Your week is not complete until you’ve set eyes on Caleb the Camel, and peered into the mind of the seamlessly artistic Cortnie of Canvas & Canopy. So, might we recommend a photo shoot to haunt your oh-my-goodness-I-want-everything-in-that-shoot-to-be-in-my-wedding dreams? Alright then. We just couldn’t resist from sharing such a beaut after seeing the spread in the latest issue of Rue, shot by the incredible Jose Villa. Lucky for us, Cortnie couldn’t wait to share all the deets on how her travels to Egypt inspired the shoot!
The true inspiration for the tablescape came from the history of Egypt itself. I was so inspired by my travels to Egypt and Jordan – by all of the ancient history, artifacts and archaeological digs.
The inspiration behind the color palette came from observing how the Bedouin people of both Egypt and Jordan don their camels with brightly colored garb to serve as a colorful contrast against the stark desert. Muted grays, mustards and reds of the Wadi Rum desert were toned down, while pops of bright pink peonies served as our bold Bedouin inspiration.
For lounge décor, La Partie Events filled small bowls with vibrantly-colored spices gathered from the spice markets of Egypt & Jordan. Not only were we inspired to incorporate the raw textured sheets of papyrus, but we were really excited to use them to wrap votives and vases in. They provided the perfect texture, and we loved the way the soft candlelight peeked through.
We returned from our travels with a few alabaster vases and objects – a huge handicraft for Egyptians, and used them as containers on the table. We then scattered rock fossils and old pieces of crumbled buildings onto the table.
We incorporated gold bracelets bought from the streets of Jordan/Egypt onto the napkins – channeling a bit of Cleopatra herself. The raw earthenware plates we paired with the napkins that looked like they could have just been uncovered in an archeological dig worked perfectly.We loved the gilded gold contrast against the raw earthy archaeological table we were creating.
Momental Designs hand painted triangular pyramid like shapes onto papyrus menus and crafted papyrus napkin treatments that we wrapped around each napkin. We loved the papyrus plant so much that we incorporated it into the arrangements as well.
Large wicker peacock throne chairs were our updated version of the thrones of the Kings.
It doesn’t get any better than this. A dream team of professionals collaborating on such a shoot = the perfect amount of eye candy to get us through the weekend. Happy Friday, Cakelets!
Photography: Jose Villa / Wardrobe & Decor: Canvas & Canopy / Beauty: Team Hair & Makeup / Floral Design: La Partie Events / Stationery: Momental Designs / Production Coordination: Be Inspired PR / Wardrobe: provided by Bona Drag
