Click, Click, Click…A Fall Styled Shoot
Oh, styled shoots, you’ve got to love them, but I kinda hate them too! LOL! The competition is so fierce these days with everyone doing styled shoots that I get stressed. I guess there’s so much pressure to make something look “pretty,” they can also be quite pricey, and if you are all not on the same page with the vision, it can be a bust! But when I got an email from Chelsa with Chelsea J. Photography about possibly collaborating on a styled shoot, I jumped at the chance! Because one, I love her work, and two, I haven’t had the chance to work with her. And there was something a little different with this particular shoot. There were going to be two photographers shooting this, with two different set-ups. So, not only would I get photos from Chelsa but I would also get photos from Zoya, with Zoya Dawn Photography, who I happen to follow and love her work as well! I thought it was a cool concept, and who doesn’t love to get more photos, right?
So, before you take a look at the photos, there’s a little back story that I want to share with you all…well, I thought the shoot was on Sunday, but it was actually on Saturday! Uh, yeah (you can insert that face plant emoji right here)! My in-laws were visiting from out of town, and I just dropped them off at the airport, and as I am walking in the house, I see a missed call from Chelsa. BTW, I hadn’t even taken a shower yet, and I was looking pretty rough at the time. So, I call her back and this is how the conversation pretty much went:
Chelsa: Hey I’m off to the florist to see if I can get any extra greenery to add to the cake table.
Me: OK (wondering why she is telling me this on a Saturday when the shoot is tomorrow)
Chelsa: You’re almost here, right?
Me: Huh??? What do you mean I’m almost here?
Chelsa: For the shoot.
And that was when I had my “oh shit” moment with a bunch of cuss words to go along with it! My mind started spinning with questions and panic. The best way I can describe it is sort of like that meme where the guy is trying to solve that math problem and there are all these formulas being computed in his head. But instead of math formulas, I’m thinking, “How did this happen?…No, it’s on Sunday….What do I need to grab and put in the car?…Oh, no I haven’t taken a shower!” But, because I am a planner, everything was boxed up, set aside and ready to go. So all I had to do was throw the boxes in the car and drive. But, yes there is a but…I had been communicating directly with Kayla from Flower Flingers and she thought the shoot was on Sunday too! Oops! Since Chelsa was on her way to see Kayla, she was going to talk to her to see what she could do to get the flowers ready. And I was praying that Kayla was also like me, and already starting to prepare ahead of time for the shoot.
I immediately jumped in my car (rough looking and all), as did my husband because we had two carloads and we started the drive to Palmer where the shoot was going to take place. For those of you who don’t know where Palmer is, it’s North of Anchorage and about an hour away. It was already close to 11:30 am and I was supposed to be there by noon, which wasn’t gonna happen. Oh, and that’s when it started snowing! Really, God, really? And I’m not talking light snow, like heavy, wet snow (it was the first major snow of Winter to put it all in perspective for you). By the time we reached the florist, there was probably a good 4 to 5 inches of snow on the ground. Kayla was just finishing up on the centerpiece when I walked into her store and she was so cool, calm and collected. I grabbed the flowers and hopped back in my car and headed over to Legacy Mountain Lodge, which is a new venue in the area. As we were driving there, the snow got lighter, and lighter and disappeared, and it seems like we were driving away from the snowstorm. Which was good, because even though the Lodge was only about 15 minutes away, I was deep in Palmer. Like so deep that there was a lot of land around and I saw terrain that I never knew existed in Palmer! Let’s just say, if someone kidnapped me and dropped me off on the way to Legacy Mountain Lodge, I wouldn’t know how to get home! 🙂
I finally arrived at about 2:30 pm, only 2 hours late! The shoot had already started and they were getting finished up with the first set of models. As I started to set up, snow started falling, but it was light snow and it was the most beautiful thing ever. What started as an “oh shit” moment suddenly turned into a “beautiful” moment! And you will see it in the photos! I couldn’t have timed that snowfall so perfectly (wink wink)! So, that’s my little back story about this styled shoot! I hope you enjoy these beautiful photos!
Other Participating Alaska Vendors
Venue: Legacy Mountain Lodge @legacymountainlodge
Planning: i do Events @idoeventsak
Florals: Flower Flingers @flower_flingers
Cake: Midnight Sun Cakery @midnightsuncakery
Gown: Bateau Bridal Boutique @bateaubridalboutique
Make-up: Chance Droege @chaaance
Models: Rebekah + Paul Lawrence @rebekah.lawrence