Creative Direction & Styling at The Celestine

A cinematic hospitality and wedding-morning editorial rooted in restraint, ritual, and place.

Project Overview

This editorial campaign was conceived to articulate The Celestine’s identity as a luxury, experience-driven destination—one that values atmosphere, emotional pacing, and narrative continuity over overt decoration.

Produced as a wedding-morning and hospitality editorial, the project explored how intentional creative direction and restrained styling could enhance the lived experience of a couple and generate high-performing, evergreen brand content for the property.

The result was a body of work that felt quietly cinematic, deeply respectful of place, and commercially effective across social, print, and partner channels.

Project Snapshot

Project Type:
Wedding Preparation Styling · Editorial · Hospitality Brand Campaign

Venue:
The Celestine (including Peychaud’s Bar)

Location:
New Orleans, Louisiana

Scope of Work:
Creative direction · Wedding Prep Ritual styling · Editorial composition · On-site art direction · Visual refinement for photography and film

Collaborators:

Photography: Lauren Carroll Photography

Content Creation: Day of Bestie — Alexis Fury

Cinematography: Abshire Films

Florals: Violeta's — Sara Gray

Stationary Suite & Paper Goods: InvitoBella

Fashion & Bridal: Le Rose Bridal · I Do Bridal Couture · Rita Vinieris · Bella Bridesmaids New Orleans · Bash Bazaar by Alina

Hair & Makeup: Kasey Smith Beauty · Melissa Vaccaro

Models: Emma Kate Burg · Ashlyn Trahan · Kayla Gangi · Heath Vince · Jackson Richard · Jayden Christian

Venue: The Celestine · Peychaud’s Bar · Leblanc & Smith

Our Signature Styling Experience, The Wedding Prep Ritual by Soigné Styling:
Perfume Bar: Tijon Perfumery New Orleans
Custom Matchbooks: InvitoBella
Heirloom Glassware & Décor: Soigné Styling
Cigar Ritual: Cigar Factory New Orleans
Personal Bartender: Blue Book Barkeeps
Ambient Candlelight: Luminous Events

The Brief

The brief centered on creating a wedding-morning experience that felt emotionally grounded, visually intentional, and unmistakably of The Celestine.

Rather than layering decorative elements onto the space, the goal was to work within the hotel’s historic architecture, patina, and light—refining rhythm, texture, and flow so the environment felt calm, cohesive, and naturally cinematic.

The campaign needed to serve two parallel purposes:

Support an elevated, seamless wedding-morning experience for couples
Generate editorial-grade imagery suitable for hospitality storytelling, social amplification, and print publication

Creative Direction & Narrative Approach

The creative direction was guided by restraint and reverence for place.

Every decision—palette, object placement, spatial use—was informed by The Celestine’s existing character. The narrative emphasized ritual over spectacle, focusing on tactile materials, softened tonal continuity, and moments of pause.

Rather than staging scenes, the approach allowed the hotel to lead—highlighting how thoughtful pacing and minimal intervention can elevate both experience and imagery.

This philosophy ensured the space remained authentic, while subtly refined through editorial discipline.

Styling & Execution

Soigné’s role spanned both pre-production and on-site direction, including:

Bridal suite and wedding-morning environment styling
Curated heirloom object placement and vignette composition
Champagne, perfume, and glassware ritual styling
Spatial refinement for photography and cinematography
On-site art direction to maintain visual continuity across rooms and moments

Each element was placed with equal consideration for how it would be experienced in real time and how it would translate visually—ensuring authenticity rather than performance for the camera.

Campaign Impact & Measured Results

Performance data compiled May 5, 2025, from content produced October 21, 2024.

Average engagement rate: 4.05%
(More than 2× the wedding industry benchmark)
80%+ of campaign content exceeded industry standards
Click-through rate: up to 1.14%
(1%+ considered strong for Instagram brand campaigns)
Non-follower reach: 60–90% across most content
(Strong discovery beyond existing audiences)
Top-performing reel: 5.6% engagement
(Ritual-focused, cinematic content consistently led performance)
Estimated combined reach: ~435,000+
Across social amplification, brand sharing, and print circulation
Print publication:
inRegister Magazine — Weddings Issue
50,000+ regional circulation

Performance confirmed that narrative-led, experience-focused content drives stronger engagement and broader discovery for hospitality brands than traditional editorial imagery alone.

Cross-Market Exposure & Distribution

The campaign was actively shared and repurposed across trusted fashion, bridal, lifestyle, and regional media channels.

Digital & Social Amplification

Le Rose Bridal — 127,000 followers
Rita Vinieris — 75,000 followers
Tijon Perfumery (multi-city) — 25,500 followers
New Orleans Tidbits — 22,500 followers
I Do Bridal Couture (Baton Rouge) — 15,500 followers
Emma Kate Burg (Model/Influencer) — 15,000 followers
inRegister Magazine — 13,000 followers
New Orleans Bride Magazine — 6,000 followers

Print Publication

inRegister Magazine — Weddings Issue
50,000+ regional print circulation

Estimated Combined Reach:

~435,000+ impressions across digital and print

Venue Adoption & On-Property Use

Beyond social and editorial distribution, imagery from this campaign was fully integrated into The Celestine’s ongoing hospitality marketing and sales ecosystem.

Select visuals were adopted across:

The Celestine’s website
Ongoing social media presence
Prospective event and wedding client packets
Printed guides and booklets distributed during on-property experiences

Campaign imagery was also featured during The Celestine Social, a venue-hosted hospitality meet-and-greet for industry professionals. Visuals appeared within curated printed materials, reinforcing the property’s narrative during a live, relationship-driven setting.

This level of adoption reflects the campaign’s versatility and longevity—demonstrating how narrative-led creative direction can support not only marketing visibility, but sales conversations, client education, and brand consistency across touchpoints.

The Result

The campaign established a cohesive, emotionally resonant visual identity for The Celestine—one that translated seamlessly across social, print, and partner platforms.

The imagery remains evergreen and adaptable, supporting both wedding positioning and broader hospitality marketing while preserving the hotel’s inherent character.

Most importantly, the space remained unmistakably itself—simply elevated through intention, pacing, and narrative clarity.

Closing Context

This project reflects Soigné’s approach to creative direction as brand stewardship—supporting venues, planners, photographers, and hospitality partners who value cohesion, restraint, and long-term brand alignment over decorative excess.

Ideal for collaborators seeking refined, narrative-led creative direction rather than standalone styling services.

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Campaign Results at a Glance

4.05% engagement · 2× industry average · 435K+ reach · 50K+ print circulation