Happy Fri-yay, lovelies! I am so so so happy it’s the end of the week. It has been an AMAZING week for me and I hope you had just as good of a week as I did! I have been waiting for this day for WEEKS (since April 7th, to be exact. Exactly four weeks ago to the DAY). Our first wedding anniversary was April 9th, and we decided to celebrate with a really fun styled shoot. We got a bunch of vendors from around the St. Louis area and worked together to create something beautiful. I’m beyond obsessed and can’t wait to frame these beautiful images in our home. Let’s jump into it.
5 Secrets To Planning A Wedding Anniversary Styled Shoot
We already recapped our first year of marriage (read our 12 lessons in 12 months HERE), but I wanted to share these stunning pictures Andy captured of A & I. I am a huge sucker for styled shoots and pictures that capture Adam and I’s love for each other. I think it’s so important to get pictures taken because that’s all you’ll have to look back on your memories!
Here are my FIVE SECRETS to planning a perfect styled shoot:
TIP ONE: Make your perfect dream board.
Hello, pinterest! My anniversary board was FILLED with inspiration for this shoot. I knew already that I wanted it to be a picnic theme. This board was shared with the photographer, so I needed to make sure my vision was perfect. I had lots of blue floral dresses, dreamy park scenes and gorgeous couples.
TIP TWO: Plan your outfits far in advance.
This is important because your extras (like cake, makeup, accessories, props) will all have to match your outfits. This was key when I was sending images to the florist so they could match my flower crown and bouquet to my dress. The peachy colors in the dress and the bouquet carried over into the second outfit, and so on and so forth.
TIP THREE: Meet with all of your vendors ahead of time.
I actually only met with one of mine — the photographer and trusted that the others would be as good as they claimed to be. While that worked out well for me, it doesn’t always. I recommend always doing a trial makeup run for something like this and going in to see example cakes and cookies to make sure that everything flows together the day of.
TIP FOUR: Scout out your location and make sure the weather will be agreeable.
The day we chose (and I had this date booked far in advance) ended up being absolutely perfect. Make sure it isn’t going to rain (or snow) or plan accordingly – sometimes umbrellas are super cute if you have to make the best of the day! We knew we wanted to be in Forest Park because of the beautiful trees and green grass (aka the best picnic spot).
TIP FIVE: Make sure you mesh with your photographer.
We happen to love Andy and he and Adam got along REALLY well. That is important to me because the only reason Adam agrees to take pictures with me is because I purposely choose photographers that he gets along with. 😉 It’s ok to look through several photographers until you find one that works for your personalities. Nobody wants stiff smiles for their pictures!
Meet the vendors:
Blooming Bouquets Floral Arranging: They made my STUNNING flower crown and the beautiful bouquet that went along with it. Completely gorgeous and I couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect for this shoot.
The Cakery Bakery: They made my beautiful and delicious cake and cookies for the shoot. We did;t save the top of our wedding cake, so it was really fun to get a mini cake that looked almost identical to our wedding cake to celebrate our special day with. Not to mention, the cookies tasted like actual heaven.
Carretto Studio Photography: I cannot rave about Andy enough. He helped see this vision out to it’s completion and I knew right away when we met that he would do AMAZING work. His style is light and airy and magical, aka my dream. He was such fun to work with and the pictures obviously turned out incredible.
Emily Miller Makeup Artist: Emily and I have come GREAT friends in the last couple of weeks between doing this shoot, filming makeup tutorials and more. She’s a total gemstone. Also her makeup skills are completely rad. I’m obsessed.
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I hope you enjoyed looking at these images as much as I did. I am truly the luckiest wife in the entire world. I love my husband and the fact that he always pushes me to pursue my dreams.
Leave me a comment below one thing you LOVE about your significant other!
Such a beautiful photo shoot! I loved how the soft colors inter-played so well. My husband and I have never had a pro shoot before, but I think it would be a fun things for us to do one year.
You should definitely do it!!! It was SO much fun. I love getting professional pictures done of my husband and I. 🙂
I love this! Photographer is very important. I guess when the day is done, those photos live on. Thing I love about my significant other — his kindness and love. It’s unending.
I love that! Kindness was a huge thing for me before I married my husband. He is nice to EVERYONE! And yes — photography is so important. These are the pictures you’ll have forever. 🙂
These are some seriously beautiful photos. I’m in love! Hoping my engagement pictures turn out this great 🙂
I am sure they will!! Thank you so much!! 🙂 Andy did a fabulous job.
Great photos and great tips! Never thought of doing an anniversary shoot, but what a great idea!
I plan on getting pictures done once a year 🙂 Perfect to watch our family grow!
