Inspiration | Of Flora & Flame in the Underworld

When I was in the 7th grade my literature teacher made us write reports about Greek Gods and Goddesses. Everyone was assigned a god based on our gender and personality. Originally I was given Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest; however, at the last moment my teacher revoked her original selection and said “Actually, you’ll like this one better.” and assigned me Persephone; Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld. Excuse me, what? This was years before my darker side had revealed itself, and I was trying my damnedest to fit in among my “much cooler” peers. Evidently, my teacher saw straight through this facade, and in retrospect I hear her message loud and clear.

Years later, a friend and I worked on a story together about an alternate world, rich with mythology. The region itself was filled with strange floral and fauna, dark modernist architecture, and a ruling family filled with secrets. The male lead was the prince of a disbanded kingdom, with a distinct tie to a mysterious god of creation. The female lead, the goddess of time and daughter of the god of death, is sent to the mortal realm to recover this god. Instead she meets the prince and falls in love, and together they have a daughter. Furious, the god of death forces her to return to the cosmic realm, knowing that if time runs out then the world will eventually end. Rejecting her position and believing the world to be at its end regardless of her whereabouts, she leaves to find the prince ending the world in the process. However, before departing she is able to preserve “the heart of world” in their daughter, so that all could be recreated again. The partnership that created this tale eventually ended, and the story was never written, but its always stuck with me.

For months now I’ve been pondering how to incorporate my interest in mythology and story telling into my editorial work. It wasn’t until I discovered the beautiful, yet brooding black barn on Spain Ranch that I finally could envision what this shoot might look like. For all intents and purposes this was to be a Hades & Persephone inspired shoot. I wanted a less overt depiction, as to lend a hand to the latter personal story and provide a broader narrative overall. I choose for the bride to take on the more somber serious role as a goddess of death, and the groom to be tied more so to the natural, earthly world. Even without revealing my own personal story to my collaborators they absolutely nailed my vision for this shoot. The cake, the flowers, the overall tablescape design. I honestly was having a hard time containing myself the day of just because it all looked SO FREAKING COOL. Beyond being fabulously talented, many of the people involved traveled from Kansas City to Tulsa specifically to take part in this editorial. They were absolutely invested, and I cannot thank them enough for bringing my vision to life.

V E N D O R S
venue: Spain Ranch - Black Barn
planning/design: Brick & Ivory Events
floral design: Fiore Floral Studio
cake: Petals & Pastries
stationary: Quinntessential Co.
paper flower Backdrop: Point 918 Press
rentals: Party Pro Rents
gown: Janay A Eco Bridal
veil: Veronica Couture
jewelry: Cydney Ross
hair: Ash Franke Styles
makeup: Stunning by Starla
models: Rachel Gregor & Eric Hibbeler