🌈 Sustainable Summer Micro-Wedding In YGK | Styled Shoot at BSE
Years ago… two years now… during the first summer after the start of the pandemic, a few of us wedding vendors got itchy to create. We had taken a hit in bookings that year, and even though things perked up a bit in the summer, we were LONGING to get immersed in community and creativity.
Moreover, Christina of KnifeySpooney (and the mastermind behind this styled shoot), really wanted to showcase an eco-friendly, sustainable approach to micro-weddings.
So that’s exactly what she did, and to accomplish that, she enlisted the help of Heather, of Bowtied with Love. Heather is an extraordinary wedding planner. She can run with any project, plan any timeline, and source special touches like no other.
The beautiful brickwork in the courtyard of BSE Skate & Coffee Shop, as well as the out of this world floral arrangements by Wild Woods Floral Design made for an incredible backdrop for these portraits at our eco-sustainable micro-wedding styled shoot.
Thus was born the Styled Shoot at BSE, summer 2020.
It was the perfect culmination of hard work from multiple people - all local wedding vendors - who worked for HOURS (and sometimes days) to make this happen! (BSE was also an awesome venue - Jenna and Jay graciously agreed to host us in the courtyard out back, during the entire afternoon and well past dusk, giving us plenty of time to set up and take down! Styled shoots take a long time!)
As a photographer, there was very little for me before the shoot. Unlike the others, who had to plan out the details, bake, decorate, arrange flowers, etc… all I had to do is show up and shoot!
Oh, and then try and figure out how to narrow down the photographs! Haha. That’s always the most challenging. Especially when you’re trying to showcase the talented work of other folks. It can be HARD to cull.
Nonetheless, I did it. I got the photos out to the vendors in pretty record time :)
However…. despite my best intentions, I never blogged about this story!
And it’s time to change all that.
So here are before unreleased photographs of this epic shoot!
(fine print: unreleased on this blog. They’re been written about elsewhere though, and I think you definitely ought to read KnifeySpooney’s blog post about this shoot, as it goes into even more details of how the eco-sustainability angle was accomplished.)
The Stunning Floral Arrangements by Julia of Wild Woods Flora Design
Beautiful wedding bouquet with strong pops of color for this urband-inspired styled wedding shoot.
I’m a BIG sucker for flowers. I love colour, and ever since I was a little girl, flowers have just held a huge piece of magic for me.
So it was to be expected that I would obsess over taking these photographs, taking many many photos of the flowers from different angles. Here I’m showing you a small glimpse of the stunning creatio that Julia of Wild Woods Floral Design created on that day!
The Bar & Cocktails courtesy of Stefanie and Crystal, Maiden Voyage Mobile Bar Co
Here was another wondrous thing to try and capture properly in photographs: the intricate details of the mobile bar that Stefanie and Crystal set up so beautifully. Crystal glassware, fancy straws, dried fruit and cinnamon sticks: it was so much visual splendor to behold!
It’s a really fabulous idea - the mobile bar. It’s super inviting, looks definitely urban chic, and it just BEGS you to have a cocktail/mocktail, or three.
A beautiful set up for a micro-wedding: mobile bars allow for tasty cocktails/mocktails, and bring that touch of luxury!
The FOOD & cake, lovingly created by YGK vegan caterers Christina and Rad of Knifey Spooney
Knifey Spooney hold a super special place in our hearts. They catered the wedding of Liz (co-founder at Quirky Love Photography), Liz photographed their wedding, and we’ve been supporting each other ever since! They’re the kindest folks, and will fix you up with the most delicious grub, including to-die-for vegan black forest cakes (which I frequently order for our family birthdays!).
As Christina herself puts it, “switching up a beef tenderloin for a plant based meal can save huge amounts of water, land use and CO2 from the environment, which gets compounded by focusing on local and organic ingredients.”
Plus, as I’ve said in the past, if everyone had a chance to taste Knifey Spooney’s food, the entire city would turn plant-based!
