My husband and I celebrated one year of marriage this past September and I really want to make sure we have some great photos of the two of us - and then our family once we start that adventure. So, I talked with my friend and amazing photographer Caroline Tran about doing a session together. I would style our shoot, and she would photograph it. For the session, I really wanted to capture some of our favorite things we love to do as a couple - especially things we did in the first year of marriage. I know you probably just want to see the photos, but I'm also going to share some of what went into the planning and design of the session - because a lot did go into it! I hope you enjoy..
First, Jason (that's my hubby) and I talked about what things we loved doing together and things we did in year one of marriage - hikes in Malibu, cooking, listening to music, photography, reading, and travel. I also wanted the shoot to have a bit of a vintage feel (of course!). We decided for the first part, we would do a picnic scene in Malibu - perfect to capture all the times we hiked in that area and our love for relaxing outside. Caroline suggested a few locations, so one Saturday, Jason and I went out to scope out the areas. We drove all over looking for the perfect place. I really wanted the picnic to be under a big tree - location is so very important! And we found it - the location was amazing...
I called our session A Love Story and designed the book to capture that. We did the shoot on a Sunday, so early Saturday morning I went to the LA Flower Market and selected lots of flowers for the numerous bouquets you will see in the photos. You need to get up super early for the flower market - and thank you to my wonderful hubby for waking me up and coming along :), but it is AMAZING. I can't wait to go back, so much to pick from. I recommend having a plan for what you want or you might get overwhelmed. I knew I wanted to create a vintage-inspired bouquet for the picnic session and some more alternative rustic bouquets for the sessions I'm sharing tomorrow, but I was also open to see what flowers were in season. I have definitely fallen in love with floral design while styling this shoot - it was one of my favorite parts. :)
Once we had the location, it was off to thrift stores, ebay, and Home Goods to find the perfect props for the picnic. It takes a lot longer than you might think to find the perfect blanket, suitcases, vintage books, a camera, vases, and more. I also made a trip to Whole Foods for some gorgeous fruit to add to the picnic - yum!
The clothes. So important. The dress I'm wearing is from Anthropologie - it matched the blanket and overall color scheme perfectly- and I loved the pops of color. Jason is wearing a shirt form his personal collection of shirts with Mek jeans.
See? I knew it had to be under a tree - how amazing is this location??!! And the light was perfect. We actually did this session the first weekend in November and it was about 95 degrees! Crazy hot. Also, mad props to Caroline with her eye for this location. We both thought the hill would work, but it wasn't until I saw her test photos, that I was sold.
With my love of photography, I really wanted to incorporate this vintage camera into the session. Props like this make for some great photos. The camera really did work too - and we had fun playing with it.
My amazing hair and makeup was done by the team at Fiore Beauty. They are so great! They will come to your house or hotel and get you all pretty. I knew I wanted my hair to be loose and wavy and I loved how it turned out. Ok, the drinks. Jason LOVES Izze drinks. One day I dragged him to an Art Show and he drank 5 of these! I love the design of them and knew we had to include them. I also purchased some of those fabulous gray and white striped straws from Urbanic to use.
I know, everyone is tired of the big balloons, but I still love them - and that is all that is important - what you like! Although, with the amazing trees here, I think the balloon gets a bit lost. Not really needed. Well, it ended up popping anyways when Jason held it a little too close to the tree, but I still love the photo below. It looks like we are in some magical world!
I am SO thrilled with how these turned out. I don't think of myself as very photogenic, but Caroline managed to capture us perfectly. It's exactly how I want to remember our first amazing year together as husband and wife. I can not recommend her more highly! She has even more photos from this session on her blog today, so be sure to head over there and check them out.
I hope this gives a little more background as to what goes into some of the amazing photo shoots I feature on the blog, and what a stylist does. It's really a chance to get a one-of-a-kind editorial piece of the two of you. A stylist can help with engagement photos, anniversary photos, or your entire wedding. Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of the Styled Love Shoot where music is the overall theme.
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