Part Two

A Rainy Forecast

The day scheduled for my casually elegant styled shoot was showing rain! I didn’t have a backup location but knew I needed to think fast in case it rained all day. I discussed it with Katie and our thoughts were that we would force ourselves to work with what we had rather than reschedule. Wedding days aren’t rescheduled if it rains! Photographers work around the rain to provide their clients with gorgeous images no matter the weather. We discussed our timeline and decided we would finalize the day before when we had a hopefully reliable hourly forecast. On Friday it was showing cloudy with rain starting around 2 pm.

Our Plan

Shara and I had decided we would use my house for getting ready and then we would have our couples come over to my neighbors when they were ready. The day of seemed just like a real wedding day with lots of people and lots of chaos. We started a lot earlier than originally planned in order to take advantage of the forecast! When Katie arrived, I walked her over to my neighbors so we could scout locations and finalize our plans!

Katie and I decided to start with the dresses just as you would on a real wedding day and then we would set up the first set of tablescapes at my neighbors, move on to the couples when they were ready and go back to tablescapes when we finished with them. We would fit in everything we could before the rain and we would do the second set of tablescapes at my house if we needed!

The First Look

Katie and I planned to fake the first looks but what we didn’t realize was our brides decided to make it legit. They wouldn’t let the grooms see them before the first look! Salim and Ian went first and it was just the sweetest moment! Ian actually got emotional when he saw Salim and we caught the best images! She is now saying if she doesn’t get the same response on their real wedding day she will be upset! Umm, Ian, you’ve set the bar high for yourself!

Wendi and Sage were next up and I have to say my nephew seemed speechless when he saw Wendi! It was super cute and he stood there looking at her. I finally prompted him to hug and kiss her! He seemed a little stunned! Katie and I got some great images of them!

The Makeup

Did I mention how beautiful these two brides are! They are of course beautiful but Pam Davis did an amazing job with their makeup so if you need a makeover, Pam is incredible and super sweet to work with! She will be featured in a vendor highlight on the blog soon!

The Florals

Katie and I took turns shooting each couple while my sister and Gerri set up tablescapes! Did you notice those bouquets and floral arrangements? Gerri’s floral arrangements are stunning so if you need an arrangement or are planning a wedding, she will not disappoint!

The Signature Cocktails

I loved incorporating Signature Cocktails into my Styled Shoot! Shannon at Bogue Sound Distillery provided me with a brochure with cocktail recipes and I picked one from each of their fine spirits! I had a blast picking drinks, making them, and creating a custom-crafted card with each drink listed! I will say my attempts at the Banana Split Martini left a little to be desired! Don’t judge!

I hope this will give brides and grooms lots of ideas for their own signature cocktails! And check out Bogue Sound Distillery’s website as they have recipes listed there for your tasting pleasure!

Here It Comes

As we finished the first set of tablescapes, I felt the first few drops of rain! Michael told me earlier that the rain was in Lynchburg so I knew we needed to get this grouping finished! We quickly packed up and moved to my house to do the second set!

The Finally

After everyone took a short break we finished up with the second set of tablescapes! At that point, I sent an exhausted Katie home and we had a late dinner! Afterward, the rest of us embarked on putting my house back together! It looked like a DIY craft event and a photography store blew up in my house! LOL!!

Be sure to check out the next few blogs featuring the Vendors from my casually elegant styled shoot – Pam Davis at PD’s Genuine Beauties, Gerri Russell at Pretty Petals and Shannon Childress at Bogue Sound Distillery

Want to see a recent wedding, click here: Kayla and Chris – Married!

Florals: Gerri Russell at Pretty Petals

Cake Artist: Shara Childress

Makeup Consultant: Pam Davis at PD’s Genuine Beauties

Hair: Shara Childress

Signature Cocktails: Shannon Childress at Bogue Sound Distillery