Becoming a Bride!? |Feature

Remember the early years of galavanting around in mom’s heels and makeup? Yea, me neither. Nevertheless, there’s loads of evidence stacked against me in the scrapbooks… and I’ll be honest, not much has changed.

“Playing dress up begins at age 5 and never truly ends” -Kate Spade

According to pictures, I was keen on becoming everything from a rockstar to ballerina. Of course on occasion the white dress and veil came out, then it was ‘here comes the blushing bride’ (flower bouquet from the yard and all).

While I may have gotten bigger, that affinity for transformation never left me. Instead it turned into a love of theatre, themed parties (way too many), and what can only be described as violent enthusiasm for Halloween each year.

Knowing all that, it should come as no surprise that when San Angel Photography wanted to take pictures of me playing dress up all day, I was ecstatic. As mostly wedding photographers, they spend their time capturing the most precious moments in a person’s life. Although that’s incredible work in itself, they usually have little control of the subject matter, wedding theme, colors, etc.

That’s why they wanted to band a team of likeminded individuals with a similar vision in mind. The goal? To create a “mock” wedding, in which all participants collaborate to create something beautiful that you maybe haven’t seen before (or at least is a side step to the same old mason jar/rustic chic aesthetic). And so the fun began-

We started at VIP Bridal to pick out the perfect dress. I won’t lie, putting on those gorgeous gowns was a blast, especially because there was zero pressure on me to decide ‘the one.’ That being said, I was so pumped when they picked this one, because your girl LOVES twirling in a huge skirt (another thing admittedly brought from childhood).

Next up it was time to meet the groom, because arranged marriages aren’t usually my style (although apparently picking out a dress before meeting a guy is??). Thankfully we had a Christmas party that evening, providing the perfect opportunity to meet, AND take advantage of an open bar.

Before we knew it, the big day had arrived (literally it was the next morning)! My instructions simply were to show up, and I didn’t even have to do that on my own because Maryann (San Angel Photography) gave me a ride! It should be mentioned here that before becoming a flight attendant, I was actually a wedding planner. So of course the day of all I wanted to do was help, but once I was dressed and prettied up by Blush & Glo Co. (co-owned by my bestie Rachel at All Things Blush!), I had to behave.

My contribution then became twirling around (even when we weren’t shooting), and asking for snacks. You surprised?

The theme was festive and brought together gorgeous deep jewel tones. I was obsessed with the decor by Ashley & Co. that incorporated the details so tastefully (my favorite were the cranberries in the candle holders!). The aesthetic was paired perfectly by Busy Lil Bee’s bouquet, which was a breathtaking combination texture and color. Double Creek Crossing had the most beautiful natural-lit setting that provided the perfect canvas for our holiday-inspired theme. To make things even more scrumptious, the Hilton brought delicious hors d’oeuvres to the table (literally), and Sandee’s Sweets this marble themed cake. (full disclosure, the cake wasn’t even real! #acting #butwaitiwantcake)

We shot for about 4 hours, which is unheard of at actual weddings because um HELLO, the food would get cold! It was super valuable that day to have time to make sure every contributor was shown in their best light.

At the end of the day I expected to be exhausted, but I was more energized than anything by being around so many creative minds. I was honored to be a part of it!

So in the end, I got a perfect wedding day without any of the work! Having planned my fair share of weddings, I’m thinking this collaborative situation is ideal. I can even recycle the images when I actually get married and just photoshop in my actual groom (don’t worry, I okayed this with my now fake husband, he’s cool with it!).

What an unbelievably fun experience. I am so grateful to have been a part of San Angel Photography’s vision by getting to play dress up, it was like a childhood dream come true!

Do you think I played the part of the blushing bride well (in between giggles and mouthfuls of food)? I’ll never forget this day, thanks for joining me for the highlights! Talk again soon*.x

*I promise this time!! I’ve been procrastinating like crazy, but this blog and community mean so much to me, and henceforth will become a priority in the future! Love you all!

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