So in addition to being a brilliant wedding photographer, I'm also a fashion maven.
Not.
Here's how this went: The weather people said "big storm on Tuesday!" and I got excited because it was the first real snow of the season (haha, funny that). I went on the Facebooks and posted: "HEY! We're going to wake up to snow tomorrow. Who wants to shoot?" And from there, somehow a little fun in the snow ballooned into a quite massive undertaking complete with event planner, hair and makeup artist, videographer and two models!
It ended up being way snowier and colder than was predicted, so the roads were a big mess. Luckily for me, we planned to meet at my house. Unluckily for everyone else, we didn't plan to meet at theirs. Poor Gabby from Alison Harper & Co. got stuck in the snow and we had to come rescue her!
So in the end, we all made it (except for our lovely third model and snow-bound third photographer). We let Gabby work her magic on JoJo and my beautiful and very sure-I'll-do-it second shooter Julia. Tiffany from Simply Breathe Events dressed them up and we trudged out to the local park.
We'll take a break in photos to watch this hilarious and super-exciting video produced by The Documentist, who also happens to be my buddy Jon.
It's not a "styled shoot" unless you have florals, right? Liza at Studio DBI made me this beautiful bouquet and also lent my favorite thing in the whole shoot - the sweet-ass gothic candelabra and black candles. That thing is bitchin', man. If only I had any use for a giant candelabra at home...
Tiffany also put together this rockin' tablescape for a chilly dinner for two outside. And shhh, don't tell anyone, but the tablecloth is my bed sheets! We are a resourceful bunch. Nobody spent a penny on this shoot - except for gas and all.
Most days are processing images and making album edits and answering five thousand emails, but some lovely days are like this - collaborating on silly fashion photo shoots with your friends and colleagues. It's a good life.
The fabulous vendor team who worked on this shoot:
Coordinator and stylist: Tiffany from Simply Breathe Events
Hair and makeup: Gabby from Alison Harper & Co.
Videography: The Documentist
Bouquet and bangin' candelabra: Studio DBI
"Real" model: JoJo
Fake model: My awesome second shooter Julia! (Her work is featured on nearly every wedding blog post on this site.)
Bonus shout-outs:
Extra photography (not shown) and the lady who knew JoJo: Jessica Patterson
Extra videography: Creative Ideation
Model who sat in traffic for an hour but ultimately turned around and went home: Mollie Tobias
Thanks so much everyone!
And finally, props to Bree at Capitol Romance who was kind enough to feature the shoot on her blog. Woot, promotion!
Do you all remember how I went to Mardi Gras last year and took a bunch of photos? Well I'm headed back again this year and ready to rock again. And this time, I'd love to work with anyone who needs some portrait action down there. Little kids all dressed up in homemade costumes for the parades? Let's do a little family session! Your krewe needs a refresh for the webpage? I'm there. Engaged and want to capture some of the city you love? I'm on it!
I'll be in NOLA from February 14 through the 21st, so we've got plenty of post-Tuesday time for photos. Drop me a line to amber at amberwilkie.com to set up a time! Furthermore, I got to march with Tucks last year and it was *super rad*. If you need some photos of your parade, hit that email up there.
And now, just ten frames from 2014, since I think I might have overdone it on the blog post last year.
Holly and Justin celebrated their first wedding anniversary with - me! Ok, they had a real celebration and all, but exactly one year before we met up, they tied the knot in Virginia. The newlyweds and Pumpkin, their adorable tiny dog, and I met up on the first of what has turned out to be many frigid days. It was a lot of "jacket off!" click click click "jacket on!"
For those of you who are uninitiated, the Great Falls are indeed very great. I was also quite proud of my fellow DMV-area folks. It was damn cold that day but the park was packed to the gills with folks hiking and doing whatever else it is people do at parks. We also saw two other photographers doing portrait sessions. What can you do!
Most of the trees had given up the ghost, but we found a good one.
Congratulations, you guys!