In a wedding world where many celebrations are trending towards neutral palettes, this Central Florida wedding styled shoot embraced a range of pastel colors. The rainbow-inspired setup featured colorful blooms of cascading flora, soft fabrics, elegant seating, and a dream-like setting, including an actual rainbow that appeared following a brief sunshower!
“Our theme was You Are A Rainbow, where we featured muted rainbow hues from the ombre rainbow arch to the cascading florals that ran down our whimsical dinner tables to the array of colorful taper candles on the candelabras. Not only did we want to bring color to the ‘neutral' world we see so much of these days, but we wanted to show that your wedding doesn’t have to be just one color; it can be many, and it can be fabulous and scream luxury all at the same time without being flat,” Alayna Mines, designer and wedding planner at Roots to Stems Boutique Wedding Planning & Design shared. “We focused on the ‘middle of the rainbow' hues like peach, yellows, dusty blues, sage greens, trying not to focus solely on one color or flower leading the design.”
The stunning architecture and surrounding landscape of the expansive Central Florida mansion laid the backdrop for the outdoor courtyard ceremony. An 8-foot floral masterpiece created by InBloom Florist was comprised of over 40 different varieties of flowers and channeled the whimsy of the fanciful design with a coordinating bouquet and statement centerpieces for the reception tablescape.
“The floral concept needed to pair perfectly with the overall design concept. It needed to incorporate all of the colors, meaning a ton of amazing different types of blooms, as well as pair well with luxury textured elements like luxury linens, candelabras, and specialty glassware,” the planner detailed. “I have never worked with so many unique and interesting blooms, and I loved every second of working with InBloom Florist, taking their lead on what floral elements would match perfectly with our theme.”
As a nod to the muted rainbow color palette that inspired this event design, the wedding cake was displayed in show-stopping fashion, being suspended mid-air using a clear fishing line. The confection featured ruffles of fondant that mirrored rose petals climbing up the tiers.
“The concept behind the ‘floating' aspect of this project was to play off of the fact that rainbows seem to ‘float' in the sky,” Alayna noted. “My Bakers Cottage Cakes had the perfect solution to make our cake appear as if it was floating; an acrylic base was used to hold the structure while fisherman-grade monofilament was attached to the acrylic piece, strong enough to hold our cake.”
The planner advises couples to feel empowered to break tradition and be bold in their design selections, from colors to decorative elements.
“Don’t be afraid to add color to your big day. Heck, bring the full rainbow of colors to your color palette! Use 40 different types of blooms and hang a cake from the staircase. Be bold and have fun with your wedding day design, and above all, make it you,” Alayna recommends.
“We featured muted rainbow hues from the ombre rainbow arch to the cascading florals that ran down our whimsical dinner tables to the array of colorful taper candles on the candelabras. We focused on the ‘middle of the rainbow' hues like peach, yellows, dusty blues, sage greens, trying not to focus solely on one color or flower leading the design.”
-Alayna Mines, Designer and Wedding Planner at Roots to Stems Boutique Wedding Planning & Design
What were your favorite elements of this shoot?
The best part of this shoot was the people we worked with; I wanted to bring on vendors who would push boundaries and be open to a design that was quite different from what we typically do in our day-to-day roles as wedding professionals. It’s not every day that you get to hang a floating rainbow cake from a historic spiral staircase or use over 40 different types of flowers to create an 8-foot-tall massive rainbow arch! It’s so fun to work with people who are ‘yes and' people; when you bring a crazy idea to the table and instead of saying ‘no,' they say ‘yes, and what if we also did this!' Every vendor selected was a personal and professional friend that I knew would knock it out of the park.
Estimated cost of wedding for 150 guests: Venue: $5,000 | Photography: $6,500 | Videography: $2,500- $4,000 | Flowers: $12,000- $15,000 | Invitations: $2,400 | Tabletop Rentals: $1,500 – $2,250 | Chair, Table Rental + Lounge: $6,000 | Bride's Attire: $8,000- $11,000 | Groom's Rental Attire: $799- $1,400 | Floating Cake: $2,000-$3,500 | Bridal Hair and Makeup: $350
*This estimate does not include all aspects of a wedding, such as food and beverage, officiant, planning/design, etc.
