Teaser 2: Into the Woods

When visiting Poland with That Mother this past May, my That FIL took us to see a Polish castle. As a girl who referred to herself as a princess growing up I was beside myself. I reached the point of critical mass when a bride and groom walked up right behind us, plunked themselves down, and started taking portraits.

What really got my creative juices flowing though was the vintage suitcases they were hauling around and incorporating into their portraits. A photo prop that can be converted into instant seating is the best kind of photo prop. It fit perfectly into our non-themed vintage/travelesque/button wedding.

I also love that they asked the medieval festival participants to pose in their pictures with them!

And here is how the idea was interpreted for our wedding day.

That SIL is missing from this photo because she stayed in Poland and I am so sad!

The woods we are in are literally steps away from the temple grounds, so it worked perfectly to do family photos right before we were married. My parents hauled 4 different suitcases into the woods with them and I am sure my in-laws thought we were crazy (well, after the wedding they probably think we are still a little bit crazy, but that is okay). The suitcases helped create height and gave the photos a certain dynamic we wouldn't have been able to achieve otherwise.

Things I love about this photo:

1. The way my sister is looking at my husband. She always says the nicest things about him.
2. The fact that everyone looks relaxed and happy, and this is at 10 in the morning as the day is just beginning!
3.The suitcase I am sitting on. You guys can't see it (there will be more shots of it later), but I found it a few days before the wedding for $10 at a thrift shop in a nearby town. I am sure it will be reused for photo shoots many times over by That Mother. I'm tempted to claim it as a type of "hope chest" to keep wedding items in though :)
4. How the suitcases were used throughout the wedding and a nice theme developed without it feeling overdone. You will see that they functioned as bridal party shot props, trunk for the photo booth props, a place to put guestbook postcards, holding the escort cards, etc.

First photo by me, second photo by Kelli Nicole. You can see the rest of the woodsy shots here (or save them for the recaps!)