Tonya Espy Photography
Have you ever heard of a popup wedding? A popup wedding is an intimate 90-minute wedding planned from start to finish by Gem City Popup Co/Something Old Dayton. We plan a singular event at our studios in Dayton, Ohio, in which up to 3 couples can get married on one day with all the flair of an artfully planned wedding, at a fraction of the price. We hit all the beats of a standard full size wedding while saving you the stress, time, and money involved in planning a full scale event. We choose some of the best Ohio wedding vendors to design a unique and expertly styled wedding experience with none of the stress and a fraction of the price.
In June we hosted a popup wedding designed around Pantone’s color of the 2018, Ultraviolet, featuring an art inspired installation and gorgeous floral halo design by Evergreen Flower Co. Our sweet couples, Ellen & Colin and Krissie & Mike joined with their closest family and friends to get married in 2 intimate celebrations in our studios!
Credits: Host: Gem City Popup Co. | Rentals, Studio, Styling: Something Old Dayton | Photography: Tonya Espy | Florals: Evergreen Flower Co. | Cake: Frosted Ohio | Officiant: Dave Evans/ I Hereby Pronounce You | Candles: Mole Hollow Candles | Ribbon: Frou Frou Chic
Tonya Espy Photography - Colin & Ellen
Tonya Espy Photography - Krissie & Mike
We currently offer 2- 3 Popup events per year.
We choose the date, the theme, the decor, the vendors, you answer a few questions, pick out what to wear and who to invite, show up with 20-40 of your most loved ones and get married!If you are feeling so overwhelmed by wedding planning you can’t even deal, if you want a stylish wedding without all the fuss, if you can’t afford a big a wedding or just want someone else to take care of everything for you, a popup wedding might be for you!
You get:
Professional Officiant who will help you customize your vows and write a personal ceremony
High impact floral decor, boutonniere and bouquet
Couples’ Wedding Cake & treats for your guests
Professional photographer to capture every meaningful moment
Unique and artfully designed decor and venue
First dance, cake cutting and special sendoff
Tonya Espy
It is always a joy to create for people we love! Ashlynn has been an extension of our family for several years, she has cared for our little ones and loved us hard in as a single lady, and when she and Taylor started dating seriously we were so thrilled for her to find someone who was so well suited for her! They are both among the sweetest, most joyful and faith-filled people we know. She immediately got in touch about using us for her wedding (she was in attendance at Ali and Ryan's wedding last year and was smitten with the decor we did for them). We recommended some of our favorite vendors and they trusted us implicitly with their vision for their day!
Ashlynn and Taylor chose Simon Kenton Inn, a charming little venue in Springfield, OH. Evergreen Flower Co. created elegant centerpieces for half of the tables and some stunning arrangements for the ceremony, while we outfitted the others with our Geometric Copper Lanterns, Acrylic Table numbers and dyed gauze runners from Linen Lark. Our blue vintage style goblets adorned the place settings and we tied gauze ribbons around the napkins for a pop of blue. Our Donut Wall from Ali and Ryan's wedding created the dessert display, and custom watercolor place cards adorned the sweetheart table, along with our Heirloom plates and copper silverware.
Our copper pipe seating chart holder was decked in matching gauze to which we pinned the seating chart! Chloe Luka photographed everything beautifully and we were able to actually attend the wedding which was full of love, worship, Christ centered celebration of family, friends and marriage!
Congratulations Ashlynn and Taylor, we love you and are so thrilled for you! Thanks for including us in your beautiful day!
Photos: Chloe Luka Photography | Styling and Rentals: Something Old Dayton | Florals: Evergreen Flower Co. | Venue: Simon Kenton Inn | Hair and Makeup: Revival Hair Co | Day Of Coordination Events Held Dear | Gauze Runners: LinenLark | Calligraphy Placecards: FancyCat Studios | Stationery: Minted
When Ashley, the editor of Oh The Heart , approached me about participating in a styled shoot for fall trends on her new bridal blog for Central Ohio, I jumped at the chance! The team she put together was full of some of Ohio’s most talented vendors and it was an honor to be included among them. You can’t tell int he images but it was an incredibly hot day (hard to get in the fall mood in 90 degree heat!) But I’m still imagining a crisp breeze and the smell of a bonfire when I look at these images.
