Rompers, raw bars and round arches are the hottest wedding musts. Last year’s flings are out- bring on the 2019 wedding trends!
LAST YEAR: Rectangular Arbor with Asymmetrical Florals
THIS YEAR: Oversized Round Arbor
Think out of the box like the pros at Bluebird Events and Decorations Inc. did and make over the traditional ceremony statement piece. This version at Blue Sky Ranch is a circular showstopper made of driftwood and fresh blooms. Mic drop.
LAST YEAR: Donut Bar
THIS YEAR: Raw Bar
Stein Eriksen Lodge loves to lay on the luxury. Go for a display of ice-chilled oysters, lobster and shrimp topped with a grand ice sculpture.
LAST YEAR: Reception Gown
THIS YEAR: Reception Romper
Brides are savvy. They don’t want to party in their beaded ballgowns, so a reception change is a must. So what could be more comfortable—and super chic—than a halter-top pantsuit to get jiggy on the dance floor?
See the latest of Utah’s wedding inspiration here!
One of our favorite parts of this little blog, is that we get to share things with you that you won’t see in the printed book! And one of those favorites is engagement sessions. We’ve been gathering them since the winter months, and are so excited to finally share with you a few of our favorite 2019 nuptial announcement photos so far!
Leading couple Parker and Sarah have known each other their whole lives, and chose to have their engagements shot in their favorite season: snowy winter. The pair both love being outdoors, so naturally, up a canyon was the perfect romantic hideaway. We are loving the too-darling sledding action shots, and the red contrast on the white snow. Contrast is the best way to make your photos stand out, and action is the best way to say “Hey! We are a lot of fun!”
Every couple has that “special spot,” whether it’s where they met, the first kiss or simply a happy memory. Why not include those moments in your shoot? Shelby & Jontrell had just graduated from Utah State University and are moving away from Logan soon, so they wanted to do a fun session to remember their time together there, and brought their sweet goldendoodle, Lemon, along for the ride. Photographer Kevyn Bruce says that this couple was easy going and fun, which made for great candid shots (clearly)! The cutest photos are often the most candid, so don’t be afraid to get a little silly.
These lovely ladies were shot by Missy’s sister, Kristi of Kristi Alyse Photography. Of the shoot, she said: “It was beautiful there, as always, with the romantic glow coming off the water. Their many years of strong friendship has made them a very loving and supportive couple, which I think shines through the photos. Also, aside from photographer, I got to play make-up artist for both of them!” We can’t help but feel like the photographer’s proximity to the couple let her get some of those intimate moments just right- the love is blooming right off the screen!
Nothing like a little snowfall to pack a punch of drama into any shoot. The neutral colors of downtown SLC are the perfect backdrop for this couple’s bold outfits and bold beauty. We are especially loving how photographer Maddie Morris found every perfect opportunity to take advantage of some of the gorgeous architecture and iconic locations that are just steps away in our little snowy home.
“Hedgehog quills, Harry Potter, and blossoms may seem like the strangest combination, but after hanging out for a bit with Dallin and Schuyler we can’t think of a more perfect grouping! The air had a bit of a chill to it during this spring blossom engagement at the Utah State Capitol, but with these two it was hardly noticeable. The two of them looked incredible down to the very shoes that they will be wearing on their wedding day!” – Photographers Jessie & Dallin.
We love couples sharing their interests in their shoots, whether it’s in an airplane, on the beach or cuddled up with each other and a good book in the iconic Capitol Hill Blossoms. What’s more, who couldn’t love that tiny little fur baby? (Psst. His name is Wilbur!)
5. Morgan and Braden, Antelope Island by Jordy B Photo
Braden claims that “time stood still” when he saw his fiancée, Morgan, for the first time; that it was like a spotlight shone down on her and he was instantly smitten. We are feeling the exact same way about these photos of the couple! *insert heart eyes emoji here* These two make one pretty darling couple, and we are loving the outfits, the smiles, the lighting and especially the personality! Nothing is cuter than a couple unapologetically in love – and these two are the perfect example.
Ok, we have a confession: this isn’t actually an engagement shoot. These cuties had just gotten married, but Makelle wanted to take some fun photos playing in the snow. And boy, are we glad she did! Snow gives couples a good excuse to keep cuddling, which Kevyn Bruce says makes for the most romantic photos. Romantic, playful or just plain darling, we are loving every angle of this shoot.
If you’re on the hunt for quaint backdrops, but still want that iconic Utah vibe, Main Street Park City is the location for you. And this too-cute-to-handle couple (seriously, those ice cream parlor shots have us simply melting) fits right in! Shot by Jadie Jo photography, they set up the perfect bunch of love-filled moments to show off to friends and family ’till death do they part.
