This shoot was one of the very first ones we put together, and can I tell you a secret? It actually wasn’t shot in the South! We typically stay below the Mason-Dixon Line, for obvious reasons, but since Jen Huang and the Poppies & Posies gals came to us with the kernel of an idea and the perfect place to set it — a private property in Jen’s family in upstate New York — we traveled to them. And it turned out beautifully!

As you’ll be able to see pretty quickly, we were inspired by the Kentucky Derby, but we wanted to put our own classic girly sophisticated spin on things. We focused on apples, a favorite treat of the stars of the show, and pulled soft blush into the bright red palette to soften it.

Bryn from Paperfinger created the beautiful stationery suite and penned all the calligraphy, including the lines you see in the magazine feature!

Here’s our beautiful couple for the day! Jacqueline and Jeff just got married in October, so they were engaged at this shoot, and they were so sweet and adorable! The “bridesmaids” were equally as wonderful, and they were ALL good sports about shooting in the mist, and then rain :)

Now that’s a bouquet!! Between Amy yesterday and Sierra and Juliet today, we were lucky to work with the most talented florists!

This little guy might look cute, but he was not so interested in our photo shoot. Well, I take that back. His interest in our photo shoot extended to trying to nip treats off the sweet table and steal mouthfuls from the bouquets. Needless to say his stay was short-lived “on set.”

A bourbon bar! Love this man-friendly option for a cocktail hour or a corner of the reception. Sierra and Juliet brought boxes of beautiful accessories, like these vintage bourbon bottles from their prop shop The Trove, which was so helpful!

Gorgeous linens from La Tavola, an overflowing centerpiece from Poppies & Posies, and gilded details everywhere made this table shine. My very favorite detail, though, might have been the apple place cards – such a beautiful bright pop of color on the soft table!

Ahhh the sweets table. Emily from Lael Cakes blew us out of the water with her amazing looking and tasting completely vegan and gluten free apple-themed desserts. Between the mini apple pies, the gold-dusted caramel apples and THAT CAKE, we were singing her praises the whole day. Isn’t that cake pretty much the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen??

Huge thanks to our entire northern crew who worked on this shoot! Even though you’re in Yankee territory, you know a thing or two about Southern hospitality :)

Be sure to pick up your copy of V5 to see even more details and photos from this editorial, and stay tuned for the behind the scenes video by McKenzie Miller on Saturday!