Photography shot on film: Jenna Powers Photography | Venue: Warwick Farms | Design/Styling: Mari Foster | Rentals: Something Old Dayton | Florals: Old Slate Farm | Ribbon and table Linen: The Lesser Bear | Invitations & Paper Goods: Vivian Kammel | Cake: Desserts by Dena | Hair, and Makeup: Beauty by Jlou | Model: Josie Cooper with Sigal Models | Gown PR/Wardrobe Styling: Perry Rose Media | Gown Designer: Celia Grace | Men’s Suit: Express | Tie: Banana Republic | Ceramics: Bombabird | Handmade Paper: Fabulous Fancy Pants | Wax Seals: Wax Seals
Images via Pinterest, Celia Grace, Vivian Kammel, Mole Hollow Candles, Miesh Photography, CELINE CHHUON
For any design, I always first create a mood board to get the feel and color palette all together in one place. Often I will include images of pieces I know we’ll be using!
Tip: When putting together a idea board for your wedding, try looking for inspiration images NOT related to weddings! Look to art, architecture, food, gardens, landscape photographers for imagery that captures the atmosphere and feel you want rather than just images of someone else’s wedding. This way you are more likely to have a more unique design overall and less likely to be copy-pasting from 10 other brides weddings with no knowledge of when they happened, what their budget was or what their vendor team looked like.
The first thing we chose for the shoot was the dress (a Celia Grace design hand printed with marigold petals from temples in India! Styled by Alex Perry, HMUA Beauty By JLou.) I also had an image of some the paper we’d be using in the stationery suite by Vivian Kammel and was able to use both as a jumping off point to build the design of the shoot. Vivian designed a beautifully minimalist menu and stationery set for this shoot, complete with wax seals of her own design!
I foraged some mushrooms right on site that made their way into the flat lays and centerpieces! I love finding natural treasures at shoots that help tie everything together and feel rich and organic.
We had the privilege of working at the stunning Warwick Farm in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and there were so many perfect and photogenic spots it was hard to choose where to set up! We settled on a spot in the gardens in front of the most beautiful hen house you ever saw, with families of ducks waddling around the grounds and doves landing on the top windowsill, it was like we walked into a dream!
We set up our reliable farm table and even made matching benches for this shoot (now available to rent!) Beeswax taper candles and minimal floral centerpieces by Katie from Old Slate Farm in Bombabird handmade ceramic vessels helped accent a feasting table. Wool gauze runners and napkins hand dyed by Kate from The Lesser Bear in Columbus added a soft touch to the wood table. Vivian’s romantic but cleanly designed menus perched on top of our Heirloom dishes, and our new wine bottle glassware and vintage amber goblets provided a variety of vessels for drinking. Our new black flatware added a modern touch to the romantic place settings.
Earlier this year I started including food at every styled shoot and I will never do another without it! Having food of any kind in a styled tablescape adds a level of authenticity, texture and visual interest that you don’t get with an empty table set. My favorite things to add are interesting breads and fruits with lots of texture and range in color. I used some vintage Chapati boards and wooden bowls to display the breads and cheeses and to add warmth and character to the table.
Katie from Old Slate Farm had an idea to press flowers to put onto the cake, and resulted in a perfectly imperfect natural look! She also put together a gorgeous foraged installation in the field completely self standing!
Thanks for reading! Email us to talk about decorating your event!
View the full Gallery below!
Photography shot on film: Jenna Powers Photography | Venue: Warwick Farms | Design: Mari Foster | Rentals: Something Old Dayton
Florals: Old Slate Farm | Ribbon and table Linen: The Lesser Bear | Invitations & Paper Goods: Vivian Kammel
Cake: Desserts by Dena | Hair, and Makeup: Beauty by Jlou | Model: Josie Cooper with Sigal Models |
Gown PR/Wardrobe Styling: Perry Rose Media | Gown Designer: Celia Grace | Men’s Suit: Express | Tie: Banana Republic
Ceramics: Bombabird | Handmade Paper: Fabulous Fancy Pants | Wax Seals: Wax Seals