A Sunrise Sailboat Elopement in Sarasota

Editorials

Sep 2

It is no secret that I love any opportunity to collaborate creatively with my dear friend Ruthie of Ruth Eileen Photography. When she approached me with her vision for a sunrise elopement on a sailboat, I jumped at the opportunity.

We took a custom approach to the design of the suite, starting completely from scratch to create the elopement announcement. Ruthie’s inspiration for the shoot felt vintage, yet classic and coastal - themes I intentionally pulled into the design of the suite. A sailboat illustration topped the announcement card in coastal blue hues, surrounded by a lilac scalloped border for a dainty touch of character.

We used one of Ruthie’s own photos for the envelope liner - highlighting the early morning light on Siesta Key Beach. For the outside of the envelope, I mixed a custom color ink for calligraphy and curated a postage set that blended current and vintage postage. Sailboats, seashells, and flowers pulled the theme together.

Ali’s floral design board tied beachy elements of seashells and sand dollars into the arrangements. Seeing this inspired my vision for a laser cut and etched sand dollar card. Using recycled paper for some added texture, I illustrated the sand dollar design to be laser-engraved and cut out of the paper. We tied these cards around the suite for details, as well as to the calligraphy name cards. Lilac silk ribbon and coastal blue calligraphy tied in the color palette from the suite.

After their sunrise elopement on the beach, Emma and Landon hopped on a sailboat for a celebration on the water. The two changed into their vintage-inspired swimsuits to continue portraits in the early morning sunlight. The boat - adorned with floral arrangements, was the perfect backdrop to their first moments as newlyweds.