Have you ever wanted an opportunity so badly that you’d do anything to have it? Then one day you are presented with it and all the sudden it feels scary and creates an overwhelming amount of nerves for you!? Those are make it or break it moments as an entrepreneur, and this Pastel Romance Styled Shoot was one of those moments for us!
I have always loved the excitement that comes from the process of planning, designing, and preparing for parties or events. In no way am I a professional planner or coordinator (though I like to think I am), but I’ve often daydreamed and thought about how fun it would be to do that as a job! I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing but I can’t just keep things simple. I always find myself going ALL out for whatever it is I’m preparing for! Jon says that I have a “go big or go home” mentality when it comes to planning. Even as I write this, he is joking about how our ‘little’ Christmas get together with friends has turned into a full fledged party with all the little details! Why? Because…why not!? It’s just too much fun and there is so much detail to be found and created in everything.
Still being newbies in our new home state – Jon and I have been making it a focus to meet and network with other local creatives. I had the pleasure of meeting with Cynthia Mercer, an extremely talented local florist, over coffee to introduce ourselves and collaborate and we walked out talking about doing a styled shoot together! We set an aggressive timeline of two and a half weeks to get all of the details worked out and make the magic happen! Since we had such a tight timeline we didn’t have a coordinator who was available to work with us, so without a minute to spare, we decided that I would coordinate the shoot. I had a rush of excitement and all sorts of ‘girl boss’ motivation throughout the remainder of that afternoon and into the evening but then it finally hit me – I only had two and a half weeks!! It wasn’t just the weight of the planning, networking other vendors and figuring out how to make all of the details come together that I was carrying, but I also felt a huge responsibility for creating something that would allow Jon and I to photograph each vendor’s business, products, and creative talents in the best representation that we could. I am still so thankful to Cynthia for trusting me from the time we met and being such a helpful encourager throughout the entire process!
The very next day, I hit the ground hustlin’! I spent the next two and a half weeks brainstorming ideas, designing and building a backdrop, and stuffing our trooper of a baby girl with as much Starbucks popcorn as she wanted so that I could drive around the city and go in and out of stores to bring our ideas to life. (Side note: there has to be crack in that butter popcorn! The second you open the bag and smell the goodness, you already can’t get enough. Go and try it and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about!) I ignored all the thoughts of doubt that tried to creep in and I lost some sleep here and there, but throughout the entire process Jon encouraged me and gave me affirmation that I was ‘killing it’ and continuously reminded me to focus on what the amazing end result would be.
The venue was probably the biggest stress factor we had in planning the shoot. I mean, how can you find the perfect venue with such short notice that would be available in the tail end of wedding season?! We felt so blessed to have been referred to Buckman’s Coffee Factory in downtown Portland. This local co-op roasting factory was built in an existing printing press facility that was complete with enormous old growth ceiling beams, gorgeous sliding barn doors, and huge windows letting in all the natural light that a photographer could hope for! It was the perfect intimate venue and we were so appreciative of the owner, Cassy, and her accommodation.
Sincerely the Bride, a quaint little bridal shop in downtown Vancouver provided and elegant, open back gown for our model and makeup artist, who also happens to be my sister! Jessica wore the 2017 Pronovias Oreste gown that had a flattering fit and no shortage of intricate detail. We had the most gorgeous fresh flowers for the bridal bouquet and centerpiece made by Cynthia Mercer of Your Flower Friends. She created such a timeless arrangement full of pastel colors and unique florals that added detail and made the bouquet pop! And we have to talk for a minute about the hand painted details in the floral designs on the cake! Cat, with Sewell Sweets, blew us away with the handmade details including the lace design for the middle tier and her own sugar flowers that she created from scratch.
Again, due to the tight timeline, we were left crossing our fingers that we would be able to find a calligrapher and hair stylist that would be able to add their work to the shoot and round out the details. The lovely Sarah Barrett of Sarah B Calligraphy was amazing and created mock ups, hand deckled the papers, and made a floral envelope liner to create a beautiful wedding suite – all in the course of about a week! She used pale watercolors and did a great job of providing us with so much detail to work with. And Lacey Scheidel made my night the evening she called and told us that she was available to do the hairstyle we were looking for. She was so fun to invite into our house and talk with while she curled and styled a beautiful dutch braid in Jessica’s hair.
The backdrop and table settings are where I was able to channel my inner designer skills. Jon was probably tired of hearing me dream about the perfect backdrop, but I just saw something so specific in my head that I had to have. He was patient, listened to all my ideas, and was able to create exactly what I was hoping for. I knew he was a keeper when I married him! 😉
Our styled shoot went off without a hitch…well almost. There always seems to be something that happens where we can choose to crumble or choose to laugh and roll with it. While en route to a beautiful lilac garden, the dark clouds quickly rolled in and spoiled our plans to capture those highly desired golden light photos. We only pouted for a minute and then decided to make the most of it when on a whim, we literally pulled off on the side of a road and got some AWESOME outdoor shots! To everyone in that Vancouver neighborhood who honked and stared out of your car windows as you drove by – we are happy to have been some free entertainment that night. 🙂
We feel so blessed to have been able to work with such amazing local talents. The entire process brought about a lot of stretching, growing and all that uncomfortable stuff you don’t want to work through in the moment. I’m proud to say that we kept pushing and the end result was SO rewarding. We were so happy to have been able to showcase the talents of all our vendors and were overjoyed when a wedding publication reached out to us to publish the session. Being published didn’t determine the success of the shoot. In our eyes, being able to see the vision of the entire team through to completion was success enough for us. But being published did serve as additional confirmation to the efforts of everyone involved. Check out the beautiful work from our lovely vendors below and be sure to consider them for any future needs!
Florist: Cynthia Mercer with Your Flower Friends, @yourflowerfriends hello@yourflowerfriends.com
Baker & Cake Designer: Catherine Sewell with Sewell Sweets, @sewellsweets sewellsweets@gmail.com
Hair Stylist: Lacey Renae, @lacey_renae L.RENAE@comcast.net
Make-up Artist: Jessica Hamblin, @jessmhamblin6, jessicahamblin4@gmail.com
Paper Goods: Sarah Barrett with Sarah B Calligraphy, @sarahbcalligraphy hello@sarahbcalligraphy.com
Bridal Gown: Lisa with Sincerely the Bride, @sincerelythebride lisa@sincerelythebride.com
Venue: Cassy Gleason with Beckman Coffee Factory, @buckmancoffeefactory cassy@buckmancoffee.com
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