9. Andrew and Brandy, Surprise Proposal by Alexx Acor
Who knew we could be so enamored with a storm?! After 3 years of dating, Andrew decided he wanted to make Brandy his forever, so he enlisted photographer Alexx Acor to help his propose. He designed her ring entirely himself, and set up the perfect secret plan. He wasn’t deterred by the dark clouds, and despite the weather pulled off a heart-melting proposal. He got down on one knee to the sound of Katy Perry’s “A Thousand Years,” and Alexx captured the couple’s I Do moment just as the rain began to fall. How much more magical could it get?
Featuring this location twice, because the photos are oh, so nice! But here, the blossoms are almost overwhelmed by the bride-to-be’s stunning and perfectly flounce-y floral gown. And we aren’t mad about it! Fiancée Alexa rounds off her engagement shoot look with fairy-like heels and her mother’s bridal earrings! Alexa and her groom Tyler (who were set up after Alexa’s younger sister practically begged them to date) show off all their best sides in this sunshine-filled Utah Capitol shoot.
Still craving more engagement inspiration? See all of our favorites here!
With summer coming up, warm and tropical everything has been on photographer Melanie Loitz’s mind. Sharing a vision with fellow photographer, Adam Black, the two collaborated on this tropical wedding inspiration shoot. The Wild Willow studio made for a great location because of its versatility, and allowed the team to create an island paradise right here at home.
“The mood we were going for was laid back and chill, much like at the beach. Every little detail, down to the macrame on display and the macrame on the bouquet was perfect for the beach! We had a lot of swaying, a lot of sunlight, and a lot of playing the ukulele—basically everything you need for a perfect beach wedding!”
The groom actually played the ukulele so he was serenading his bride while Loitz was capturing some sweet moments from behind the camera. The bride and groom wore matching bracelets by @mytribebracelets and that added some more sweet detail.
“Everything was just dreamy at this shoot and it made me wish I had planned my wedding on the beach,” Loitz shares. Scroll on down to see some more of those wanderlust-inducing dreamy moments:
Christy Bishop of Park City-based Lemongrass & Co. masters the art of bridal gift-giving.
Do yourself a favor and avoid gift-giving anxiety. Did I spend enough? Will she like it? Will I offend her? How can I ever repay her for all she’s done? Amidst the tornado of wedding planning, it’s easy to be stumped for gift ideas, but Christy Bishop of Lemongrass & Co. shows how to perfect the craft by using careful planning, developing thoughtful themes and executing hands-on details.
“My gifts are completely custom-designed for my clients. I craft them based on their personal preferences and color palettes,” says Bishop. She curates boutique products—like trendy jewelry, ring dishes and body oils—and artfully arranges collections inside artisanal boxes or baskets. To finish off the presentation, Bishop can add fresh blooms and calligraphy-embellished tags, “Quality and detail are essential with each gift,” Bishop says.
For the Maids
Will you be my bridesmaid?She won’t say no to a necklace, candle, matches, shortbread cookie and nail polish. $55
For the Maid of Honor
Give her a favorite scent like
Joe Malone along with a scarf, ring dish, candle, matches and shortbread cookies. $175
For the Out-of-Town Guests
Say, “Enjoy your stay!” Spa essentials come in a crochet basket that folds flat—fitting comfortably into luggage upon their return home. $80
For the Moms
Thank the moms with a bundled bubble bath, lotion, candle, eye pillow, lavender pillowcase insert and shortbread cookies. $167
If there’s one thing we can’t get enough of this wedding season, it’s the colorful gown trend. From the burgundy red Vera Wang gown you can spot in our glossy pages this year, to the stunning, hand-painted skirts that were on display at our annual White Party, a rainbow of wedding looks have blessed our feeds, mixing up the bridal beauty game in the process.
This dusty blue number by Janay Marie is no exception, and boy does it have our hearts all aflutter!
Jessa Etheridge and Amanda Wood were the masterminds behind this dreamy shoot, and that serene, cool blue tone was at the centerfold of their inspiration. The hue forms the perfect complement to the white rocks and sagebrush vibes in the desert region of Elberta, Utah, and according to Etheridge, that was exactly the tone they were looking to set for the project.
Not wanting to take any focus away from the color in the gown, the team enlisted Jessa Bergstrom of Lennox Flora to create the perfect bouquet for the look. And didn’t she deliver: a stunning bohemian piece with wonderful greenery and white floral, with just the right amount of blush to make the bouquet pop off the page.
Hair and makeup wizard Laura Barton, who specializes in bridal looks and is a longtime friend of the team, lent her skills as well, putting the icing atop this already breathtaking shoot, making the bride an absolute vision. The couple is the perfect match: in chemistry, looks and love! We are particularly loving the obviously practiced and perfected posing technique that this team brought to the table. No basic canned stances here, just pure true love magic.
