This shoot was an adventure. It started out with a concept: Alice sleeps and dreams of her wedding. Then it changed, like all creative shoots do, and took on a life of its own. I had a concept and most of my props, but I didn’t have wardrobe. I made the headdress (a sculptural, modern veil with a teacup sitting atop), and McKenzie made the skirt (60 yards of tulle). Suddenly we had an extremely whimsical shoot – a sort of Marie Antoinette meets Alice in Wonderland. When it all came together the day of the shoot, it was magic, and has become my favorite collection of photos I’ve taken so far.
I incorporated a lot of elements from myself. I have always dreamt vividly. I dream of wearing gorgeous gowns, feeling beautiful at parties or inconceivably strange events. Often, I eat sweets in my dreams and taste every scrumptious morsel. The day after this shoot, I dreamt that I was eating the chocolate tart (that thing was amazing).
We worked hard for this collection, lugging boxes and furniture down a quarter-mile bike path to the perfect location, setting up every little detail. As we were shooting, spectators walked by and gawked, looking at us like we were crazy. We kind of are. Is that a bad thing?
A huuuuuge thank you to everyone who helped on this shoot, especially to Mark, who made the cute signs, dealt with a house full of tulle, put up with a stressed-out me, and for all the muscle man work hauling furniture to the site!
Model: Cortney Martinez
Photography: Dawn Kelly
Photo assistants: Mark Kelly, McKenzie Yates, Kelly Newman, Desiree Dill
Hair/Makeup: Dawn Kelly
Model Styling: Dawn Kelly
Wardrobe: Dawn Kelly and McKenzie Yates
Set Styling: Dawn Kelly, Kelly Newman, McKenzie Yates
Props: Dawn Kelly, Kelly Newman
Furniture & Vintage rentals: Unique Boutiques Vintage Weddings & Events
Food: Raley’s Bakery
Shot with 100% film
Enjoy the story we’ve worked so hard to put before you.
To see the gallery, click HERE
For behind the scenes shenanigans, click HERE
To see a tutorial on how to make the really cool paper flowers, click HERE
To see me making the ridiculous paper bouquet, click HERE