African Inspired Modern Wedding Styled Shoot

MunaLuchi Bride Magazine: Winter 2017 Feature.
Print copies available for pre-order here!

Bold, brilliant and beautiful, this African inspired modern wedding styled shoot, featured in the Winter 2017 issue of MunaLuchi Bride magazine, is sure to influence your next event. Read about the motivation and design details behind this gorgeous styled shoot below, and view the complete gallery by MunaLuchi Coterie member, Karimah Gheddai Photography here.

As a creative and having grown up in both the African continent and in Canada. I have always been drawn to colourful palettes and have been intrigued in seeing how one can incorporate a bit of African flair to their modern western wedding. So for this styled shoot I envisioned creating something that would be chic and modern but with touches of African inspirations via a colourful palette, and African inspired elements and prints. In terms of the colours used, I sought out a different colour palette than the usual blush and cream colours that are often featured in a lot of Styled Shoots. I decided to go for a bold colour palette of blues and yellows. I asked the vendors involved in this shoot to give me their best version of their work featuring these colours and they did not disappoint.

We had two modern tablescape designs created by Decor Inspirations, one for the “main wedding” which featured deep navy blue and yellow hues, and another for the “traditional” portion which featured a lighter shade of blue and bright yellow accents. The tablescapes featured African Print fabrics that were utilized as runners, Beautiful lanterns, floral arrangements and modern plating and cutlery pulled the looks together. I personally designed the menu cards and name cards, making use of my background in Graphic Design. We had two dresses for the beautiful bride, both created by Kenyan fashion designer Judy Gesare of Gesare Regalia, one was a simple but elegant white wedding dress which we accentuated with a yellow African print belt. The second dress was an amazing traditional dress which really had that pop of color that I envisioned for it. As well, it had a removable skirt that came in a gorgeous yellow! How stunning! Judy had made the two bridal dresses specifically for this shoot and if you can imagine, she completed them both in just two weeks! For our groom’s suit, Chinedu of CE clothier provided a dapper blue suit that really fit in well with our theme. We accessorized the bride and groom’s looks with pieces from two amazing Toronto based designers of African Heritage, Love Lakeri and Designs by Yaa. The beautiful floral arrangements by Zuhoor Designs included an impressive bridal bouquet featuring a calabash (an element common in many African cultures) and floral arrangements for the tablescapes that utilized blue hydrangeas and bright yellow lemons, in keeping with our colour theme! The cake by The Bowtie Bakery was a three tiered wonder that had African print detailing. We showcased the elements of the styled shoot in 3 different settings in the area of Scarborough, Ontario including indoors, outdoors in a greenery setting and at a beach setting (Scarborough Bluffs). Our team is proud to present this splendid styled shoot and we hope it will serve as a stunning inspiration for how one can incorporate African elements in a modern wedding or elopement ceremony.

~ Karimah Gheddai

View the complete gallery by MunaLuchi Coterie member, Karimah Gheddai Photography here.

Vendors:
Photographer: Karimah Gheddai Photography
Event Planners: MandZ Events
Florist: Zuhoor Designs
Groom’s Suit: CE Clothier
Bridal Dresses (white wedding dress and traditional dress): Gesare Regalia
Decor: Decor Inspirations
Makeup Artistry: Faces by Zeinab
Cake: The Bowtie Bakery
Accessories (Bride’s sash, Groom’s bowtie and Groom’s pocket square ): Love Lakeri
Accessories (Earrings): Designs by Yaa
Cinematography: Aperture Lane
Models: Rasheed Donalds and Yasmin Nooh
Invitation Suite and Menus: Karimah Gheddai for Studio Gheddai