Cheeky themes and vivid colors can oftentimes interrupt and distract from the most important elements of a wedding day: the wedding itself! With neutral outdoor tones as the décor backbone for this fall wedding, Fuse Weddings & Event and Artisan Bloom created the perfect setting to put focus on the bride. Her larger than life Vera Wang gown brought her personal style and simple elegance to the big day!
Alexandra Moresco & Daniel James McKerr, Jr.
St. Regis Deer Valley, Park City
September 9
THE COUPLE
This Chicago couple met by accident. “I lived near DePaul University’s campus while attending college there and used to frequent a small bakery called Floriole,” Alex recalls. “I kept running into D.J. at Floriole and eventually we started chatting. We had our first official date there a week later.” Four years later, D.J. proposed in Lincoln Park at a spot overlooking the Chicago skyline, where Alex and D.J. had gone on their second date. “He proposed after dinner and drinks at our favorite cocktail bar, The Aviary.”
THE WEDDING
Alex and D.J. invited sixty guests to a destination wedding in Park City. “People were shocked when we told them Park City, considering D.J. and I are both based in the Midwest,” says Alex. “As a publicist, I worked at Sundance Film Festival for clients. I never got to see anything but the inside of a press tent, so D.J. started taking me back the first week of September, every year. We totally fell in love with it, and Park City has become our special place.”
THE MOOD
Alex and D.J. asked guests to come prepared for a relaxed, mountain event. “It was like a big party for all of our closest friends,” Alex says. The four-day celebration incorporated intimate meals, whiskey tours, fly fishing, a bridal brunch and concluded with the ceremony at St. Regis Deer Valley. No cheeky theme or vivid colors interrupted the natural landscape alive with Park City’s aspens, blue sky and mountain vistas. For the patio reception, the duo opted for a single long table so they could dine with everyone, instead of being separate from the guests. “I never wanted our reception to feel overdone,” Alex says of the natural decor elements. “We did not have strict colors, but Fuse (Weddings & Events) and Artisan Bloom brought in neutral outdoor tones like blush pink.”
THE MENU
“We wanted our guests to eat amazing food and drink amazing wine,” Alex explains. “I think we accomplished both of those things.” During cocktail hour, guests snacked on tuna tartare, beef tartare, mini grilled-cheese sandwiches, blue cheese and fig bites, croquettes and bacon-wrapped shrimp. “We had a full bar and served our two favorite drinks as signature cocktails: a gin Eastern Standard and an Old Fashioned.” For dinner, guests chose from steak, roasted chicken and wood-plank grilled salmon paired with a wine selection that the St. Regis sommelier customized with D.J. and Alex. Alex selected a red velvet cake, then surprised D.J. with a University of Michigan “M” lemon cake.
THE TUNES
“We had a Tuscan string quartet play current hits varying from Bruno Mars to Taylor Swift,” Alex explains.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS
“When we went out to the grand lawn to see how it was set up, we both had this moment that just took our breaths away,” Alex says. “I know it’s non-traditional to spend the 24 hours leading up to a wedding with your significant other, but we couldn’t picture it any other way.”
Loving this red gown? See more colorful inspiration here!
Taking advantage of a weekend wedding shoot in sunny St. George, photographer Stephanie White created a red rock bridal shoot that is unlike anything we’ve seen before.
On site
Model Addison Kanoelani suggested Gunlock Park, because the waters were flooding down the rocks, making for some stunning backdrops for the shoot. According to St. George natives, this is not a phenomenon that happens every year. In fact, several years can pass without water passing through the Gunlock at all, so this team got the chance of a lifetime. When you combine that luck with the perfectly angled shots White was able to capture, you get a shoot that is a rare beauty in itself.
The Look
We adore the flowing layers of that gown from Bell Tower bridal – doesn’t it match that majestic river just perfectly?! And we didn’t think it was possible to bring any more beauty of those red rocks, but Karen J Florals sure proved us wrong. That dusty-hued bouquet takes all the beauty of the Southern Utah desert and packs it into one sweet-smelling bunch. With the rusty-orange ribbons too?! Pure magic, right? Photographer Stephanie White shared that having gorgeous florals truly adds more than people realize to a session. We couldn’t agree more!
Scroll through to see more of this sunny, sultry and oh-so spectacular session!
Just in time for the warm front coming in, Azalea Flower Co. and a team of brilliant vendors created a bright and uplifting styled shoot to ring in Spring in style. Drawing inspiration from those ever-bridal-worthy peachy hues that are peeking through in blossoms throughout the state, the team captured the freshness of a life-giving greenhouse and the delicate femininity of spring blossoms flawlessly in one fell swoop.
