All images by La Candella Weddings. Used with permission.
“Haha, working with a horse always makes things a little bit more complicated.” says photographer Angela Candella about a wedding fashion shoot involving a fairy tale inspired look and a splendid white horse. “Sometimes, the owner of the horse would wave carrots behind me to try to get the horse’s attention, but truthfully, he was more interested in eating the wreath around his neck, and also trying to eat the bouquet.”
Angela Candella is a very famous wedding and fashion photographer known for her specific creative vision, interesting use of colors, and the overall unique vision that she puts forward into her images. She’s won many awards, and even works in the wedding fashion photography space (yes, it’s a thing!)
Phoblographer: Where did the inspiration for this shoot come from?
Angela: For Bridal Market this year, Galia Lahav showcased a bride sitting on a vintage settee, with a photo of a white horse behind her. While talking with one of the reps via email, they told me how much they liked a similarly-styled shoot that I did last year. So, I talked to some of my favorite wedding vendors, found a white horse, and started planning.
Phoblographer: So talk to us about how you produced it. It seems that the creative elements that were really key are the dress, the horse, the couch and the the specific use of colors to tell a story.
Angela: I’ve done a lot of styled shoots in the past that included a ton of vendors, and a crazy amount of details. I knew that I wanted this photoshoot to (obviously) really focus on the gown, so I tried to keep it simple. We picked the model, Sarah (who, ironically, was also in the photoshoot mentioned before, that the rep at Galia Lahav really liked!) because she had a very “Game of Thrones” look to her. The hair stylist that I chose for the shoot, found us the horse for the shoot. We did the entire photoshoot in the woods right near the stables.
A couple of designer friends of mine, Colleen of Kata Banko Couture, and Ivy of Edera Jewelry made pieces specifically for the photoshoot. Colleen made quite a few beautiful gold crowns, and Ivy made the intricate crocheted lace earrings. I also had a few pieces from two other’s designers whose lookbooks I’d just photographed, so I included a couple pieces of theirs as well! Bella Fiore Designs made a gorgeous red bouquet for the bride, and a wreath for the horse. I wanted everything to have a very Renaissance, fairytale feel to it, while also having really rich colors, so I knew that the red settee would really bring everything together.
Phoblographer: Logistically speaking, how difficult was this? That’s a long dress and a lot of dirt on the ground!
Angela: Haha, working with a horse always makes things a little bit more complicated. Sometimes, the owner of the horse would wave carrots behind me to try to get the horse’s attention, but truthfully, he was more interested in eating the wreath around his neck, and also trying to eat the bouquet.
As far as keeping that large of a gown clean while being in the woods while also shooting with a horse- well, that would have been an absolute miracle to keep it pristine. It did get dirty, but not as bad as you might think. We had an awesome team on set that helped hold the dress & fluff it properly for the photos. We did have a little scary moment when Sarah (the model) was getting up on the horse. Once she had gotten up on him, the train of her gown spooked him, and he started galloping around in circles. Thankfully, Sarah had worked with horses all of her life, so she was able to settle him down quickly.
Phoblographer: Talk to us about the gear that you used.
Angela: I kept it really simple. I only used my Canon 6D and a Canon 50mm 1.4 lens. No flash or reflectors.
Vendor Credits:
Photographer- La Candella Weddings
Gown- Galia Lahav, Le Secret Royal Collection, “Tony”
Model- Sarah Matonis
Hair- La Pomponnee Beauty Artisans
Makeup- Brazil Raine Makeup Artist
Vintage Props- Vintage Alley
Florist- Bella Fiore Designs
Earrings- Edera Jewelry
Accessories- Kata Banko Couture, Fancy Bowtique Bridal Couture, and Mlle Artsy
Horse- Brach, provided by Coventry Equestrian Center