady Slipper - @ladyslipperevents
The Rustic Barn (providing table & vintage dresser) - @therusticbarnct
Taylor Rental – @mytaylorrental
Dress: Everthine Bridal – @everthinebridal
Suit/Menswear: JT Ghamo - @jtghamo
Picnic Catering – Riverhouse Catering - @riverhousecatering
Happy Planning!
Love,
Alyssa
