Photography and Flatlay Styling Invitations
For this blog post, I invited my talented friend Melisa of Blue Note Weddings to be a guest writer here and share her knowledge on wedding invitation photography and styling. Here’s a small brief about Melisa:
Hello, we are Melisa and Laif Gilbertson, a husband and wife Photography & Videography team.
As a power couple, we bring the highest standards of design and style, with an editorial edge to our work. It is the blueprint of our business to elevate the experience of our couples by offering communication, support, and quality. We’ve been acknowledged in Magnolia Rouge, Wedding Chicks, Adorn Magazine, The Knot, Ceremony Magazine, New York Times, 7x7, Style Me Pretty and many others.
As a fine art curation of light and love, we believe everyone’s story deserves to be told in a timeless, soft, and elegant way. Our imagery is born from the uniqueness of your story. We serve couples with big dreams, a keen sense of style and an appreciation for detail. We offer our clients a bespoke experience and a supportive partnership on their journey towards the next phase of their lives. We enjoy meeting every couple we work with and being a part of a celebration of love. From the tiny details, to the last dance, we are there to make sure your priceless moments are remembered for a lifetime.
Thank you for visiting our site and best wishes on the journey that awaits you!
Styling and photographing invitations is my favorite part of the wedding day.
It is one of the details in the final presentation of the wedding gallery that paints a picture in the initial wedding story. Couples have invested time and money on having their beautiful paper goods made, so it is always a very careful consideration that I style their invites and paper goods to the best of my ability.
I like to think of the wedding invite as a tangible art piece that introduces the guests to the venue, the style and theme of the wedding and overall vibe as well as invoking the initial excitement of what is yet to come.
While it may look effortless to create a styled wedding suit, styling wedding invitations and paper goods is a ton of work and I have invested countless hours in perfecting my eye to seeing balance in my flat lays not to mention my investment in perfecting my styling kit. On the wedding day I arrive with a bag full of styling goodies packed full of necessary tools to help me along in the styling process.
Here is an inside look at my process on how and why I style wedding invitations.
1. The styling of the invitations
When styling invitations the first thing I look at is color and design. The initial question I ask myself is what are the 2-3 main colors of the invitation? Pin pointing the colors helps me to decide on what type of styling board I will style the invitations on and what other complimentary colors I can add in to allow the invite to pop. I also ask myself what is the overall vibe and style of the invitation? Is it modern, vintage, simple, elegant, flashy or timeless? This also helps me to bring in other props like stamps, floral element or other fun elements to tie into the wedding story. Prior to the wedding day I have couples send me two invitations. This gives me time to examine the invites and see what styling elements I will need ahead of time. If the invite has any designs on the back side of the invitation I can use the second invite to show that off in the final image.
2. Choosing a Styling mat
Styling mats are such a useful and beautiful layout for the invitations. I have invested in purchasing styling mats from Olive and Oak, Heirloom Bindery, Blumehill Studios and more to create a diverse library of styling mats to choose from. When finding these styling mats I like to have a wide range of shades and textures that will add to my styling collection.
When choosing a styling mat for my paper goods I am very thoughtful to the necessary elements in the styling process and what they communicate. Different textures and colors create different moods in the photograph, so paying close attention to these details are imperative in tying in to the rest of the wedding gallery. For example what type of feeling do you get when you look at linen verses velvet? Blue verses Red? Important things to pay attention to.
3. Florals for flat lays
I love floral element! Wether it is styling the shoes or the rings I almost always love how dreamy and painterly florals and greenery can add into the details. Florals can add pops of color and bring romance to the invitations. I am always careful not to overwhelm with to many floral elements and use them sparingly and methodically as they can take over if over used.
Flowers are a great way to tie in to the wedding gallery as well as bring your attention to different areas of the image. I like to think of it as guiding my viewer to key points in the image.
4. Styling Tools
Styling tools are super important to achieving a professional and beautiful image. I love using risers in my flat lays to create dimension in the flat lay. Often times I find the key element of the invitation suite and be sure to place it in the center and prop it up. This brings the viewers eye directly to the point of interest, the main invite. I don’t always place my entire invitation flat lay on risers. I prefer to see the invitation at different levels giving a dynamic range to the image.
Another styling tool is a more curated approach. I like to speak with my couples and find out if there are any significant elements that either I can bring in or that can be added. For example, a vintage compass, was the perfect prop for sailboat wedding invitation flat lay. I am always searching for different color ring boxes and cute little props that can add to the character of the flat lay.
5. Photographing the final product
First I examine my light source. Where is my light coming from? It is super important to place your stationary set up next to a window in indirect light so the main light source is coming in from the side. You will need a white board or bounce to bounce the light in the direction of the window to fill in any shadows from the one directional window light. I sometimes intentionally invite shadows into my flat lay because I think it creates a moody look but no shadows almost always looks cleaner. Then photographing top down as parallel to the flat lay as possible is best. After I get my main shot of the entire flat lay I go in for close ups on the details. I like getting close ups of the flat lay to sometimes add to a blog post or a wedding album.
For more on tips to prepare for your wedding day click here
