A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock ‘n Roll | Bridal Fashion Shoot

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by my cousin Caity’s sister Sarah Beth about doing a gigantic bridal fashion shoot extravaganza. Sarah Beth is a hair and makeup artist in Nashville, and has just completed a ton of training, so she wanted to build her portfolio and have something to show her brides to give them ideas and to show them what she’s capable of doing. Knowing Caity and the family of uber-creatives she comes from, I knew we would be a good fit for each other, and working with her did NOT disappoint. While working and going to school and running around like a crazy lady, Sarah Beth organized a four-part bridal story, gathering models, planning locations, styling outfits and accessories, and, of course, doing genius hair and makeup work. When she sent me an outline of her plans, I was so impressed and even more excited about being apart of the project. She has a fantastic sense of style and is so good at what she does. If you live in the Nashville area, you should look her up. She works at Salon YaYa next to Green Hills Mall.

After I got into town Thursday night, I headed to Caity and Will’s house. We enjoyed a huge feast of sushi that Chef Will whipped up for us (seriously, he has been one of the best cooks I know since he was in middle school), and then Sarah Beth and I chatted details. Next thing I knew, they were hauling in buckets full of fresh flowers from their parents’ amazing nursery, which is also right in Franklin, and which you’ll see in the next blog post because we actually went to shoot there too. Caity brought out boxes of ribbon and supplies from her craft room and right on the spot, she whipped up three different gorgeous bridal bouquets for us to use. I’m telling you, the talents of this family are limitless.

So on Friday morning, we headed to the salon and began a full day of fashion fun. I’ll be blogging it in two parts because I just couldn’t narrow down the images enough to fit in one post. This first half are two looks that are more edgy and high fashion. I hope you enjoy!

First up, Miss Sammi, our rock ‘n roll “bride.” She is the definition of fierce, and she was AMAZING. So many things were working for us… the blustery wind, dreary skies, the guitars she brought along (she’s a musician too!), her incredible, almost androgynous look, the Nashville skyline… I love this set.

Next, we headed to Muna Couture (no website or I would link to it!). Sarah Beth’s salon owner is good friends with Muna, who is a couture dressmaker. She has an incredible story too. She moved here from Iraq as an engineer, but couldn’t find a job because no one would hire her due to her gender and nationality. So she became a dressmaker, and let me tell you, she is a GENIUS. We got to go to her studio, which was like being in the Project Runway workroom times a hundred, and for this shoot, she agreed to drape a custom gown on our model Meredith. No lie, she whipped this thing up from a single piece of fabric and a handful of pins in under ten minutes flat. However, because the fabric was super expensive, we had to stay inside to shoot it, which meant we were confined to a single narrow hallway. A photographic challenge, indeed! I wish I had been able to get more full-length shots, but we made it work, and Meredith pulled off the couture look effortlessly. (I think she looks a bit like Angelina Jolie, no?)

And finally, I thought I would throw in a few behind the scenes shots of Sarah Beth at work. How much do I wish I had her hair color? A LOT.

(That’s Caity in the background. She was our awesome assistant all day!)

Yes. THIS is how blustery that day was. :)

Stay tuned for Part Two, coming your way soon! Hint: it will be lots of pretty, flowery, June Carter Cash-inspired goodness. That’s where the country part comes in. :)