Styling wedding details can be really fun or really stressful if you’re often stumped by how to layer details, style it, etc. We all want that Instagram worthy layflat shot! Sometimes when we arrive at the bride/groom prep, we may not have as much time as we originally thought to stylize the details, photograph the wedding stationary, capture the bride and groom getting ready and document all the moments happening around the room! I’ll show you how to style THE SAME wedding stationary suite two different ways in the example below:
The Organic Approach
The images below showcases a beautiful calligraphy stationary suite crafted by Natalie from Ivory and Twine. I styled this SAME wedding stationary suite organically the first time. Even though we are working with straight paper edges, it doesn’t mean that everything has to be equally aligned and straight. This gives it a bit more natural and organic feel to it. I didn’t include too many peripheral details (e.g. flowers, shoes, ribbons, etc) as I feel the stationary itself plus the floral backdrop really pops on its own!
I always capture the full view of the entire wedding stationary suite first. This was photographed using a 50mm lens.
Next I photographed the individual paper elements on its own without moving anything around. I usually always photograph the rings this way as well so I don’t have to rearrange it (unless I have time).
Notice how this invitation is raised? I popped a lens cap underneath it to give it some ‘pop’!
And this first set is done!
The Structured Approach
Now I’ve setup the same wedding stationary suite but this time horizontally with the straight edges for a cleaner more structured look. I decided to include a very light color ribbon in this set so it doesn’t over power the stationary suite and also to fill up more of the spacing to the left and right. You really don’t need to include a whole lot of details in a stationary shot. If I had a few gold jewelry pieces then I might include it in this shot as well. The key here is equal spacing such that there are no big gaps here and there and that the edges are all either parallel or perpendicular to one another.
I normally style my invitations this way because I love straight lines, but that’s just a personal preference. These images were captured using a 50mm lens.
If the client doesn’t have a ring box that matches the set, then I normally just lay the rings on top of a paper element like the below.
And there you have it! I hope this helped with your styling techniques! In summary, just watch out for the spacing between each element and fill up the gaps appropriately. No need to crowd the layflat shot with too many details, sometimes less is more!