Oatlands, Leesburg, Virginia

Inspiration can truly be found anywhere. A vibrant, well known and richly written children’s story is a great place to start for beautiful event design. Nestled in Leesburg, Virginia, Oatlands Plantation is the perfect garden setting for a wedding photo shoot based upon the Roald Dahl classic James and the Giant Peach.

For about a year, I had been kicking around ideas for a James and the Giant Peach photo shoot. When Cyn approached me about collaborating on a photo shoot during the off-season, I pitched the Peach idea, and the shoot was born. Three months of planning culminated in a design driven by whimsy, with a desire to be mismatched and quirky. I  constantly told Holly Chapple that I wanted weird flowers, and Holly obliged with protea and pin cushions smartly paired with classic wedding blooms like English Garden roses, peach Parrot tulips and ranunculus. A DIY table runner featuring a stenciled Roald Dahl quote became the foundation for the table design. Manzanita trees anchored each end of the table with DIY roses made from book pages. Tiny gold insects can be found among the flowers and thrifted candlesticks. Place cards made of real peaches wrapped in a variety of fabrics, tied off with yarn and a calligraphed leaf. The cafe chairs upholstered with an insect fabric (thanks On A Whim!) complete the look. Kathleen Burlew created a watercolor stationery set, featuring a peach flying over the sea, as well as quotes from the book on the RSVP card. Leslie from Fancy Cakes by Leslie steered me to her innovative stacked bundt cakes and I could not be happier with how they turned out.