A Dreamy Bank Vault Wedding Inspiration Session

This bridal portrait inspiration comes straight from inside of a historic bank turned bridal salon. The Prohibition Era bank vault inside of Ava Laurénne Bride, adorned with an asymmetrical floral arbor, is the backdrop for these lovely bridals. The unique ceremony space combines the beauty of warm florals and flowing greenery with the cold metallics of the antique bank vault.

Ava Laurénne Bride is the premier bridal boutique in Virginia, but it is also a new wedding ceremony space in the heart of historic Fredericksburg. The building was first built as a bank in 1927 and was since renovated with the original steel vault still intact. Once Ava Laurénne became an intimate wedding venue as well, Wendy Rivera of Ava Laurénne Bride and Wendy Mercer of Gatherings by Mercer wanted to showcase the space as well as the possibilities for bridal portraits here. So we planned this hybrid inspirational shoot, photographed in both digital and film formats.

Wendy Mercer decorated the vault entrance with sprawling greens and lush florals and invited other local wedding professionals to contribute to the styled session. Inspired by a romantic, warm tone with a hint of Prohibition Era rebellion and sass, Wendy and Michelle from Lieb Photographic collaborated to bring the outdoors into this redesigned space. Everything from the vintage beveled glass ring box to the bas relief inspired cake reflects the character of the Old Hollywood and Prohibition Era mingled with hints of Spanish Romanticism.

Wendy created an asymmetrical floral arbor over the vault with florals that mimicked the hue of the wall behind the vault. Jami of Noted Calligraphy created the love letters, escort cards, and geodes to compliment the creamy apricot tone as well. The bas relief inspired cake has such delicate details and texture that perfectly reflect the texture of the pearls and tulle in the private label gown from Ava Laurenne.

But they didn’t stop with just one gown. As Ava Laurénne Bride is a bridal boutique, it was fitting to have the model also don another dress to continue the look. The second Ava Laurénne Private Label dress and cathedral veil flow with an ethereal glow as the model graces the open space at Ava Laurénne. And the rose gold and Morganite ring is the perfect peachy rose accent piece for such a romantic arrangement.

Everything worked in a textured harmony to create a lovely bridal portrait vignette in this distinctly transformed historic space! Now THIS is how you use an intimate romantic architectural space to its full potential!