Jessica Jean Myers: Alice in Wonderland Wedding Shoot

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Alice in Wonderland Wedding Shoot

Last wk I got the chance to participate in this really interesting wedding photography workshop hosted by this really awesome wedding photography duo Justin & Mary (they are actually husband & wife) visiting all the way from New England.

I have to be honest normally this isn't something I would help out w/ b/c well to be perfectly frank I wasn't getting paid but this shoot did actually fall in lines w/ my Rules on When Working For "Free" Is Okay.

1. The photographers hosting the workshop have really nice wedding work and therefore I knew I would get some really nice pictures for my wedding portfolio which is still growing & in development (hard to track down photographers or brides after weddings sometimes to get the professional shots not just the ones i take on my digital camera).

2. It would give me a chance to possibly network and meet other wedding photographers in the area...always a good thing.

3. I really liked the theme b/c it wasn't just your typical wedding stuff - they were doing something a little more whimsical and edgy for Toronto - Alice in Wonderland - this meant I also got to be a little more creative then the stuff I usual get to do for weddings - also I had a say in what the girls looked like - obviously this is not the case for most weddings lol. And Justin & Mary were going all out w/ set pieces, dresses, locations and little accents just to make it a bit more unique. They were literally taking the photographers through getting ready in the hotel, portraiture of the bride, church stuff, on location stuff & reception - it was literally like shooting a whole wedding.

So like many shoots there is always a little upheaval right before and this was no exception! The couple they had originally got for the shoot bailed at the last minute. Thankfully for them they met me lol! Being the always professional and generous person I am I posted an ad on MM (Model Mayhem) for couples for the shoot and they got a great response. In fact we got two great couples! This meant that I could do an Alice type bride as well as a White Queen type bride. The girls they picked for these two ideas were actually so perfect. Olivia was very petite and cute and perfect for Alice while Jenna (who I've had the pleasure of working w/ a couple of times) is tall and elegant, a perfect White Queen. I'm not going to lie though this was a touch stressful for me beforehand b/c it's one thing to get one bride ready but to get TWO brides ready in a relatively short amount of time is a lot lol! Actually though, if I do say so myself my timing was awesome that day!

For Alice (aka Olivia) I wanted to keep the makeup light and youthful w/ just a pop of pink on the cheeks and lips and the main focus was going to be the hair. I spent the night before sewing many many extension pieces for Olivia's hair b/c I wanted her to have a big, massive head of long curls - to go along w/ the whimsical feel and I knew I couldn't get that from her own hair.

For the White Queen (aka Jenna) I wanted something much more elegant, cool and sophisticated looking. I slicked back her bangs and did a very high ballerina bun (using my hair foam donut). I kept the focus on a very deep, strong red lip b/c Jenna has gorgeous lips. I also contoured her cheeks in quite a bit and did a clean swipe of white on the eyes and of course false lashes.

Thanks to Jillian at Headmistress Accessories I was also able to borrow a couple of AMAZING headpieces that were SO PERFECT for the shoot!

I took a few pictures at the hotel of the girls after they were ready but unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the actual locations - the church and the ruins/forest reception area so like my usual weddings I had to leave my brides w/ a touch up kit and believe my work would hold up the entire day...late into the reception.

I can't wait to see some of the pics from Justin & Mary and actually one of the photographers from the workshop Taylor Jackson was actually kind enough to send me a couple of pics she's already edited from the workshop! They look great and I'm so excited to see more!

My Behind the Scenes Pics

Olivia aka "Alice"...I actually wish I would have made the hair bigger...oh well