An Organic Modern Winter Wedding + Wedding Planner Wedding Advice

Maureen and I, both Rochester, NY natives, are old friends who have shared many of life’s highlights with each other, but perhaps the sweetest moments have been the opportunity to support each other’s dreams. This shoot was a collaboration - I orchestrated the logistics, while Maureen, of Stone Fruit, crafted the design - to launch my new venture, Olive Fine Weddings & Events. No small business can flourish without the support of trusted advisors, like Maureen, and family. 

Parker and Diana are a part of my family; my handsome brother and his girl agreed to be our bride and groom. Throughout the shoot, my eyes brimmed with tears, watching the love my little brother and his lady share with each other. Diana’s first gown, a grey metallic number from Lovely Bride’s Dear Heart collection, enhanced the styled space, providing movement and a lightness to the moment. 

To give the models a stage, Maureen gracefully handled all of the design, from crafting one-of-a-kind stationery to draping the table just so. I’ll let her pick up the story in her own words. 

When I set out to design the scene and stationery, I started by imagining the quintessential Olive bride. She’s classic (a little understated) but elegant and stylish. The vision of the bride’s olive branch memento inspired the stationery. 

To give the pieces an heirloom feel, I created cyanotypes from a piece of real olive branch, a process that’s done by laying an object on a piece of photosensitive paper and leaving it out in the sun - somewhat of a challenge in the grey Rochester winter! I combined the cyanotypes with delicate pen and ink drawings of olive branches that I drew during the creation of the logo for Olive Fine Weddings. Vellum overlays, green-gray envelopes, and vintage stamps rounded out the paper goods to create texture and depth that can be seen and felt through the images. 

To pull the olive branch into the scene, it appeared on the hand-painted backdrop where Parker and Diana had their sweet first look. To give the modern loft space a touch of the classic, we brought in vintage furniture including the dreamy blue velvet settee. For the flowers, we asked for classic romance with a touch of playful and organic, like the bride herself. Skyvanah captured our vision perfectly by nestling unexpected artichokes and fan palms between white roses, ranunculus, and olive branches. 

This seamless day of bridal beauty, genuine love, and a natural design and logistics collaboration cemented plans for a partnership between Olive Fine Weddings & Events and Stone Fruit. Olivia will offer her couples design packages imagined by Maureen and Maureen will pass the logistics to Olivia. This partnership will allow couples to think about their weddings holistically, and feel inspired to tackle the details. 

From planner Olivia: Wrap yourself in the traditional, but let yourself be excited by the modern. Weddings represent a snapshot of your life, now. Honor family traditions and special relationships, but don’t worry if you lean into a few trends that feel you, now. You will be filled with such love each time you view your photos because your perfect wedding was just the beginning of an even more perfect marriage. 

From designer Maureen: I’m all about the details when it comes to a wedding, but when planning your design, it’s important to start with the big picture. Let pretty little details inspire you but be willing to abandon things that don’t fit when you grasp the bigger picture of the day.