medieval wedding inspiration

I am absolutely obsessed with medieval architecture, gardening, farming, clothing, etc. If I could pick an era I should’ve been born in it would’ve been the middle ages. I don’t like cheesy or gaudy medieval things, but authentic antiques or architecture so to design a wedding around that would be my dream!

Calligraphy is so beautiful especially with a wax seal & ribbon. Papira is such an amazing calligrapher & designer, creating handmade paper & ageing it to give that antique detail.

This ancient museum piece dress & veil is my dream! How beautiful are those embroidered details?!

My favorite antique jewelry that I love to collect & even make myself are all made with gold, pearls, & raw emeralds.

I’m obsessed with hand painted frescoes like this gilded leaf painting inside of an ancient church! The muted green tones are my favorite with gold & a lot of them have little birds resting on the branches. I’m not sure if there are any churches in the US that have this, but incorporating antique paintings or tapestries in a room where the bride gets ready would make such a beautiful backdrop for photos!

I love the imperfect look of raw fruits, unwashed, laying across the tables at a wedding. Organic, rustic, branches of fruits is just so beautiful. You could even use branches of oak leaves with acorns on them in some of the floral displays on the tables.

I know this isn’t really a location that you’d see in the US, but it gives me such inspiration to look for places like this for wedding backdrops. My favorite places to take photos by are old lime kilns that I find around the state, because they give that ancient architecture look that you can’t find very often in the US.

I have an addiction to buying antique hand forged iron candelabras! I have way too many that I don’t even have room for which would be perfect for a wedding to decorate around the church or venue with large beeswax candles in them!

I love photographing on old stone steps that I find a lot around my area! Cemeteries have a lot of beautiful stone staircases or urns you could take your wedding photos at.

I hope you found lots of inspiration for your own wedding while I showed you some for my own dream wedding! If you’d like to follow me on Pinterest to get some more inspiration please do! Also, if you need any antiques to decorate for your wedding please check out my shop; Haven.

personal photography | rolleiflex

I love using vintage cameras & the whole slow process of taking photographs with them! I saw these yarrow & mustard wildflowers in a field & I just had to take some photos. I shot them on a vintage Rolleiflex twin lens reflex camera. I love the dusty & dirty look to it! I like to bring along vintage cameras during a wedding or other shoots to add a unique detail to the story line!

Film lab | Richard Photo Lab
Location | Sheboygan, WI

liz & stephen pt. 2 | jackson, wi

Gown - BHLDN
Bridesmaids - J. Crew
Ceremony - Bridget Center in Jackson, WI
Reception - Family's farm in Farmington, WI
Floral - Liz & family

italian wedding inspiration

I’m obsessed with Roman history, especially from a biblical perspective, so to come up with Italian wedding inspiration my style is very ancient Roman. I love the traditions of Italy & all of their architecture. Having your wedding in the Italian countryside at a vineyard or olive farm would be a dream, but you could also recreate it in your own area by looking for things that have that same look! Old ruins for the photos, having your ceremony & reception at a local wine vineyard, or even a really old church with a traditional Italian look inside. Here’s some inspiration for your Italian themed wedding!

Antique Italian busts decorated outside can give a very authentic Italian look to your wedding. You could even bring your own to the venue if they’ll allow it.

I love the moody ochre tones in Italian architecture. They used what they had at hand to build their houses & castles as well as the handmade earth pigments they used as paint. Yellows, dark oranges, peaches, & greens are beautiful Italian colors. Creating floral arrangements in antique urns make the floral so much more elegant.

Look for a wedding venue in your area that has lots of beautiful old stone or vaulted ceilings. You could decorate the area with antiques to create the whole Italian look!

Antique lace wedding dresses & veils add such a beautiful old world look!

Antique stamps, wax seal, monograms with your future last initial, rustic twine, handmade papers, & calligraphy are all very old Italian.

I hope this gives you some inspiration for your Italian themed wedding. You can also follow me on Pinterest for more ideas!

french wedding suite | lyon, france

Calligraphy suite | Plume Calligraphy