I spent most of my career in broadcasting...both in front of the camera and behind a mic, so I'm very familiar with television and radio production, but magazine, not so much. So, when we were contacted by
Debbie Hurst, Art Director for
'Sacramento Magazine', about doing a 12-page photo shoot at the
Coloma Country Inn for their '
Our Wedding' magazine, I jumped at the opportunity. And what I learned was...it takes a village to produce all those fabulous photo spreads you see in the magazines. Literally! I have never seen so many people working on one piece in my life. Talk about fun! By 9am, the Inn was all abuzz with activity...
Now, I can't show you any of the photos of the set-ups for each shot, or the shots themselves, you'll have to wait for
'Our Wedding' magazine to come out in December for that. But I can share the 'behind-the-scenes' of what goes on with something this spectacular.
First, I want to say a huge thanks to
Beth Baugher from
'True Love Photo' for suggesting to the 'powers-that-be' at
'Sacramento Magazine' that the
Coloma Country Inn would be the perfect backdrop for this fabulous shoot. Believe me, something like this does not just drop into your lap, so many heartfelt thanks to dear Beth...you rock! Isn't she just as cute as can be?
Ok, back to the shoot. First to arrive was the gorgeous bride/model, Kelsey Johnson. She was followed by hair stylist, Tina Romo, and make-up artist, Sherri Morris, and all their goodies! First up...hair. Believe me, I had no idea what all went into getting those amazing hair styles we all covet in the magazines...but I learned very quickly that there was no way I would ever be able to recreate any of the styles Tina was able to pull off...LOL!
Not only did Tina come with an arsenal of tools for her magnificent creations, she also came armed with an entire bag of orange hair pieces to create magic with Kelsey's hair...and when 'Our Wedding' magazine is released, you'll be able to see how Tina transformed Kelsey's beautiful long ginger locks into her InnCredible coifs.
Once hair was done...(and it took about an hour for Tina achieve the look Debbie, the Art Director, was going for)...it was time for make-up.
Sherri Morris, owner of
'Brush Worxs Make-up Aristry', was the artist in charge. And ladies, look at this make-up. I was in heaven! I don't think I have ever seen so many different colors of eyeshadow, have you?
Or as many make-up brushes as Sherri brought with her. Oh my! I was like a kid in a candy store gawking at all these lovelies...hee hee.
And, best of all, they all came in this snazzy case. I know, 'girly-girl' heaven, right? Everything a gal could want, or need, all nicely packed in this great roller bag with a handle. Pretty cool, if you ask me!
Oh...and just so you know, our bride was not the only one who had their hair and make-up done for the shoot. Oh no! Our very handsome groom/model, Ryan Ferguson, also donned the make-up chair. Ryan's make-up didn't take nearly as long as Kelsey's, but it was still fascinating to watch Sherri work her magic and transform his look.
And once Tina was done with his hair, Ryan went from being just a 'regular' guy you'd see on the street to a gorgeous groom ready for his close-up. 'Oh, be still my beating heart!' LOL! Is this guy Hollywood handsome, or what?
Next up, wedding gowns. We all know that wedding gowns are a must when you're doing a photo shoot for a wedding magazine...and oh my goodness, the one's the stylist chose for this shoot were beyond stunning! Unfortunately, I can't show them to you either, you'll get to see them 'up close and personal' when the new issue is released, but I can tell you they came from
'House of Fashion', '
Miosa Couture',
'La Soie Bridal'. There were 9 fabulous couture gowns all together and each looked like it had walked the runway in NYC. Gorgeous...gorgeous...gorgeous gowns.
And, each of the gorgeous gowns came with an equally gorgeous price tag, so great care was taken to make sure NO dress was damaged during the shooting of this spread. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I can't help myself...bride Kelsey stood on a brown tarp when shooting many of the scenes on the grass. Even with a high-end photo shoot such as this, 'if you break it, you buy it', and so the crew painstaking made sure the gowns were protected at all cost. Ok, now that the
'cat's out of the bag', you'll all have to look and see if you can see it under her feet. Hee hee.
Of course, we can't forget about jewelry, can we ladies?. Part of the stylists job was to match each gown with fabulous jewelry pieces...all provided by Macy's. Wouldn't you love to have an entire store to shop from when you needed that perfect necklace and pair of earrings? I know I would! I have to admit, I was coveting a few of these fab pieces. LOL!
And OMG ladies, check out her ROCK!. It's a train headlight! No one would say where it came from. But I have an idea. Hee hee!
And yes, there was a cake, of course! 'Sweet Cakes by Rebecca'
delivered the most amazing cake I've ever seen. It was used in several
shots and when the magazine comes out, you'll be able to see it in all
it's glory. But for now, here are a few close-ups. Check out the detail! And yes, Styrofoam is under all those details.