“The first thing I put in the vase was the peach and then built the florals around it,” says florist Heidi Ostergaard. “I love that peaches have so many different hues of pinks as well as lighter shades of orange and a touch of yellow. I thought they were the perfect inspiration based on the variety of color alone.”
Heidi of Azalea Flower Company chose the perfect location, placing their models (the darling Miss Utah County herself, Ansley Vasquez, we might add!) among fresh heather greens for a simple, chic shoot to inspire springtime brides and floral fiends alike. The arrangements are bursting with garden roses, essential spring tulips, and texture from delicate Japanese Andromeda and hanging amaranthus. Throw it all on a modern-chic hoop arrangement, and you have florals fit for any pink-loving bride.
“A whimsical location, a beautiful couple, a flowy gown and a whole lot of magic.”
The prime recipe for a perfect bridal shoot, as described by photographer Melanie Loitz. Shooting with Amanda Wood in the Little Sahara sand dunes, the team fell in love with the location, and it was just the right fit for the style of the couple, creating these gorgeous shots was a breeze.
Speaking of breeze, one of the most swoon-worthy details of this shoot is the way the wind catches every stunning ripple and fold in the bride’s gushing bohemian gown (custom-made by Betsy Couture), which is perfectly complimented by a faux flower bouquet crafted by Kendall of @lovekendall.co. Some of the florals are even carved out of wood- keeping them in flawless shape for the entire romping, rolling, adventurous shoot.
“We wanted to capture the flow of the dress, so we did a lot of running and action shots,” says Loitz. “It only made sense, because do you see that train? Holy Cow!”
Both the train and sleeves on the gown make for the boho bridal look of our dreams. Add in a striking brush of blue ribbon against the gown and landscape’s neutral tones, and you get a gallery fit for a fairy queen.
No, really: The couple was engaged at the top of Purgatory Mountain in Durango, CO, and two weeks later decided to elope to that very spot. Every year, they take a family trip to the peaks of Utah to bond over their favorite hobby: snowboarding. This past March, they took their annual winter getaway at Snowbird Ski Resort, and had the most fun, classy and carefree vow renewal in the resort’s stunning event spaces.
“We didn’t want the pressure of everything being perfect,” says Ruby. “It was just the annual trip, with a little ‘oh, by the way, we’re getting married’ thrown in there.”
In fact, the couple was so devoted to boarding on this trip that they couldn’t bear to even take a break for their bridal shoot.
Photographer Jadie Jo Italasano said that this was the one shot that Ruby and John HAD to have.
“Of course, I was so excited for it,” Jadie Jo says. “I always love when my couples are adventurous and want fun, outside the box photos to show who they are and what they love to do together.” To achieve this shot, Jadie Jo waited on a bridge at the lodge, and shot the boarders as they rode down the slope. And don’t they look amazing?!
Ruby and John chose Snowbird because it was the first place they ever snowboarded together, but mostly because it is John’s favorite place on the planet. “He’s the princess, and I’m glad he got the wedding of his dreams,” says Ruby.
The Trans renewed their vows in front of family, friends, and their two children in a space dressed to the nines in burgundy and blue to offset the wintery white backdrop outside. After their “I Do’s” the party continued with dinner and a massive, love-filled dance party.
Scroll on down to see more of Ruby and John’s board-bum big day!
John’s Groomsmen gifts were these personalized flasks from ToonedupGifts.
3. Missy and Bre, Antelope Island by 
5. 
5. Morgan and Braden, Antelope Island by 
7. Makelle and Joseph, Beaver Resort, 
The groom actually played the ukulele so he was serenading his bride while Loitz was capturing some sweet moments from behind the camera. The bride and groom wore matching bracelets by @
This Chicago couple met by accident. “I lived near DePaul University’s campus while attending college there and used to frequent a small bakery called Floriole,” Alex recalls. “I kept running into D.J. at Floriole and eventually we started chatting. We had our first official date there a week later.” Four years later, D.J. proposed in Lincoln Park at a spot overlooking the Chicago skyline, where Alex and D.J. had gone on their second date. “He proposed after dinner and drinks at our favorite cocktail bar, The Aviary.”
Alex and D.J. asked guests to come prepared for a relaxed, mountain event. “It was like a big party for all of our closest friends,” Alex says. The four-day celebration incorporated intimate meals, whiskey tours, fly fishing, a bridal brunch and concluded with the ceremony at St. Regis Deer Valley. No cheeky theme or vivid colors interrupted the natural landscape alive with Park City’s aspens, blue sky and mountain vistas. For the patio reception, the duo opted for a single long table so they could dine with everyone, instead of being separate from the guests. “I never wanted our reception to feel overdone,” Alex says of the natural decor elements. “We did not have strict colors, but Fuse (Weddings & Events) and Artisan Bloom brought in neutral outdoor tones like blush pink.”
