Enchanted Grove: A Summer Wedding Styled Shoot
Exploring How Light and Greenery Can Transform Your Wedding Space
Photo by Renee Griffith Photo
Doors and Urns by Vintage Love Rentals
Design by Forever Awaits by Valerie
Early last summer, we had the pleasure of collaborating with an exceptional team of vendors on an elaborate styled shoot. The shoot began first thing in the morning and spanned the entire day, intentionally touching on almost every aspect of a real wedding day. Valerie Leone of “Forever Awaits By Valerie” explained that her vision was to create realistic inspiration for couples planning their weddings while showcasing how lighting and greenery can completely transform a wedding space.
We were excited to get on board with her vision. Tucked into 300 private acres in the mountains of Alton, New Hampshire, Cold Spring Farm’s natural beauty, elegant barn, sprawling fields, mountain views, and charming rustic spaces provided the backdrop, while an absolute dream team of vendors utilized all their wedding superpowers to create one of the most awe-inspiring shoots we have had the opportunity to be part of.
The shoot/setup began in the morning, with the couple utilizing our on-site suites to get ready for the day, including “The Cottage”, “The Loft”, and “The Cabin”.
“The Cottage” is a quaint, story-book style cottage located just beside our outdoor ceremony space. This cozy climate-controlled space includes a vanity with three lighted makeup mirrors, a full length mirror, and plenty of seating; perfect for smaller groups or touch-ups while you stay out of sight until that perfect moment.
“The Loft” is our largest getting-ready space, perfect for bigger groups spending the entire morning getting ready together. This space is a second-floor one-bedroom apartment attached to the main house on the property. Complete with a full kitchen, full bathroom, large bedroom, bonus room, and deck overlooking gardens, horse pastures, and mountain views - this space has everything you need and more while you get ready for your big day.
“The Cabin” is our newest addition to the farm, and is now available to be booked for overnight stays as well. This private studio cabin was thoughtfully designed to have everything you need - a small kitchenette, a large bathroom, front and back porches, a pavilion to provide covered outdoor space, colorful gardens, a large yard (games included), and a fire pit.
Pocket boutonniere by The Fuchsia Peony
Photo By Renee Griffith Photography
Bouquet by The Fuchsia Peony
Photo By Renee Griffith Photography
The bride emerged from getting ready, showcasing a gorgeous gown from Elizabeth Ann’s Bridal, and holding a truly unique bouquet of greenery full of texture and life created by Sara at The Fuchsia Peony. The groom, dressed in a classic tan suit, donned a matching and equally striking boutonniere.
Throughout the day, shooting and styling moved through most of our available wedding spaces as curated by the team – including the gardens, the ceremony area, the patio, and the yard; where Vintage Love Rentals thoughtfully placed a handful of their incredible pieces together to create a classy, cozy, unique, and photo-ready outdoor space.
The team even had a vision for our horses, specifically, our mini horse, Star. She had the time of her life living up to her namesake, strolling through the fresh grass with the bride and groom wearing her custom-made matching garland by The Fuchsia Peony.
We then moved on to the large patio off the barn (which we lovingly refer to as “Fran’s Front Porch” in honor of our matriarch). Surrounded by pastures and views, the couple was met with their choice of several incredible signature cocktails, both beautiful and delicious, lovingly crafted by Drea of Elevated Spirits, and displayed on her own beautiful, hand-made mobile bar.
Colorful display of signature wedding cocktails by Elevated Spirits
Photo by Renee Griffith Photography
The couple also enjoyed an artfully displayed array of tacos, courtesy of the best local taco restaurant, Taco Bay. Tacos have been a popular choice among couples in recent years, and this shoot was a perfect example of how a thoughtful display can truly elevate your taco bar to the next level.
What’s a dinner without dessert? Valerie arranged not only one, but two beautiful dessert options perfectly aligned with the feel and vibe of the day. The first option, a gorgeous traditional wedding cake provided by TraceyCakes. This four-layer cake was simple and elegant, using texture and pops of green to create interest and pull from the greenery in the decor.
In addition to the traditional wedding cake, Carolyn Taylor of The Country Beehouse LLC provided a stunning tower of custom-made macarons. Both desserts were so beautifully coordinated that they felt like a décor installation rather than dessert.
Renee Griffith Photo
We love a mini-dessert display for both its beauty and functionality. No cutting, no cutlery, and plenty of flavor options for your guests. A dessert that is visually stunning and easy to serve? 10/10.
