Inspired by Old World Elegance and a Serious Love of Lace

From Jeanni Dunagan, the photographer… Nestled in the picturesque hills of the Santa Ynez Valley, Sunstone Villa transports you into another time and place. Reminiscent of an old Tuscan manor, Sunstone provides the perfect location for an intimate wedding or elopement. My goal for this project was to infuse European elements – classic architecture from Italy, natural landscape from the olive grove region of Greece, romantic textiles & furnishings from France – to provide inspiration to couples wanting to incorporate elegant European design into their wedding, whether stateside or abroad. From the rustic charm of the villa… To the lush floral design… To the fine lace textures, this European inspired elopement shoot is replete with exquisite details that will inspire a European reverie.

From Kelly Oshiro, the stylist…Inspired by old world elegance and a serious love of lace, I designed this wedding editorial for Jeanni Dunagan Photography. And when it comes to lace wedding dresses, Claire Pettibone’s stunning designs always fit the bill. We chose a long sleeved lace dress with delicate pearl embellishments, booties from Bella Belle which also featured lace and pearls, a delicate pearl headpiece from Untamed Petals and an estate pearl ring from 33 Jewels. For the ceremony design, I used the existing frame at Sunstone Villa and asked the florist to create a Dutch still-life inspired “flower painting” inside the frame featuring spirea, delphinium, and roses. French chairs from Barn Relic made for elegant and comfortable guest seating. For the reception table, I chose an extra long gray farmhouse long table draped with lace linen so the color of the table was still visible. The Ark’s elegant French place settings featured scrolled seating cards by Graceline Calligraphy along with individual flower corsages for guests. The lush florals in tones of white and green with hints of lavender and mauve featured some of my favorite flowers including, white muscari, sweet pea, hellebore, pieris and astilbe arranged in delicate glass and silver footed containers. And what old world inspired shoot would be complete without a vintage getaway vehicle? Or, in this case, a surrey from the 1880’s (and formerly owned by Michael Jackson) and pulled by Mo, the mini donkey.

From Laura’s Floras, the florist… In keeping with the concept of the shoot, I decided to incorporate soft and textural elements into the floral design. I used whites and fresh greenery with touches of sand, mauve, and lavender. The dripping pieris buds, white lilac, astilbe, and lush Spirea are all perfect early spring blooms that are also lace-like in texture. I find it is so important to draw inspiration for each bouquet from the bride’s dress, and these Claire Pettibone designs begged to be paired with soft, textural florals. Mauve and lavender hellebore and the adorable checkered hellebore brought a touch of color to the floral design, and their purple color added to the regal feel of the shoot. The cappuccino garden roses were used to help with the color transition between the white blooms and the mauve and lavender flowers. I also chose them because their color goes so beautifully with the sandy tones of the Villa.