Palace of Versailles Wedding - France
Palace of Versailles Wedding - France.
The colors and textures of Marie Antoinette's bedroom inspired me to design this bridal inspiration shoot for the fashionable bride. Gilded in wreaths of oak leaves and ribbon, tassels, flowers, and draping fabric, Marie Antoinette's bedroom in the Palace of Versailles in France is decadent and charming. When I saw this dress by Marchesa I knew the color palette and style was perfect for our Versailles bride and I knew it would look perfect on film. These images are 100% photographed on Fuji medium format film.
Planning/Design/Film Photography: Ashley Noelle Edwards
Florals: Le Fancy Deco
Hair/Makeup: Joleen Emory
Calligraphy/Paper Goods: Sea and Sun Calligraphy
Venue: Petit Trianon
Gown: Marchesa
Shoes: Bella Belle
continued: This look could serve as inspiration for pre-wedding sessions, elopements, engagements, rehearsal dinners, engagement sessions, or even a fashion-forward wedding. For me, it is both non-traditional yet also comprises many elements of traditional bridal fashion, including beautifully hand-beaded florals, dragonflies, vines, and pink velvet ribbon.
Le Fancy Deco created a bouquet that goes perfectly with the Marchesa gown. Smaller, hand-tied bouquets with on-trend florals such as pink anthurium, roses, lilies, wax flowers, and dusty miller as seen here are a lovely addition to a bridal session, complementing the gown without overpowering.
I chose two aquamarine and diamond rings to accompany this lavish look and an antique French ormolu box. Additional French antiques were sourced to decorate flat lays with the gorgeous hand-calligraphed and line-drawn invitation suite by Sea and Sun Calligraphy, including a gold tassel from Paris to incorporate the decoration of Marie Antoinette's bed and a small antique wreath with oak leaves that match the motif found all around Petit Trianon where we photographed our lovely bride model, Adele Dietrich.
Marie Antoinette is often associated with her stylish shoes, so I chose this pearl-studded pair of t-strap heels from Bella Belle. The ivory silk, silver thread, and pearl shoes are a beautiful and slightly understated choice, as the Marchesa gown is so detailed. Since the heels are visible in this length of the gown, I did not want to choose a pair of bridal heels that would be overpowering so the focus is on our bride and her epic gown.
Joleen Emory created a stunning glowing makeup look and soft curls for Adele, including a pink lip with a gold highlighter accent. This glowing, almost glass-skin look has been so popular among K-beauty bloggers and we thought it should absolutely be popular for brides, as well. Joleen understood my quest for our model's dewy, golden-highlighted skin perfectly and expertly created her angelic waves.
Petit Trianon was a gorgeous location for this bridal portrait inspiration shoot with several options for looks from the sunny garden with dramatic, geometric hedges, as well as the perfect soft light of the courtyard with that dreamy pink sandstone casting a romantic glow on everything--one of my personal favorite things about photographing in France!
Sea and Sun Calligraphy made a hand-written love letter to add to the romance of this story, as well as fleur de lis wax seals for envelopes. These are a lovely touch when sending letters or invitations to loved ones and make nice pieces for flat lay photography.
Adele Dietrich was our perfect model for this editorial, bringing that Marie Antoinette vibe with her strength and beauty. I loved including a bit of a cool girl edge to this upscale look by including images of Adele's awesome "GRL PWR" tattoo, a nod to the Kirsten Dunst portrayal of Antoinette in the 2006 film with the rock and roll soundtrack. This was a marvelous adventure and a pleasure to design and we hope it will inspire you to be true to yourself, as well as indulge in fashion for your wedding portraits.