Lush green garlands provided by Forever Awaits by Valerie
Lighting provided by Premier Lighting of New England
Photo by Renee Griffith Photo
This styled shoot was designed to highlight the transformational impact of lighting and greenery on a wedding space. Intentionally spending the entire day and evening in these spaces offered opportunities to capture multiple stages of natural light and the magic that light design can add after dark.
“The ceremony aisle was lined with layered lights leading to a greenery-draped arbor against the mountain landscape.
In daylight, it felt organic and grounded.
After dark? The glow changed everything.
Same arbor. Same aisle. Completely different atmosphere.”
The Enchantment of a “Blue Hour” ceremony
Many wedding day galleries feature incredible sunsets and “golden hour” moments (which, of course, are breathtaking), but the “blue hour” is not as often featured. “Blue hour” refers to the period of twilight every evening, when the sun is just below the horizon, bathing the world in a magical blue hue. This fleeting moment in the day is renowned for its ethereal quality, offering an extraordinary ambiance that is perfect for intimate ceremonies.
Valerie’s vision for this styled shoot included highlighting and capturing the rarely featured beauty of the “blue hour,” utilizing thoughtful lighting design and lush garlands to transform our outdoor ceremony space from its typical daytime splendor of wide-open pasture, forest, and mountain views into something else entirely.
As the sun set on the landscape around us and the mountains began to fade from view; our attention was pulled in closer to the cozy glow of our immediate surroundings, to the couple, and to the intimacy of sharing this sacred moment in time. The setting was nothing short of magical, with the soft illumination of artfully placed lighting highlighting the bride and groom, their silhouettes beautifully contrasted against the dusky sky. The play of light and shadow, along with the simple, intentional décor pieces, created a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere.
Outdoor ceremony area at night.
Concept, design, and garlands by Forever Awaits by Valerie
Lighting Design by Premier Lighting of New England
Rentals by Vintage Love Rentals
Creating the perfect setting for a blue hour ceremony requires creative vision, detailed planning, and the right pros to help pull it all together. With Valerie’s creative vision, Jeff’s (Premier Lighting of New England) light design/installation expertise, and the elegant rental pieces provided by Vintage Love Rentals, the result was pure ethereal “blue hour” magic.
Post-ceremony, we continued into a truly stunning reception space. This amazing team of wedding pros carved out a cozy spot atop the mossy beds of the farm for an intimate dinner, creating a scene straight out of a fairytale. The warm, twinkling lights and inviting candlelit table called you in, while the greenery, draping, and live-edge wood furniture created the feel of an enchanted woodland scene.
The rest of the world melted away upon entering this space, allowing you to share a truly peaceful, ethereal, and intimate moment with your nearest and dearest tucked into the serenity of the New Hampshire woods.
This styled shoot was incredibly in-depth, taking us through all the moments and details of a real wedding day (minus the guests). We got ready, had a first look, took playful portraits in many of the available wedding spaces, had incredible drinks, dinner, and dessert, graced the outdoor ceremony space twice, utilized unique greenery, décor, and lighting design throughout, and even got to hang with the horses.
This shoot beautifully demonstrated the transformative power of choosing impactful décor pieces, ‘florals’, and lighting design in creating a simple yet memorable wedding experience.
Perhaps the best part of this shoot is that it depicts a very realistic vision. Everything you see here was created by locally-owned, small-business wedding vendors who would be honored to help you with your day.
Photo by Renee Griffith Photo
The Dream Team
Planner/Stylist : Forever Awaits By Valerie
Photographer: Renee Griffith Photo
Lighting: Premier Lighting of New England
Florist: The Fuchsia Peony
Rentals: Vintage Love Event Rentals
Cake: TraceyCakes
Desserts: The Country Beehouse LLC
Mobile Bar: Elevated Spirits
Catering: Taco Bay
Bridal Gown: Elizabeth Ann’s Bridal Boutique
Venue: Cold Spring Farm
This shoot is also featured in Lakes Region Bride Magazine.
If these spaces speak to your vision, we would love to chat! While some of the aspects of this shoot were intentionally designed for an intimate gathering, the aesthetic can certainly be utilized for larger ones as well. Let’s talk.
If you are specifically planning for a small wedding, we will be rolling out curated mini wedding packages soon, but if you happen to be seeing this before those are live on our website, feel free to contact us to see how we can help bring your intimate wedding dreams to life.