Styled SHOOTS by Southern Bride is a wedding photographer competition where we feature some of the best wedding photographers across the nation. The photographers are provided the same venues decorated by top local wedding planners and are graded based on their unique vision and imagery of the venue and its design details.
The Styled Challenge is a design competition showcasing the works of talented wedding professionals from local areas. Each designer is given the task to create an exceptional wedding ceremony and reception arrangement in the provided venue. The best design is voted by our viewers on Southern Bride Facebook live. The Napa Valley competition includes top 3 local wedding planners and 3 exceptional venues: The Shelbourne, Dromoland Castle, and Cashel Palace.
Congratulations, Spellbound Photography, for BEST Photography
Congratulations, Grace Campbell of Grace and Saviour, for Lasting Impression Award
A 16th century classic, Dromoland Castle is a 500-acre estate that sits atop the rolling hills of breathtaking Dublin, Ireland. Centuries of history is melded into the castle’s storybook architecture, accented with elegant bedrooms, grand decor, and stunning views of the royal estate. Boasting an air of royalty, guests are welcome to enjoy tea in the impressive Gallery drawing room, candlelit dinners at the Earl of Thomund, or golf on the estate’s world renowned course before indulging in decedent Irish cuisine at the Country Club. Dromoland, rich in modern amenities blended with historic architecture and tranquil spa treatments, creates a wonderful luxury high country experience perfect for destination weddings.
Grace and Saviour is a leading wedding and event design company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Grace Campbell established the company in 2011 with a desire to use her passion for a thoughtful, art based approach, developing a reputation for work that is emotional, desirable and rooted in thoughtful conceptualization. Clients are driven to translate their story artistically across their event, using the company’s experience and knowledge achieved by understanding the heart of their true brief, achieving beauty and results that translates creatively across their wedding. Featured on Junebug Weddings, Green Wedding Shoes and 100 Layer Cake.
For this shoot, Grace and Saviour wanted to bring to life the richness of the choice to marry in Ireland. With this design, Grace wanted to showcase the full spectrum of the moods and colors of Ireland, the greens, but also the beautiful slate skies, mustard hedges of gorse, shell pinks and sands along Ireland’s beautiful remote beaches, the alabaster and plaster shades of Ireland’s awe-inspiring cliffs and the deep, almost black blues of Ireland’s surrounding waters, jewel tones of magical whiskies and all the shades of the romance of Ireland. Grace and Saviour works with many American couples that come to Ireland, and for them there is always the romance of marrying there. It is not just Ireland’s locations, but also the country’s warm and easy hospitality. Grace has worked all over Ireland and believes it is the people that make every venue and the team working for the couple.
Grace and Saviour wanted to approach the brief by allowing the viewer to get lost in the fairytale or the dream of Ireland as a location, in a fresh, modern way, without losing the magic and drama. Grace wanted to bring Ireland’s rich history of language, words and writers, its makers and artists to the shoot, for example looking at materials such as Carrickmacross lace (long sought after for veil), but perhaps use this to emboss modern stationery.
Grace researched beautiful Irish words that create the mood of a wedding in Ireland, perhaps etched in golden calligraphy, across the shoot, catching the light and a bit of magic and the ethereal dream of a wedding here. “In a single day in Ireland, you can be witness to many different skies and ever changing light and we have chosen to create this through our work here for Southern Bride.”
photography: Spellbound Photography | design: Grave and Saviour | videography: Lisa Marie Creative | gown & fashion: Bespoke Bridal | flowers: Bella Botanica | accessories: Blue Meadow | jewelry: Natasha Sherling | cake: Sigita Fern Bakery | stationery & calligraphy: Lenka Calligraphy | makeup: Anita Conroy Makeup | tableware: Orra Collections | rentals: Signature Rentals | hair: Bridget Haren Hair and Beauty | shoes: SJP collection | horse & carriage: John O’Grady
