I demurely offered it as an add on, thinking it may not work. After all, you’ve got to get hair and make up done. (Hmmm, that’s easy, we schedule the hair and make up trials on the day we schedule the shoot.) We don’t have to worry about the dress getting dirty, because we’re inside. (Hmmm, that’s easy.)
I have had such a positive response. The women love it. Absolutely. It’s fun to be a bride. With all the planning and expense, it’s a way to extend the experience. And have fabulous photos to show for it.

Brooke was just married on May 22. I’ll be posting her wedding photos. All the portraits are outside and beautiful as you would expect in SB.

For our photo shoot, Mercedes Trump of Beautiful, 805-687-7433, wanted to play too. And ended up being our “stylist”. Using her own line of fascinators and jewelry, and accessories.
Mishay Salon styled Brooke’s hair. (Brooke herself is a stylist there)
Tomiko Taft was our make up artist.
Shannon from Effloresce, Inc. created the floral bouquet.

All were her team on her wedding day as well. Stay tuned to see which look she went with for her wedding.

Lindsey will be the first to tell you, it was super fun. The session made her feel sexy, glamourous, beautiful. She felt special.

You might think, well of course she felt that way, she is all of those things. But, come on girls. Not many women I have ever met or photographed don’t have something they aren’t particularly thrilled about in regard to their bodies.
And even Lindsey, was a little nervous how her naturally curvy body would photograph.

We did have some help. We got the right outfits for her body type at Purrmission Lingerie in Santa Barbara. Nico Cervantes, pitched in with some of his fabulous stylizing. And her hair and make up were done by Brianna Stewart.
We did the shoot in my studio, so I had control of the lighting, which by the way, can add or take away weight, on it’s own.

A teensy bit of photoshop for the dreamy effect and ta da~ Gorgeousness.

Thank you Lindsey for being willing to show women, they don’t have to be shy. Please share your experience with your brides to be. You were a delight to photograph and I sincerely appreciate you allowing me to show these photos.
Which, I think, show different sides of your personality and beauty.

It wasn’t just a “style shoot”. It was real and we enjoyed it! After the photos of course.

On the photography end of things. Red is difficult to get right in photography. In a home, I had natural light coming through the windows and overhead lighting which cast another color. So it was up to me to use my “magic” lighting to get it right. It was a compliment to me when the very talented Laura Sangas of Cody Florals emailed me about how delighted she was that the colors are true.

Tracy of Lazaro Press & Design, created vintage invites that came in a sweet box filled with rose potpourri and antique jingle bells. Vintage fabric and lace completed the menu and place cards that matched Colette’s Grandmothers china.

These are some seriously talented women. Hope you enjoy as I did!

Style Unveiled also loved the story and published it on their blog. Take a look.

People ask me “What is your style”. I’ve had others label my style as everything from traditional (gives direction in regard to posing, etc.) to photojournalistic (captures exactly as is without any photographer intervention or direction. The two styles couldn’t be further from each other.

Without sounding snarky, I’d like to say, I’m a “wedding photographer”. In my experience a good wedding photographer wears many “style” hats. There is a time to capture events as they unfold naturally without any direction from me, and then there are “moments” like these posted, that would not have happened without me suggesting and directing.

At a time that didn’t interfere with the timeline of events I asked Addy and Tim to follow me and stand between the trees. Odd suggestion? Maybe, but they complied. Because they trusted me. Trust is essential between you and your photographer.
Once they were standing there, I gave them some direction. These are a couple of the images we created.

They enjoyed the few minutes of alone time, to reflect with each other. And we were able to create images, that even though they were suggested, were real.

“I’d like it if the leather had laugh lines, like an old couch, as if it had absorbed the wisdom and memories and conversations of the people who had sat in it…

Is that possible?

You can see these heirloom quality books at queensberry.com/musee

Melissa Musgrove Photography proudly and delightfully carries the custom line of Queensberry albums.

Call me to come see and feel, what true quality is all about.
805-563-5050