Walnut Ridge Styled Wedding Shoot

Styled Wedding Shoot at Walnut Ridge Venue

Earlier this month I was able to participate in a styled shoot in Shellsburg, Iowa at Walnut Ridge. This venue just opened up in the Spring of 2023 and it's soooo good! Jennica and Brandon have really thought of everything a perfect wedding venue needs and did I mention that there are 10 acres to explore?! Alissa, owner of Honey Lens Photography, hosted this shoot and got a really awesome crew of vendors together to make this space come alive. I loved the rust color scheme and boho touches throughout the styling. This really was the boho and vintage wedding styling of my dreams, complete with pampas grass and a rug aisle runner.

Why a styled shoot?

So now you're asking yourself, "Why do photographers participate in styled shoots?" And I'm here to answer that question for you! There's actually several reasons, but a few big ones are: making vendor connections, building a tailored portfolio, and being able to show potential wedding clients possibilities of what their day can look like. Luckily enough for you, if you want to read more about the why, I have an entire blog post on this topic HERE.

After getting our couple ready in their suites (this venue has TWO), our team of vendors had completed the set up on the main floor. Can we even with this head table set up?? If I was getting married in 2024, this would be the styling of my boho wedding dreams.

A moment for the naked details...

Up until this point we had only been inside the venue, which was already gorgeous enough to keep my little heart happy. But let me tell you when I say my jaw dropped when we headed outside. Walnut Ridge has a few options for ceremony backdrops, which perfectly compliment their pond with a working fountain.

Borrow My Vintage repurposed some of the indoor decor and florals to decorate the ceremony space, which was an idea that I'm personally a huge fan of. It helped to keep the spaces and decor cohesive, but it would also help to save on costs for couples using their services.

Mandatory photos in the boat on the pond

Before heading back inside, I snagged our couple to snap some photos on their walk back inside the venue. Being a wedding photographer, sometimes means taking a beat or sidebar to take a few photos really quickly when moving from one area or event to another. I was able to capture so many amazing shots in just a few minutes alone with these two. It definitely doesn't hurt that the property itself is incredibly gorgeous or that the gown from The Bridal Garden was stunning.

Then came the cake from Moos Bakery. As you can probably tell, our couple was loving this cake. This cake table set up from Borrow My Vintage, along with the florals from Parrot Floral Co was EVERYTHING. I'm still swooning over all the little details that went so perfectly together. It was so fun to use my flash for these photos and give some more variety to this photo set.