And not to be outdone by the over-the-top wedding cake, were the flowers. Katie Edwards from 'Ambience Floral Design' delivered
the most amazingly beautiful floral arrangements and bouquets ever. I
absolutely love the calla lilies in the center of this springtime
bouquet! Unfortunately, what you can't see in this photo is the
gorgeous broach attached to the wrapping of this bouquet.
Stunning...and it's in my office, even as we speak. I'm one lucky
girl!!!
And, that was not all. Take a look at what Katie designed for the fountain in our 'Rose Garden'.
Spectacular! I can't wait to see what the photos look like with the
bride and groom and this floral display! It's going to be InnCredible!
Ok, enough of the fun stuff...back to the business at hand...the photo shoot. Now that hair and make-up are done, it's time to get our bride and groom dressed. And this is not as easy as it seems...oh no! In fact,
Sarah
Kreutz, Clothing Stylist for
Sacramento Magazine, came all decked out with tape and binder clips to make sure each and every piece of clothing fit our bride and groom
'to a tee'. Because, as crazy as it may seem, even for this photo shoot, the clothes didn't really fit our couple...but after Sarah worked her magic, you would never know these outfits weren't designed with the bride and groom in mind.
And here's a funny sidebar, Sarah had to borrow a black belt from Marjorie, my 'partner in crime', because someone forgot
to bring one for the groom. It's so comforting to know that even the most skilled of professionals
forget things occasionally...thank goodness...makes me feel better...hee hee! And yes ladies, even our groom needed a binder clip or two. Evidently, in this business, one size does not fit all...hee hee!
Ok, let's not forget that village of people I mentioned because while the make-up was being applied, the hair was being done, and the gowns and jewelry was being picked out, there was a team of professionals outside deciding where to stage each photo.
These folks had been hard at work since they arrived, not only scouring the
grounds for the perfect shoot locations, but also for any wonderful treasures they could use in each photo shoot. And believe me, the 'Coloma Country Inn' is a 'treasure trove' of
fabulous finds. Love this love seat? Well, so did the designers, and you'll see it in one of the scenes!
When the team decided on a location and a look, and had all their goodies in hand, a crew went to work staging the area.
Then, once the bride and groom were camera-ready and dressed, it was off to shoot. Again, I'm not at liberty to show you any of those pictures but setting the scenes was pretty exciting!
Ok, now comes the easy part, right. No way! Taking one of these stellar pictures is not as easy as it seems, nor is it like a photo you and I would take with our phone or camera. There were people all over the place, who you never see, making sure the lighting was right, holding scrims, checking meters, re-adjusting clothing, re-touching make-up and hair. Oh my goodness. Nine different locations...nine different clothing changes...nine different looks...all in a days work!
And in the middle of it all was photographer extraordinaire, Beth, crawling in on hands and knees for that perfect close-up, laying on the ground for another shot, laughing out loud with the most outrageous laugh you've ever heard to get an instantaneous, and spontaneous, laugh or smile from the bride and groom for that 'one in a million' shot. She was a hoot! And by her side every step of the way were her assistants. You go girls, oops, and guy!
And when Beth gave her 'ok', the crew picked up and moved on to the next location, and it began all over again...and again...and again! Talk about a long day.
Now you can understand why I said it takes a village. For this one shoot, which started at 9:00am and went until well after 6:00pm, there were 19 people, and/or companies, who worked on turning Debbie's fab idea into a reality. Here's a list of all those who worked this photo shoot:
Bride - Kelsey Johnson – 'Cast Images Modeling Agency'
Groom - Ryan Ferguson – 'Cast Images Modeling Agency'
Art/Design Director, 'Sacramento Magazine' – Debbie Hurst
Art Director, 'Our Wedding' magazine - Carly Cornejo
Clothing Stylist – Sarah Kreutz
Sarah's Assistant - Sam MacLeod
Photography Assistant - Phoebe Verkouw
Photography Intern - Carrie Burkett
Set Stylist - Dacy McWhorter
Graphic Designer, 'Sacramento Magazine' - Miles Harley
So there you have it...a photo shoot in the making. I know I can't wait to see the finished product.
'Our Wedding' is set to hit newstands on December 15th. Please make sure you pick up your copy and tell me what you think.
Again, I want to say another
'Thank You' to everyone who was a part of this photo shoot and to all who were responsible for choosing the
Coloma Country Inn for this fabulous honor. Along with the Inn, the crew also shot in and around the
Marshall Gold Discovery State Park and at the historic
Emmanuel Church.
Until next time...*
Making your wedding InnCredible
InnCredible Events
530.919.4588
* I apologize for the layout of this post...for some reason 'blogger' wasn't cooperating with my spacing desires this time. :(
Cute, cute, cute table decor or favors
