I'm not sure there's ever been a more DIY styled shoot in the history of styled shoots...
When you think of a styled shoot, you probably imagine lots of vendors contributing to an elaborate wedding set up. There's a florist, cake artist, venue, wedding dress shop/designer, stationer, makeup and hair artist, planner, and other creatives contributing. I've been dreaming about being a part of one of these elaborate styled shoots, where thousands of dollars are contributed and your ticket to be a part of it as a photographer costs as much as one (or two or more) of your regular paid sessions. However, geography and life circumstances (like two adorable kiddos to take care of, and - well - money) do not lend itself well to me participating in one in the near future.
Annie Crawford (A. Crawford Photos) and I decided to take matters into our own hands. Literally. In nearly every way. And on June 1st we put on our own styled shoot. We contacted one local vendor (well, two, but one declined to participate) and asked two talented friends to do hair and makeup. My HUSBAND made the cake. My niece and her husband modeled in their wedding attire. I bought flowers from Michael's and did my best effort at making a bouquet myself. And Annie and I pooled our resources from our homes together (plus a couple thrifted items and very select few store bought items) to decorate the tables. Oh, and this was all done in my backyard minus the bride and groom portraits!
You may be able to tell this isn't a high budget styled shoot, but I'm still super proud of what we accomplished. And WOWzers I'm glad we got to photograph Hadassah and Austin. They are such a stunning couple! I can't thank you two enough for dressing back up in your wedding attire after 3 short months to model for us. I also want to thank Jackie of Mabe Design Co for creating such a beautiful invitation suite that fit our theme so perfectly. Go check out her work!! And a huge thank you to Abigail Gioja and Rachel Tomlinson for doing hair and makeup; you ladies are so talented! Annie, thank you for helping me put this whole thing together and contributing your resources and creativity. Lastly, a huge thank you to my husband for making the cake, taking apart our table and putting it back together and helping move everything around, AND watching our 2 year old and 2 month old for the day so that I could do this. You're the real MVP ;)
Stationery: Mabe Design Co
Hair: Abigail Goija
Makeup: Rachel Tomlinson
Cake: Nick Skoglund
Flowers: From Michael's, assembled by myself
Dress: Pure Bridal
Other Decor: just ask ;)
**Invitation suite is available for purchase at https://www.mabedesignco.com/the-madelyn
