Southern Art Nouveau Wedding Inspiration

From Ivey Gibb Photography and Salt + Silk Weddings: “From an intimate team of initial vendors that eventually grew to include over 25 vendors from around the world, an idea was born for a soft, romantic, wedding inspiration shoot featuring a meticulously restored 1920s manor, a sweeping collection of finely curated romantic vintage items, a vision of old world European grandeur, a flair for the whimsical and playful, and the most classic colors bridal style has to offer – blush and ivory – with a delightfully fresh and timely hint of greenery.”

A Southern art nouveau wedding inspiration shoot in August, GA

“Our shoot was largely inspired by the artistic work of Alfons Mucha, a Czech painter and design artist who found fame in the “new art” scene of 1900s Paris, and in a larger sense the entire Art Nouveau period in which his styled flourished. The pale pastels, floral crowns, lash curve details, and soft feminine mystique – all ethereal hallmarks of his work – are echoed in our design, with modern updates like rose gold Tolix chairs and pink champagne coupes for fresh inspiration. Moved by the philosophical spark from which the Art Nouveau movement was ignited, we also wanted to honor nature as the ultimate muse for creativity, incorporating lush foraged greenery from the manor’s surrounding woods. To add an ever so slight touch of historical detail, we included antique illustrated books from all over Europe as well as beautifully hand lettered signs written on delicate vintage mirrors that featured passages from the time period praising the unfettered beauty of the natural world. Gold-dipped ginkgo leaves, a favorite botanical image from the era, and other gilded embellishments recall the decadence of old world Europe, even down to the tiniest details, like the dragonfly wings in the Orphee headpiece our bride wears. This shoot features some now familiar European-inspired desserts, like French macarons, but also some more exotic treats, such as bold rose-petal encrusted Turkish delight. Romantic whimsy is another element both present in Mucha’s work and held dear by our team of vendors, so playing with the offbeat charm of our venue gave an added dimension of character to our shoot. Finally, we would be remiss if we did not call to attention how our photographer, Ivey Gibb Photography, captured all these elements so beautifully and lovingly, imbuing the entire design with her own gossamer brand of grace.”

The Cake

“Inspired by more European dessert traditions, our shoot included liberal amounts of the favorite French dessert, macarons, as well as a timeless Turkish treat in the form of rose-petal encrusted Turkish delight. Our cake was a simple semi-naked lemon lavender tiered cake adorned with gold gingko leaves and just a dash of floral embellishment. Whimsically designed sugar cookies finished our dessert bar with just the right amount of sweet, fanciful charm. Several vendors helped make our sweet dreams into reality, including local french baker Michelle Towler of The Little French Bake Shoppe, sugar cookie extraordinaire Aimee Johnson, and macaron artists from farther afoot, Christina at Little Hope Cakes in Virginia and Jennifer at Springfield Macarons in Indiana.”

The Flowers

“Cherie, with Waiting on Wildflowers, brought the natural beauty of our venue- both indoors and out- to the forefront with her thoughtfully and beautifully crafted florals. She incorporated foraged greenery from the grounds into each arrangement seamlessly, imbuing the fixtures and features with a sense of having grown from in and around the nature surrounding them.”

The Tablescape & Handmade Details

“A few features of Mucha’s work and the larger Art Nouveau period feature strongly as a thread across our design and especially in our tablescape: the lash curve details of Mucha’s graphic art posters and paintings, as well as the circular halo motifs framing each model in his Arts series, ginkgo leaves (a favorite botanical image from the era), and gilded embellishments that recall the decadence of old world Europe. Samantha Bodie of Design Persuasion brought the fine detailing of Mucha’s art onto modern day paper in one simple, seamless transfer of creative vision in her menus. Griffin of Miss Griffin’s Finishing School, with a background in art history and the seasoned eye of a vintage curator, furnished our every whim with all things vintage and period-specific glasses and place settings.

Because we were also inspired by modern elements and the trends of today, we chose to complement these relics from the past with well-paired elements familiar to contemporary brides and grooms: rose gold, modern lines in our simple farmhouse table, hints of blush tulle and rose gold sequins in art deco patterns on our linens, and vintage pink champagne coupes.

Urban Watercolor Elopement Styled Shoot

Our shoot incorporated handmade goods from makers around the globe, including Darci at Darci towns studio, who provided hand-dipped linen napkins in blush pink tones, Teresa Moran who provided hand-marbled rose gold candles for our living candelabra, custom engraved copper moscow mule mugs from Jami at Brought to You by Naptime, gold gingko earrings from Angel Pearl studios in Sweden, a stunning vintage-inspired rose gold bridal set from XY Fashions, and the lovely custom-made gold Orphee headpiece made by Eugenie Bee in Canada.”

The Attire

“Our local apparel vendors, House of the Bride for the bridal gown and Simon’s Formal Wear for the groom’s suit, knew just the pieces to capture the modern imagination without losing any reverence for the vintage tones of romance necessitated in our design. Soft, deceptively simple blush details magnified the modern elegance so crucial to our story in the finely handcrafted work of both the bride’s blush gown and her matching blush veil.”