“We’re still nailing down all the details but here is our mood board. We’re going for a colorful theme. And we also have a bounce house company who is gonna lend us one of their houses for the day”. When I got this text from Dany asking me to participate in this styled shoot, I instantly said yes. As soon as she sent me the mood board, I quickly replied “OMG I’m obsessed!!!!!” Now that the shoot has finished and the galleries are rolling in, that feeling of excitement and obsession over the pictures has only grown.
On July 9, 2023, AnnLee Photography, Wild in Bloom Photography, and Eternal Moment hosted a styled shoot at Skiles Rolling Acres in Newville, PA. When Dany said that the theme would be colorful, she wasn’t kidding! From the stunning flowers, to the balloons on the bounce house, to the gorgeous macarons, color was the name of the game. By the time setup had been completed, Skiles Rolling Acres was awash in bright pinks and sunny yellows, with pops of every other color in the rainbow.
The night before the shoot was set to occur, the florist had injured her foot to the point that she was unable to complete the flowers. Without a plan B in place, Kailey, Dany and I jumped into action to make the most of a difficult situation. As soon as we arrived at the venue on the morning of the 9th, we headed straight for the camper to begin to create the floral installation for the arches, the bridal bouquets, and the bud vase arrangements that we needed for the day. Despite having limited supplies and experience, we somehow made it work! Once the arrangements had been made, it was time to head up to the pavilion and start putting things together.
As if the morning had not been chaotic enough with the flowers, the weather had other plans for our day too. Torrential rains soaked our clothes and threatened to ruin our hard work as we set everything up, but we weathered the (literal) storm with smiles on our faces, just hoping that the rain would clear up enough to allow the shoot to continue. While we were setting things up under the pavilion, the models had arrived at the camper to get their hair and makeup done and to get dressed. The cake and desserts were delivered, the bounce house was inflated, and all the decor was getting set out, but the rain was still unrelenting.
Just before photographers arrived at the venue to begin shooting, the clouds parted and the sun came out! We were able to move decor pieces like the ceremony arches and the chair out from under the pavilion to where we had originally hoped to place them, and the models were able to come out from the camper without ruining their hair, makeup, or clothes. As everyone gathered under the pavilion, Kailey said a few words to welcome the photographers, and then the shoot began.
The styled shoot consisted of three couples: Taylor and Thomas, Kristen and Clint, and Sierra and Devin. Taylor’s floor length dress had a dramatic thigh-high slit and gorgeous pearl embellishments on the bodice and sleeves that looked as if it were made for her. The brightly colored bouquet that she carried was full of bright orange, pink, white, and red blooms, and her neon pink eyeshadow made the look extra fun and flirty. Kristen’s wedding dress -a gorgeous a-line lace dress with a plunging neckline- and Clint’s bright blue pants and bowtie were the perfect contrast for the brightly colored flowers and ceremony arches, and the colors popped so beautifully against their clothes. Sierra heard the word colorful and fully understood the assignment in her short neon pink dress with puffy sleeves. Her brightly colored dress against Devin’s black shirt made for incredibly fun, dramatic, and impactful photos. With hair done by Sarah Piper and makeup done by Lexi Peck, all three girls looked jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and we couldn’t have asked for better couples to model for this shoot to bring the vision boards to life!
Photographers could grab and pose any models they wanted in an assortment of different scenes set up around the venue. There was a bright white bounce house covered in rainbow balloons provided by L&L Party Rentals, a gorgeous dessert display provided by Maddie of The Sweet Little Cow, a guest table covered in tons of taper candles in pink and gold candle holders with brightly colored bud vases, and a sweetheart table adorned in white chiffon, bud vases, and votives. There was also a tufted pink chair covered in flowers and surrounded by candles, and three wooden arches painted various shades of pink and orange and decorated with a huge floral arrangement. The unstructured nature of the shoot allowed photographers to interact with different vignettes, models, and other content creators as they captured their beautiful photos.
Despite the rain turning the ground of the venue to mud and the last-minute floral arrangements, the day turned out perfectly and the pictures that resulted from the shoot are spectacular. I was obsessed with the idea of the shoot long before it happened, and I’m even more obsessed with how it turned out after the fact!
We are grateful beyond words to the following vendors that donated their time and talents to make this shoot possible, and to the skilled photographers that captured it all!
Hosts: Kailey Ganoe (Ann Lee Photography), Danyele McFadden (Wild In Bloom Photography) and Kyla Edwards (Eternal Moment)
Florals and decor: Kyla Edwards (Eternal Moment)
Models: Taylor & Thomas, Kristen & Clint, Sierra & Devin
Venue: Skiles Rolling Acres
Cake and desserts: Maddie (The Sweet Little Cow)
Makeup: Lexi Peck (Be You With Lexi)
Hair: Sarah Piper (Lush Hair Lab)
Bounce House: L&L Party Rentals
Photographers: Carissa Wilson (Photobug Photography), Isabella Davis (Dusk to Dawn Images), Samantha Moger (Samantha Moger Photography), Em Katrina (Em Katrina Photo), Brianne Kathleen (Brianne Kathleen Photography), Lucas Gunn (Lucas Gunn Photography), Danyele McFadden (Wild in Bloom Photography), Kailey Ganoe (Ann Lee Photography), and Doreen Laskiewicz (Grit and Goals)
Videographer: Devonte Waller (Wild In Bloom Photography)