For those readers in Sweden + Norway, Happy Saint Lucia’s Day! If you have Swedish and/or Norway heritage, maybe you celebrate this holiday here in the US? The lovely Heather from Amorology celebrates this holiday with her family and is sharing a festive inspirational shoot with us today! I’ll let Heather take it away…
Every December 13th on Santa Lucia Day, in the early morning hours, I was always awakened by the sounds of my mother singing a traditional Swedish Christmas song while carrying a tray of hot cocoa and pepparkakor cookies. The beauty of the candles and wreath on her head seemed magical at those moments. It was always one of my favorite parts of December and unfailingly came as a sweet surprise each year. Today, I too carry along the tradition with my little ones and even still the memories of these moments evoke such warm feelings.
I couldn’t help but want to create something inspired by the beauty that comes from deep rich culture and the magic of Christmas. Our home was transformed at Christmas time with Swedish decor and paintings by the Swedish artist Carl Larsson. These paintings influenced our decision in our table setting and location, set in the small quaint town of Julian.
The bridesmaid holds a single stem of amaryllis while the bride’s gorgeous and textural bouquet was loosely designed with peonies, amaryllis, piano roses, white scabiosa, tulips and pepper berry and tied with various strands of embroidered ribbon and cotton lace by Twigg Botanicals.
Crisp white grain sack linens served as a backdrop for the cheery pops of red on our rustic wood table and the pine bough Swedish wreath that hung above. Folksy elements weaved their way into our paper elements by Peanut Press Creative and offered “God Jul” or “Merry Christmas” on the antlers of our straw goats that sat at each place setting. Root Cellar Catering created a traditional Feast for the eyes as well as the palette of Christmas ham, Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries, Jansson’s Temptation and other delicious treats.Â
Hey There Cupcake also designed the most darling duo of Swedish inspired cakes, complete with dala horses, folksy embroidery, and sugar flowers. The Swedish Flag bunting hung behind mixed with Scandanavian patterns as the wood sign of “nu ar det jul igen” reminded us “Now it’s Christmas Time again”. Little wrapped presents and treats served as escort cards for guests as well as doubling as favors.
A special thanks to the talented ladies at Brittany Dow Photography and Stacey Bishop Photography who combined forces for this shoot and who were so much fun to work with while capturing our vision perfectly!!
event design: Amorology // bridesmaid dresses: Free People // hair stylist: Char Sanchez // paper goods: Peanut Press Creative // catering: Root Cellar Catering // cake: Hey There Cupcake // linen rentals: La Tavola // styling: Amorology // photography: Brittany Dow Photography and Stacey Bishop Photography // floral design: Twigg Botanicals // gown: Stone Fox Bridal // vintage rentals: Pow Wow Vintage // make up: Char Sanchez
Gorgeous!!!! Love the bold, popping red. Fabulous!
Gorgeous! I love the red & green together. It’s Christmas-y without being overdone.
Heather rocked this! LOVE it all. So merry & bright.
Such a charming themed wedding shoot! So many quaint details to capture the Swedish look and feel.
This is so gorgeous! I normally don’t like red but this is beautiful. Wow!
x
Love the styling in this shoot!
So darn pretty! Love all the red!
Love this shoot and looooove Amorology!! I feel so lucky to be working with Heather on my own wedding! xo
Are you kidding me??
Nailed it.
Amazing as always Heather!
Such a wonderful shoot! Love the bold red and all the gorgeous prints that were used!
I adore everything about this. Wow, I want to wear clothes like that every single day
What an absolutely awesome wedding styling. Every part of their wedding seems so unique and refreshing!love the pop of red and the lovely rustic elements!
thank you so much everyone for your kind comments. It brings us so much joy! It was an absolute treat to get to share this tradition with you and create something so near and dear to us! Thank you GWS for sharing…we love you!
I would love to know more about the sweater coat! Any details are MUCH appreciated!
That cake is epic! Great design. Overall the styling was outstanding so a great job to everyone.
Absolutely stunning! I am half Swedish and grew up with many Swedish holiday traditions and hope to some day learn a little of the language. (Hard to find classes here for adults!) This is absolutely beautiful and represents much of what I remember as a child of our holiday home. I love it!
So many beautiful pictures! Love the festive personal flowers, they’re so perfect for a Christmas inspired event!
Adore this shoot! The colors – particularly the red – are amazing! Thanks for sharing.
God jul och gott nytt år from Sweden! :)
Most beautiful!!! Excellent winter wedding! If you ever get a chance to come to California, visit Solvang….you will love it!
PLEASE tell me more about the sweater coat! I would love to know the company that made this item…
Ohmygosh this is so great! My family actually kept the St Lucia tradition of the hair wreath… The oldest daughter would wake up earlier than everyone else on Christmas morning, and make hot chocolate and croissants and serve it to people in bed to wake them up for Christmas morning. Then it got passed down from daughter to daughter. Such a great family tradition :)
I am very interested in knowing where to get my hands on the red jacket, please let me know, it would be a great addition to my wedding dress:)