It all started when I saw a post advertising a Styled Shoot opportunity in one of Facebook groups of my favorite photographer couple, Amy and Jordan Demos. Another amazing couple, Kalahan and Sean, were putting together a work shop and styled shoot for fellow photographers who wanted to increase their skill and build a supportive community with each other. I signed up for it and waited with anticipation. April 20th dawned cloudy and drizzly. I was a little worried about our styled shoot outdoors if the weather wasn’t going to cooperate. (Spoilers- the clouds rolled away and it turned out beautiful right before we started the shoot. Thank you, God!)
It was so nice to get to meet other photographers and find so much in common with one another! Many of us were moms and some juggled other jobs as well as their photography business. We were all hard working and willing to invest in our business. Kalahan was amazing because she warned us all upftont that she was due with their little boy very soon and was actually supposed to be on bed-rest! We all told her to sit down and take it easy, but she handled the day like Super Woman and didn’t even go into labor! 😉
Now I just have to brag on the vendors for a moment. They all sacrificed their time and products to make this such a gorgeous event. Our venue was The Inn at Avonlea and it was breathtaking! It was the perfect mix of elegant beauty and cottage charm. Everything was thought out and worked together seamlessly. I would highly recommend it as a perfect venue for weddings and formal events. Julianne and her husband own the place and she is the most amazing hostess! She even made all the food for our group and even brought down a beautiful platter of dark chocolate, mint, raspberries, and dried oranges. I felt so pampered!
Becky, with Event Crush was the coordinator and she crushed it! Pun intended. She ran much of the behind the scenes jobs and made the whole day run so smoothly. She is also one of the nicest people you’ll meet which makes interacting with her so much fun!
Mai, with Blossom and Beauty was in charge of hair and makeup and oh my goodness, she did a stellar job! She had lots of models to work on, but got them all looking amazing in time. Just check out some of the pictures of the brides up-do! It is GORGEOUS!
Now one of the biggest wow moments was when I walked into the little studio out back and saw the masterpiece of flowers that Makayla with Flowery Farm Girl had put together! It was jaw dropping. Literally the most beautiful display of flowers I have ever seen! She also arranged all the bouquets and centerpieces. This woman is a magical fairy when it comes to flowers! Just scroll down and you’ll see what I’m talking about! The colors, the textures, everything! It was simply amazing and I am so thankful to have been able to document it.
We practiced a lot with flat lays before we got to the styled shoot and much of the material we worked with was from Letters and Dust. Brittany does a fabulous job and creating custom lettering and signage. They just fit perfectly with the rest of the elegant decor and flow of the event.
Ashley with Sweet Treats PDX created the cake. It was such a work of art! Its creamy white, marbled sky blue and touches of gold made it distinguished and absolutely perfect for this shoot. I only regret that I didn’t get to taste it because if it tasted half as good as it looked, it would be heavenly!
The wedding gown was from The White Dress PDX and was a stunner. I mean, the model was stunning as well and I’m pretty sure could have made anything look good, but when she walked out with that dress on, all of us gasped. It had so many intricate details on it, with the lace bodice and lace in the form of leaves trailing down her skirt. The train was the perfect length and it would make any bride feel amazing on her big day.
The rentals were from Archive PNW and the linens from Party Crush Studio. What can I say? Everything was perfect and it’s amazing to me how so many people work together and bring their best so that the end result is a real masterpiece.
Finally I have to thank all of the models for being so joyful and perfectly carrying out all of our cues. Both the bride and groom and the anniversary session at the end were actually married couples which I love! I think the love they show is visibly more authentic than trained models who don’t know each other.
These images are to die for and they are all due to so many many people donating their time and talent. I just got to reap the fruit of their hard work and photograph it all! Enjoy!
