This blog post is different than most - I’ll explain this post a bit more, but you’ll have to read a bit. If you just want to take a look at the photos, I wouldn’t be mad either. Read this post however you’d like - skim or read every word - you are welcome to do either!

Once or twice a year, I take on project called a Styled Photo Shoot. If you are unfamiliar with what a Styled Photo Shoot is, here are 3 reasons I participate in Vendor-only planned photo shoots:

1. Relationships - Styled shoots are a great way to meet and work with other wedding vendors and by working on a combined project helps to develop truly meaningful business relationships for the future. Also, it’s nice to interact with each vendor on a day that is not someone’s wedding day. The joy in that simple fact leads my to my reason #2…

2. Creative Initiative - every vendor has ideas that are in line with the vision for the shoot, but in their particular craft. Each vendor brings to the table each piece of the aesthetic vision for the shoot & it’s rewarding to see everything come together! It’s exciting to see the ideas portrayed on the mood board brought to life. It allows a place and space for creatives to be creative without client requests to come first. It is a time where you and each participating vendor can 'flex their creative muscles' & pitch new ideas.

3. Inspiration & Media Content - It is the heart of each vendor involved in a styled photo shoot to come up with fresh take on a specific color palette & theme. We all want to create inspiration for all engaged couples who would see these images and are planning their own wedding! Possibly, at least one couple could gather inspiration from the work we’ve done, I consider that a success! This shoot also benefits each vendor involved so they can showcase images of their craft/service on their website or social media pages. This will hopefully generate cross - business promotional traffic for one another.

To all participating vendors in this photo shoot,

Thank you! Thank you for your time preparing and planning. Thank you for coming together to create such a fun, fresh & Summer - themed Styled Photo Shoot! I appreciate each and every one of you. It was a blessing to photograph each of your specialties/crafts/rentals/services, etc. I am grateful for your dedication to your business & I want to encourage you that I am so proud to work alongside you in this wedding industry. Cheers to you, your hard work day in and day out, keeping your business alive & thriving! Cheers to all of our collective effort & hard work for this photo shoot! I hope you can enjoy & use these images for years to come & I hope to work with each of you again very soon!

With Love,

Lyndsay

If you’d like to know a bit more information regarding our inspiration for the photo shoot, keep reading.

We planned this shoot for over 3 months. extremely talented wedding vendors throughout the Austin area came together to present a dreamy Summer themed wedding Styled Shoot. Without further ado, I'd love to share our thoughts behind the magic:

Title of Shoot: Tesoro Mio - Lake Como Italian Summer Wedding - In the Heart of Texas

Our vision for this photo shoot all started by dreaming of what a summer wedding in Italy would be like with breathtaking views overlooking Lake Como. The phrase "Tesoro Mio" in Italian means "my darling" or "my treasure" when referring to the bond between someone special in our lives. We don't exactly have the same translation in English, but I found this phrase to be so unique, that I found myself drawn to the need to represent this particularly special bond through photos. This phrase only seemed proper to portray with the stunning backdrop views Vintage Villas has to offer overlooking Lake Travis, which is just outside of Austin. By tying in subtle Italian inspiration and fresh Summer vibes, our design goal was to combine our love for European travel with an appreciation of the sweeping Texas lake views nestled within the rolling Texas Hillcountry.

Our color palette for this shoot was a subdued sky blue, navy and touches of yellow with fresh lemons. We teamed up with the talented Lunita Calligraphy, to create white & light blue wedding invitations. Olive leaves, black eyed beauty anemones and blue sea holly's were our main source of inspiration for the bride's bouquet and dinner table inspiration. The gorgeous flowers for this shoot were designed by the ever-so-talented Lemon Leaf Florist. As guest gifts, we created a DIY honey jar to pay homage to the exquisite honey that is unique to the Lake Como region. Specific to the Northern part of Lake Como, the uniqueness of the honey of this area stems mainly from the variety of plant species available to the bees - more specifically, the Alto Lario area. Despite being located in the foothills of the Alpine, it is home to a particularly rare varied flora, giving it a hint of Mediterranean notes & thanks to the mitigating presence of the lake.

My jaw dropped when I first saw the wedding gown on our model. We visited Blush Bridal’s new salon (cannot say enough about how cute this place is!) & when she tried on this gown, we knew it was the right one for our shoot! The intricate lace detail is extremely memorable and the sheer lace that reveals the bride's legs gives this Calla Blanche gown just the right amount of sensuality. Our idea for the cake, made by the amazing Simply Delicious Custom Cakes, was to capture the natural beauty of being married next to lake and the relaxing blue tones of each wave as they crash against the shoreline. The reflection of gold on the top layer of the cake was inspired by the rays of sunlight hitting the bride's jewelry in heat of the Summer. If I could give a bride any piece of advice, it would be to take at least 5 minutes just you and your new husband and reflect on the beauty of the day and your love for one another. Just for a brief moment in time, pause, breathe, give one last kiss just before the sun goes down to reflect on your love as your new title as husband and wife.

We teamed up with the extremely talented Valerie, from Lettered by Valerie, to create acrylic circular dinner menus for our table setting - not only did they perfectly fit, it added just the right touch to complete the table top scene. The wooden table, chairs, chargers, silverware and glassware were all provided by Monarch Event Rentals. If you have not been to their new showroom & warehouse, you have to go check it out! Also, we teamed up with Kendra Scott & selected several gold pieces that complimented the neckline of both our model & the wedding dress. As always, they did not disappoint! We went for an all gold look with the jewelry - we went with the naturally draping Kendra Scott Watson necklace & paired the necklace with the Calla Gold Cuff Bracelet , the Delphine Pinch Cuff Bracelet Set & the fabulous Martha statement earrings.

The other word that spurred me on to pursue this shoot was the word "Sprezzatura". In Italian, this is more of a concept than a word and was created in the 16th century by Baldassare Castiglione in his work The Book of the Courtier. It means a kind of effortless elegance. To be truly "sprezzatura", you should make sure you are never trying too hard. I love this word & this is also a word I would love for each of my couples to embody on such a memorable and romantic day in their lives.

The groom’s suit was handmade by Tolo Clothier, a men’s ‘Made to Measure Clothing Company that offers desired GQ looks at a fraction of the price’. The attention to detail on the jacket of this suit was extremely impressive & intricate. What a great option for a special suit to be specifically made for him to wear while he says his vows to the love of his life! The hair & makeup for the bride, by Lola Beauty, was laid back elegance.