Colorful Wedding Inspiration at The Bradford NC Wedding Venue
A Luxury Experience with Anthem House
a styled shoot at The Bradford wedding venue
Anthem House, a luxury event planning team based in Raleigh, NC, coordinated this vibrant styled shoot in September of 2021
Months after the fact, I am still living for this colorful wedding inspiration at The Bradford, NC wedding venue. Big, beautiful, bold weddings are back in 2022. The intimacy and romance of microweddings will always have my heart. But dang - there’s something about a large-scale, luxury wedding that lifts the spirits and ignites imaginative, innovative experiences. The possibilities for your wedding theme, style and vibe are truly infinite.
One of the main reasons wedding vendors in NC create styled shoots is for the opportunity to try new techniques and designs. Experimentation is something that wedding vendors/creatives simply don’t have time for on a couple’s real wedding day. In a styled shoot, vendors can be playful with color palette, textures and more without ruining someone’s special day.
In case you don’t know, a styled shoot is a wedding display created by a team of vendors to showcase their skills in a collaborative effort where everyone provides services in exchange for marketing images of their work. I simply could not pass up the opportunity to participate in a styled shoot at The Bradford! Located just a 30-minute drive away from downtown Raleigh, The Bradford is nestled on 12 acres of beautifully maintained land in New Hill, North Carolina. This NC wedding venue combines the countryside of Europe with the Southern hospitality of home.
Keep scrolling for more colorful wedding inspiration and to find out why you should book vendors who participate in styled shoots.
Colorful wedding inspiration at The Bradford NC wedding venue.
Bunn DJ Company let the bride and groom hop up into the booth.
How to Pick The Best Wedding Vendor Team
Couples who are building a wedding vendor team or searching for a NC wedding photographer should check to see that their prospective vendor has participated in styled shoots. A vendor’s participation in styled shoots signals several things. One, they are team players. Two, they are reputable entrepreneurs and three, they are the kind of people who are always challenging themselves to grow and learn more about their art/trade.
This colorful wedding inspiration at The Bradford, NC may look like it took an entire day to set up, but actually, it took less than five hours. PRO TIP: Most styled shoots are done in a short amount of time with models. Why should you care? Well, f a Raleigh, NC wedding photographer can make a couple look like they are newlyweds in a few hours (sometimes the models have never met), then that photographer is a magician and you should hire them. Think about it, they created and captured romance in a short amount of time and made you think it was real!
Lucky for me, the models in this styled shoot happened to be a couple in real life! And boy did they look stunning. She wore a sleek, contemporary wedding dress from White of Raleigh with a sophisticated ponytail and glam makeup by Marie Bullock. He wore a dapper suit and tie from Glenwood South Tailors. Keep scrolling to meet more of the vendors who created this colorful wedding inspiration at The Bradford NC wedding venue.
Dress / White of Raleigh, Hair & Makeup / Marie Bullock, Suit & Tie / Glenwood South Tailors
How to Plan a Successful Styled Shoot
The concept for this colorful wedding inspiration at The Bradford NC was assembled by Anthem House. This luxury wedding planning team based in Raleigh, NC, was launched in 2021 and is a boutique division of C and D Events. I have personally known the women behind Anthem House and C and D Events for many years and I cannot recommend them enough. If you want an easy, breezy, beautiful wedding with intentional details and flawless flow, look no further. Another reason I participate in styled shoots is to work with other wedding and event creatives in my community. I love being a part of a fabulous vision and seeing my peers do what they do best!
When it comes to capturing a styled shoot with many details, I approach the assignment by photographing each area as its own. The Bradford had two rooms, their newly renovated ballroom and their original ballroom, adorned with colorful wedding decorations and flowers. Each unique display popped against The Bradford NC’s clean and contemporary interior design. I divided my time between the two rooms to ensure that I documented every detail. In the new ballroom, I started with the big picture then worked my way through each element. Take the head table for example, I photographed the entire table so that you can see the entire scene and then from there, I captured details such as individual floral arrangements, table settings and signage. After the tables are photographed, I move on to the next display, which could be the lounge area or the DJ booth. When I use this styled shoot strategy, I’m not in a rush. Instead, I’m making sure that each carefully curated section gets their time to shine.
Planner / Anthem House, Rentals / American Party Rentals and Paisley & Jade / Florals / Fresh Affairs
The bride and groom share a dance in front of Bunn DJ Company’s booth.
Colorful Wedding Inspiration at The Bradford NC Wedding Venue
Please let me take a moment to gush over some of the ridiculously amazing details from this styled shoot at The Bradford NC.
Two words: hanging florals. Do I need to say more? Raleigh-based florist Fresh Affairs brought the heat with these fierce floral arrangements. Especially the floral installation that was suspended above the bar. Flower and greenery chandeliers draw the eye upward and create a whimsical ambiance. Love is in the air, literally!
Florals / Fresh Affairs, Planner / Anthem House, Venue / The Bradford
Mid-century modern paper and signage by Sunago Studio for the win. The key ingredients for creating a cool, classic mid-century mod look are bright colors, geometric shapes, clean lines and minimalist design. I’m head over heels in love with this color-coded seating chart. The best part? Guests don’t have to stare in confusion at indecipherable cursive to find their table!
This might be the coolest and most colorful cake display I’ve ever seen in my life. Set before an exposed brick backdrop with greenery dripping down the wall, each of Ashley Cakes’ confections are displayed on their own unique pedestal. Placing the cakes on pedestals of varying height gives the display depth and visual interest. As if these cakes weren’t stunning enough on their own, even their stands have texture and style! Colorful floral arrangements by Fresh Affairs add to the cake display’s delicious decor.
Cakes / Ashley Cakes, Planner / Anthem House, Florals / Fresh Affairs, Venue / The Bradford
Hungry for more vibrant wedding inspiration? Click here to see a Palm Springs-inspired styled shoot that took place at Raleigh Union Station.
Photographer // Fancy This Photography
Planner // Anthem House
Catering // HL Catering
Rentals // American Party Rentals and Paisley & Jade
Videography // Heritage Weddings
Paper // Sunago Studio
Florals // Fresh Affairs
Cake // Ashley Cakes
Formalwear // Glenwood South Tailors
Wedding Dress // White of Raleigh
Specialty gifts // Small Batch Gallery + Goods
Hair & Makeup // Marie Bullock
Venue // The Bradford
DJ // Bunn Dj Company