Eco-invites And Stationary, from Jenn of @jennicocalligraphy
Eco-friendly stationary courtesy of Jenico Calligraphy
The amount of attention to detail that went into creating these eco-friendly invites is simply inspiring. As Christina of KnifeySpooney writes, “The envelopes were created out of recycled magazines, and the luscious paper was from Montreal Papetier using recycled cotton cut offs from clothing manufacturing. The ink was created with authentic Black Walnut. [Jennifer] also created seating charts out of repurposed vases that can be reused again and again post wedding.”
Wow. It can absolutely be done, when the intention is set!
Our stunning models: Mel and Angel
Mel and Angel are a real couple, and they were kind enough to help us out during this styled eco-wedding shoot.
In fact, just a couple of months later, their own real wedding happened. So this was a rehearsal of sorts!
Because they love each other deeply, it was easy to showcase the true intimacy and tenderness they have for one another.
A Few More Special Touches from Heather Of Bowtied With Love
Heather has a special knack for putting together beautiful and unique details for any wedding - big or small!
Above you’ll see her recycled paper cones filled with dehydrated flowers as confetti to show the couple with love and the ceremony. These were so beautiful that I later went ahead and created a postcard with this image on the front!
Heather’s touches can be seen from the table settings, to the way she laid out the invitations for me to photograph them.
As a documentary photographer, I sometimes don’t notice the smaller, more orchestrated elements of a wedding; working alongside Heather has helped me to really see and appreciate all these little touches. The wedding details, as they’re called.
While I don’t spend hours taking shots like this at weddings, I always make an effort to capture (in the most organic and unpretentious way possible) the effort that you or your vendors have put into creating and displaying wedding details.
And that’s a wrap!
I hope you enjoyed these gorgeous details from this eco-sustainable micro-wedding shoot in YGK, hosted by BSE Skate & Coffee Shop, and involving the labour of many talented wedding professionals in Kingston.
It was teamwork in the best sense!
A bit of an embarrassing aside or backstory…
I've always been a lone wolf, and sort of weirdly prided myself on that.
I mean, I have wonderful friends in the multiple places I've lived, but moving around so much... it really makes you learn to be independent.
To HAVE friendships, but to learn not to depend on anyone else.
And... sadly....to not get too invested in the social scene...
When I first became a photographer, I really craved a community. I reached out to folks (mostly other photographers), and only a couple reached back. @lizzouse was one of them, and I loved her so much I wanted to start Quirky Love together!
But it wasn't for another few YEARS that I'd truly start appreciating the wider community.
The wedding pros, or wedding vendors that create all sorts of freaking magic for YGK weddings.
I know it sounds stupid, but honestly it was something I hadn't even considered. That this community of wedding vendors were out there, to be celebrated and at the very least acknowledged.
Sad, I know...
But once I REALIZED just how hard everyone was working - just as hard as I was working on the photographs, except they were working on cakes, and flowers, and planning, and food...
Once that realization hit me like a ton of bricks... I never went back.
Now, on every questionnaire I have my marriers fill out, I'll ask them WHO their vendors are. I'll make sure to celebrate those vendors and their hard work. Because often times, it goes behind the scenes.
The photographer often gets the only credit, and that's pretty unfair.
Here's me with the vendors who made this awesome summer wedding styled shoot in the heart of YGK happen in the summer of 2020!
And here’s to many more to come!
List of vendors who made magic that day ❤️:
Christina and Rad of @knifeyspooney
Heather of @bowtiedwithlove
Stefanie and Crystal of @maidenvoyagemobilebarco
Jenn of @jennicocalligraphy
Julia of @wildwoodsfloraldesign
Mel and Angel - our stunning models!
Venue @bse212
To folks getting married and having Quirky Love at their wedding: please be patient with our questionnaire 😍 I know the vendor section is long, but it's there for good reason! To celebrate all those folks who helped you make the magic!