Whether you're planning a desert elopement or just love this desert-inspired palette, the warm pastel earth tones and airy but elegant styling are perfect for an evening under the setting sun. Deserts have a certain magic that I've never experienced anywhere else. They conjure up a sense of romance that is tied to adventure,...
Read MoreGraceful, evocative, and full of heritage, this green + gold styled shoot among the ruins of South Carolina's Old Sheldon Church reminded me of why ruins hold a special place in my heart and why I think they're one of the loveliest settings for weddings...
Read MoreHere's the thing about shoots like these--they set the bar in terms of ideas that pave the way within the wedding industry. Photographed by Vaisa Photography on Italy's Amalfi Coast at the Moda E Arte workshop, this styled shoot embraces some of my favourite leading trends in the fine art wedding world. In no particular order they are...
Read MoreFeatured on Vale + Vine today is a woodland-inspired styled shoot photographed by Iulia Agnew Fotografie that blends soft country pinks with the verdant greens and sages of the forest. The blend of predominately green 'florals' with a foraged look, perfectly-placed delicate pink glassware and garden roses...
Read MoreToday is Vale + Vine's 50th post. In the 9 years I've been blogging about my travels and my photography work on my personal blog, I have likely published more than 50 posts, but 50 in 2 months (10 weeks to be exact)? Well that's a new level of blogging commitment for me that just feels like something to celebrate!
So beginning today, I'm starting a week-long celebration in honour of fine art wedding inspiration as interpreted by Canadian industry professionals. I wanted to kick off that celebration with a styled shoot photographed by Rebecca Amber, featuring florals by Clare Day, and I'm so grateful to share their gorgeous collaboration...
Read MoreAs the season of holiday parties and gift-giving descends upon me, I try evermore to ensure that I slow my pace down, sing lots of carols, and find peace in the true meaning of Christmas. Creating from nature enables me to do all of these things, and points me back to the beauty of creation itself. Majestic, brimming with delights, and wholly able to rejuvenate the soul, nature beckons us to discover its beauty. I love that Christmas more than any other season invites us to bring the most wild parts of nature indoors, tantalizing our senses with cedar, pine, and berries.
Read MoreI'm celebrating my birthday today at Vale + Vine with a wedding that took place on the outskirts of the rural Manitoba town where I lived throughout my childhood. I attended school and church in the little town of Oakbank, but my family's home was in the countryside just a few minutes' drive from Pineridge Hollow, where Julianne + Tjaden's bespoke countryside wedding took place. Pineridge Hollow is an event venue, restaurant, and boutique where a number of my friends and family have worked and even gotten married. Every time I visit Manitoba and stay with relatives just down the road, we dine here and wander the grounds. I return to my roots with orders of Ukrainian perogies (we Mennonites call them verenki), Manitoba farmer sausage, and bison burgers making my mouth water. Pineridge Hollow is only about a 30-minute drive from Winnipeg, but it's a cozy neck of the woods that allows you to leave the busy city scene for a time. It's an ideal spot for a country wedding in the Canadian prairies, especially one photographed by fine art film photographer Brittany Mahood of Winnipeg.
Read MoreThis collaborative feature photographed by Heather Payne for the Team Flower Workshop, embodies the very essence I long to see more of in wedding inspiration - a reliance on natural elements and elegant materials as well as strong design, styling and photographic skills. The Team Flower Workshop which took place in the Grandfather Mountains of North Carolina, saw a host of floral designers working together on this shoot, including Canada's own Lauren Wiebe of Stonehouse Creative based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Lauren and a team of florists collaborated to put together a rich, dramatic feature, conceptualized by Kelly Perry of Philosophy Flowers, the host of the Team Flower Workshop. I wanted to include both her description of the concept for this shoot as well as Lauren's personal thoughts on designing a vision for one's wedding day. Below are words from both Kelly and Lauren...
Read MoreGrowing up in Canada, mandarin oranges, or Christmas oranges as they are affectionately called, were very much a part of my childhood memories. The pint-sized orbs fit snugly in my little hands the way no massive naval orange ever could. They came in those small cardboard boxes, (which now house my Christmas ornaments and look positively vintage after all these years!) individually wrapped in pale green tissue paper. Each orange was like a miniature gift, a treat to be treasured, but only for a moment before it was juicily devoured. Now as an adult living in California, oranges in a bewildering array of varieties are as common as can be, and yet never fail to bring me delight every Christmas season. Each year I seek out the perfect mandarin (this year they are California-grown Satsuma Mandarins from Trader Joe's) eating several a day relishing in the memories of my childhood and also boosting the immune system during this time of tidings, great joy, and germs.
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