Q&A WITH FINE ART WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER SHAUNTELLE SPOSTO

TSR: What details of a couples wedding day should be included in a couples wedding story? 

SS:  The details to include in your wedding day should be the most meaningful to you or significant to your love story. For my wedding, we included our Styling Reserve ring box in our flat lays because it was the ring box my husband proposed to me with and traveled all the way to Spain in his pocket for the occasion! I would also recommend including rings, shoes, veil, heirloom jewelry, perfume bottle and a copy of your wedding invitation. (Helpful tip*, use an envelope addressed to a late member of your family who is meaningful to you and who will be there in spirit on your wedding day. That way, they have a special place in your photos even if it’s just by name and address. One of my brides used her beloved Grandmother’s address to pay tribute to her memory in her wedding detail photos.)

TSR: Why do you feel like styling a couples wedding day details is important. And do you think it is just the photographers job? 

SS:  Its a beautiful gesture from your photographer to style and photograph your wedding day details. A lot of those special items tend to scatter after your special day and having them all in a curated photograph will help serve as a memory years, even generations to come, is priceless. I can’t wait for my daughter or grandaughter to relive my wedding day through my photos and see the choices I made in what I wore, carried, or found special to include that day. Even if the item itself doesn’t last through the years, the photos will serve in its memory.

TSR: What sort of preparation do you put into your clients wedding day details. 

SS: I always schedule a call with my clients right before their wedding to discuss all the fine details of the day. It’s at this time, I’ll ask all my brides/grooms to gather all their special items in one big bag the morning of the wedding and keep them next to their wedding dress upon their arrival at the hotel or venue they’re getting ready in. That way when we arrive to style and shoot everything, it’s all in one place. Additionally make sure all the rings are together including both wedding bands and your engagement ring. And don’t forget the Groom! His shoes, tie, cologne, cufflinks, boutonnière, watch and belt can make for a very handsome detail shot.

TSR:  You saw a need in our industry specifically for styling details and created Invitation Styling Co. a sister company to your luxury photography business. Tell us about that.

SS: Invitation styling Co is a full service invitation and product styling company for photographers, planners, stationers, design agencies, and product companies. We style and photograph your items in our studio with our own materials curated to your brand and provide you either fully edited or RAW images of the flat lays to include in the wedding gallery or use for marketing purposes. We are delighted to offer this service to our fellow industry partners as we have found that many of our clients don’t have time or lack the skill or materials to showcase the work they’re producing. So, whether you’re a photographer/ planner who would rather not style the invitation and paper goods the morning of the wedding, or you’re a stationer who is creating products each week and need curated and artistic documentation of those goods or you’re a company who creates a beautiful heirloom such as The Styling Reserve and wants images of their new and upcoming products, Invitation styling Co. is here for all of that!

We truly loved getting to know Shauntelle. Make sure to hop over to her Instagram at @spotophoto and @invitationstylingco to follow their wonderful journey!

Photos by: Sposto Photography