Picture this, you’re standing in an open field at night, no lights to be seen, not even in the distance. Above the horizon you can only see dark sky around you. All you can see in this pitch black sky are billions of stars. If you look long enough, you can see that they are slowly moving. Under the starry sky you feel incredibly small and you realise that the planet you live on is only a small part of a much bigger picture.

I experienced this magical moment during a road trip through the United States in 2016. At that moment I had no idea that this would be the inspiration for my styled wedding shoot 'A night under the stars', four years later.

But how does a wedding concept arise from such a moment? In a nutshell: be creative and think outside the box. Let me take you through the process.

1. Determine your goal

What would you like your wedding day to look like if there were no limits? What kind of ambience do you want to create on that day? What is most important to you? Do you want to add a theme to the day? Do you and your partner have a shared passion?

The ultimate goal of this photoshoot was to create something magical, to capture the feeling of that night I experienced under the stars.  Something different than the average pink and white Pinterest wedding picture. Nothing wrong with that, I love pink myself, but not for this shoot. This shoot needed to give people that amazing feeling as if the sky had fallen down and made everything bright.

2. Brainstorming session

Keep your goal in mind and write everything down and I mean everything. Even write down the ideas that you know may not be realistic. Remember: there are no limits, no financial restrictions and no rules.

On my brainstorm sheet I wrote down: stars, gold, magic, lights, dark, dancing under the stars, universe, constellations, astronaut, rocket, moon, telescope, astrology, etc.

3. Realistic - Unrealistic

Now that you have a page full of words, place everything in two columns: realistic and unrealistic. The unrealistic column could be ‘a fun challenge’, how can you make the ideas from that list realistic? Go through it again and highlight what you would really like. What’s the purpose of this idea? Now think in terms of solutions rather than problems. Are there alternatives that could help you achieve the same ambiance?

For example, I wanted the couple to dance under a real star filled sky. Can I influence the weather? No, unfortunately not. Is there another way to create stars? Yes, this could work with a lot of lights, maybe candles in dark surroundings. Outside during the evening or in a darkened room?

After a creative thinking session, a plan starts to materialise. At this stage you can get started or begin your search for a wedding planner ;). What I do for my clients or in this case for the shoot: I visualise what the day will look like. In detail I describe everything that will be seen, what will happen and what kind of ambiance this will create. Based on this story, it’s possible to visualise the day. Did I get you curious about a wedding at night under the starts? Imagine this:

It’s a cloudy December day, and at Vanenburg Castle the last details are being put in place for a magical ceremony. The room is decorated with tea lights, candles and stars. It looks as if the starry sky has fallen down. A backdrop of hanging glass balls, in which tea lights steal the show, is the setting for this enchanting ceremony. The aisle between the chairs is scattered with small golden stars that unite the bride and groom. Meanwhile, the bride has curlers in her hair and her make-up is done. The dress is hanging in the doorway. A beautiful long dress made of tulle in a blush-like colour swirls around her as she moves. The dress is covered with glitter and stars made of sequins, which sparkle in the light. The groom gets dressed in another room, he says he is not nervous, but you can see the tension in his face.

The ceremony starts and the groom is waiting in a smart dark purple suit. You can see his relief when his future wife walks in. The amusing stories of how the bride and groom met are told and family and friends laugh, the tense atmosphere disappears. They read their vows to each other and the marriage is sealed with a kiss.

At the reception, the galaxy cake is waiting to be cut. Three layers high and glazed with purple, black, dark blue and gold marbled accents. As the cake is cut, each guest lights the sparkler that was handed to them adding ambiance to this special moment. The champagne flows and roaring laughter fills the room.

A dark blue tablecloth with golden stars lights up the long dinner table. The dinnerware has gold accents and stands out against the dark tablecloth. Just like the candles in long candlestick holders. These dark blue and gold candles on the table bring the perfect intimate ambiance. Everything on the table is in balance, with a globe of constellations being the centrepiece. Everyone enjoys their three-course dinner with laughter filling the night air as the speeches that are given.

Curious about what Sharona can do for your wedding?
Have a look on her website:

https: //sharonaweddingsandmore.nl/