Divine Aristocracy Inspired Shoot in Charleston, South Carolina

Divine aristocracy inspired shoot finds inspiration from the opulence of the Palace of Versailles with gold accents and sensual shades of scarlet.

Set before regal backdrops reminiscent of the palace of Versailles, photographer Amy Mulder captures scenes of luxury and love. Overall, she strived to “honor the regalness and divinity of love” and also challenge the social norm of what (or whom) one imagines when thinking about aristocracy.

“When thinking about Versailles, gold, red, royalty, I realized there was a certain look of person that came to mind. I did not like that. Yes, that is what the facts are, but I did not want to do a shoot based on what people looked like during that time or what comes to mind in present day when thinking of royalty and aristocracy.”

For Amy, “Divine means it is a God given right. It is all humans’ God given right, no matter the color or shade of skin, to be at any level of society.”

Keep reading below for more on her divine aristocracy inspired shoot.

Photographer: Amy Mulder Photography
Theme: Divine Aristocracy

Quick facts:

Date of shoot: September 30. 2020
Location of shoot: Charleston, South Carolina
Ceremony Venue: Willian Aiken House
Reception Venue: Lowndes Grove

Inspiration…

Amy’s inspiration was anything but the norm and all luxury.

“I wanted to do something against the norm palette wise and drew my inspiration from Versailles,” Amy says. “Most people maybe think of Marie Antoinette, pastels, feminine, etc. I wanted to give the feel of Louis IVX.”

So, she chose Gold as her primary color with scarlet as the secondary. With her color palette set, Amy and her team of amazing vendors created a day of luxury.

“Everyone was excited to be challenged with the ‘against the grain’ color scheme of gold, red and cream. I asked certain vendors to create custom pieces that would be ‘Sun god’ like. We spent a LOT of time with gold spray paint creating golden myrtle leaves, urns and babies breath. Even the cocktails were red!”

A day of luxury…

Their day of luxury began at the William Aiken House in downtown Charleston.

For the groom, Amy opted for a “golden neckerchief with [a] black tux, as well as velvet black shoes with red insoles and golden bottoms.”

The bride donned a gorgeous Anne Barge gown (which was appropriately named Versailles) and accessorized with a “cathedral length golden veil with red Manolo Blahniks.

Serenaded by a stringed duet, the couple walked down an aisle of French blue chairs laden with red floral petals beneath their feet.

The reception…

For the reception and cocktails, Amy and her team moved to Lowndes Grove.

“With its gorgeous views and beautiful structure, it was the perfect spot. I picked Lowndes Grove for it’s outside glass tent. Louis always enjoyed entertaining outdoors in [his] gardens.”

The bride changed into “an incredible scarlet red gown and added in [a] golden sunburst crown.” It is truly a statement piece! Amy also wanted to keep the bride’s hair natural, “as it is already amazing and perfect!”

The groom complimented the bride’s look with a cream and gold tuxedo. He also sported a unique red pheasant feather bowtie and red velvet shoes.