I love these photos, they’re gorgeous! and they tips are great as well. Especially making sure you and your photographer mesh, but also meeting with other vendors. In person can definitely make a difference!
One thing I love about my significant other is how supportive he is. Of our children and their dreams are – but also his support and patience with whatever I decide my new “thing” is; blogging, art, living in a house full of cacti, you know… whatever it is that week.
I love that! My husband is the same way! 🙂 That is the BEST!!!
Taylor! These are breathtaking! I love your floral outfit – blue is your colour, girlie! You both look so happy!
Thanks so much Dominique!!!!
These are lovely photos. I think I will keep them in my mind for my 25th wedding anniversary which is next year.
You definitely should!!
Oh my… These are absolutely adorable.
Your photographer did an awesome job of capturing your loving and happy relationship!
I’m usually terrible at planning photos but your tips made it super simple! Thanks for the incredible advice <3
Thank you Alexa!! You are so welcome!
Omg – these photos are too cute. I love that you went with a bit of a picnic theme, and that cake and the cookies look just so yummy. I pinned!
Thanks girl!! We had the best time!
These came out so amazing! You look stunning and all of these photos are so beautiful. I loved the tips you gave too- I’m planning a photo session with my husband soon for our anniversary so I really like the idea of an inspiration board. 🙂
Thanks Cara!!! I can’t wait to see how your pictures turn out 😀
Oh my gosh, these pictures are too cute. Happy anniversary!
Thanks Lecy!!
These photos are stunning! And what a great idea to even get them taken! Happy Anniversary!
xo, Jessy | http://www.currentbliss.com
Awe these came out absolutely gorgeous!!! You did such a good job in styling and selecting vendors!
Thanks Rach!! I had so much fun putting it together!
This entire shoot is absolutely stunning!
Omg your pictures are beautiful! You gave such great tips!
Your photos are breathtaking! I definitely agree with you tips. Planning everything well in advance will prevent a lot of last-minute frustration.
I lowkey want one in my house, is that weird??? ugh love you guys
Coming Up Roses
LOL nope. I’ll send you a framed copy of my favorite one ASAP 😉
First of all: these photos are absolutely stunning. I just wanted to make sure that I clarified that right off the bat because WOW! Major heart eyes! I hope I get the chance to take photos like these with my man at some point! Secondly: thank you thank you for sharing these tips. I’m not even engaged yet, but my boyfriend is a part of my blog every once in a while, and these are good notes to keep in mind whenever we’re planning to shoot together! Thank you for sharing!
Stephanie // SheSawStyle.com
Happy 1 year anniversary to you both! A styled shoot is always a fun one and especially if there are lot of vendors involved. Thankfully Andy and Adam got along well as that is important for someone who doesn’t stand in front of a camera basically every day (you and me, haha), but also the tip about having all vendors up to date and knowing everything is in order is such a relief! The only thing you can’t affect is the weather, but you were lucky even with that! 🙂
xoxo
Thomas
http://thomasfalkenstedt.com
Thanks Thomas!! It was SO fun and it is true that it was a blessing to have beautiful weather. 🙂 I feel super glad we lucked out with that! And yes – you are a total natural in front of the camera!
This shoot is so cute, ugh one day one day hahah
Happy 1 year anniversary! I hope you two had a great one 🙂
These photos came out beautiful, I’m going pin this post for my future engagement photos!
Xx
Iliana | http://www.sophisticatedfashionista.com
I’m sure your engagement pictures will turn out INCREDIBLY stunning!
Oh my gosh, these photos are STUNNING. I am going to save this post because I so want to do this in a year or two and can only hope my photos turn our half as gorgeous! Your tips are so smart!
-Laurelle
http://www.bellebylaurelle.com
Thank you Laurelle! I am so glad you liked them! Andy truly did a spectacular job.
I think I’m going to dream about that cake. This makes me want to have something like this for our second coming up!Love the dress you chose, and the florist did an amazing job matching it!!
Your shoot turned out so well! And I agree with all of these tips. You have to prep and do your homework before a big shoot!
Stephanie | http://www.dotsandhoney.com
Thank you Stephanie!!! 😀
Aw I LOVE your flower crown! It’s so cute and looks so good on you.
Your pics turned out amazing! One tip I’ve also learned from doing engagements pics and wedding pics is if it feels awkward, it probably looks REALLY good. I always think it’s going to turn out so awkward, and then it looks great!
Awww, thank you so much Katherine! 🙂 That is SO true about it sometimes feeling awkward!!
You two are so cute together, and you’re right – the photos turned out beautiful! The picnic theme fit perfectly with your laid-back but beautiful style, too.
Thank you so much!!!