Style Me Pretty Feature: Throw Some Glitter, Make it Rain

I seriously could not be MORE thrilled to share this news with you all right now. This is the kind of thing that wedding vendors everywhere dream about…. a feature on the mother of all wedding blogs, Style Me Pretty! Abby’s blog has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years, and many regard her as the queen of wedding blogs. I mean… 50,000 Facebook fans? 40,000 Twitter followers? Goodness knows how many total readers? Yeah, she’s kind of a big deal. :) You can go check out the post HERE.

This all began a few months ago, when I initially met up with Stephanie Drake of Proper Measures Event Design here in Birmingham. We hit it off pretty much right from the get-go, what with our mutual love for Nylon Magazine, Kate Spade, and all things bright, bold, unexpected, and eclectic. So the wheels began turning, and we set a date to produce an inspiration shoot with the intent of submitting it for publication in a magazine or blog. We for sure knew we didn’t want anything that involved a pile of vintage stuff in a field, because for Pete’s sake it’s been done a jillion times, so when Stephanie sent me an inspiration board, I fell head over heels in love. I told her it reminded me of Ke$ha’s “throw some glitter, make it rain” catchphrase, and it just stuck, and it pretty soon it became obvious to both of us that it made the most sense to apply Stephanie’s design to a bachelorette party rather than a typical wedding inspiration shoot. When she told me that her own bachelorette party had taken place at the rooftop bar of the Redmont Hotel in downtown Birmingham, I adored the idea, so Stephanie got her friend Mark on board. He regularly DJ’s there and gave us a sweet hook-up, letting us use the rooftop space as we wanted, as well as one of the hotel’s suites for the second part of our shoot (more on that coming….). She also asked local favorite stationary designer Sonia Davis to make us some pretty paper goods, Autumn McAllister from DL Salon to do hair and makeup, Ashley Hampton of Hampton Road Studios to create a fabulous video, and the sweetest, most gorgeous models EVER- Ciera, Leah, Katie, and Lauren- to become a bride-to-be and her best friends for a day.

Words can’t describe how nervous I was about shooting this. Knowing how much hard work everyone else was putting in, and how a lot of it was riding on the photography being up to the standards of blogs and magazines… I wanted to throw up a little almost every day leading up to it. But then, on that super hot day in June, when I showed up at Stephanie’s loft and saw how everything was coming together so beautifully, I was just filled with joy. My nerves began to relax and were soon replaced with pure creative adrenaline, and by the end of the day, I felt so physically and emotionally drained that when Kelly (who came along for assistance and moral support) and I went out to dinner after, all I could do was just sit. And eat. And sit.

Before I get to the goods, a little more background (which you can read more about on the Style Me Pretty post). Stephanie and I (and most modern brides I know) are vehemently opposed to the standard tacky bachelorette party fare out there, so we envisioned a classier and more fashion-forward event, while keeping in mind that what most brides-to-be want to do with their girl friends is go out drinking and dancing. We also wanted the shoot to be a little editorial in feel, and actually tell a story through the images rather than just take a bunch of photographs of pretty things. So we had the girls actually party, with Mark stepping in as a DJ and everything, and then head downstairs to a plush suite for one last girls-only sleepover.

Okay, enough with the novel. (You ought to know I can’t help myself! ;) ) On with the show! — And be sure to scroll all the way through to watch Ashley’s fabulous behind-the-scenes video of the shoot!

I can’t say thank you enough to everyone involved in this shoot, especially to Stephanie, and to Style Me Pretty for giving us a chance! I’m honored and thrilled and overwhelmed with gratitude right now. Hope you enjoyed!