Sorry for being a brat and leaving such a cliff hanger of a post this morning! I meant to conclude the post with a little paragraph about today’s activities, but I had to hit the road and rushed through the post.
But I’m back!
As I said this morning, today I did something very unusual.
I was the fill-in model for a bridal photo shoot!
Last week, my wedding photographer, Gina, called me in quite a bind. She and several other wedding vendors put together a mock wedding photo shoot for today and were worried because they could not find a model for the shoot.
A model I most definitely am not, but when Gina asked me to fill in for the shoot, I thought about it for a while and eventually decided to push my uneasy feelings aside and help her out because she’s basically the sweetest person on the planet and an amazing wedding photographer.
I honestly was pretty nervous going into today’s photo shoot because I am by no means a model and have basically one modeling look in my arsenal: The smile.
I can’t do serious looks, sexy faces, pouts or anything other than a standard smile but Gina assured me that she would coach me and make me feel comfortable.
After making the 2.5 hour drive to Sarasota this morning, I felt my nerves start to subside when I stepped into La Mariee bridal boutique.
How could I not be excited to try on wedding dresses!?
Gina and Anna Pohl, a fun and enthusiastic wedding and event planner, selected about five dresses for me to try on and pulled two to bring to the photo shoot.
(They ended up selecting the second vintage-looking dress for me to wear.)
Once we had dresses selected, I walked next door to get my hair and make up done at Ana Molinari salon.
We ran a little behind schedule with the hair, so I left with my hair up in pins.
I’m pretty sure everyone I saw at a red light en route to the Palmetto Riverside bed and breakfast where the photo shoot took place looked at me like I was a nut job.
When we arrived at the photo shoot, Gina and I took down my hair and pined pieces up under an awesome feather headpiece and took a bunch of photos outside of the bed and breakfast.
While Gina took pictures, MMD Designs set up a gorgeous table, ceremony site and wedding cake and Andy and Matt filmed.
I wore clip on earrings since my ears aren’t pierced and a layering of pearl necklaces. They really did it up!
(Photo from Andy)
Though I was completely out of my element, it was a fun day! Gina is planning on submitting the photos to magazines and wedding blogs and planned for the photo shoot to have a more editorial feel rather than a “real wedding” vibe. I’ll be sure to share some of the photos when she passes them along to me.
It was a really neat experience and I had fun playing dress up!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
Ah!!! So fun! Can’t wait to see how they turned out
Wow that it totally exciting! What an opportunity. I’m glad you did it, definitely a once in al lifetime opportunity to just have some fun. Can’t wait to see the pictures.
Wow, Julie that looked like such a fun day! You look stunning. I say “A model you are!”
O’ve filled in as a model for a friend of mine who is a fashion designer and it was such an awesome experience!
Um. I want to do this.
You’re so gorgeous! 🙂
Can’t wait to see how the pictures turned out!
sounds like such a fun and wonderful day!
That is SO cool!!!
Love it! Getting all dressed up is fun, especially if it’s for some awesome pictures! 🙂
What an awesome opportunity! And you are so gorgeous! 🙂
That is such an awesome opportunity!!! 🙂 You looked beautiful! I can only imagine how fun it was to try on so many wedding dresses! I already bought mine but I want to try them on again! So much fun 🙂
How fun! What a cool day 🙂
Oh my gosh you were right down the street from my parent’s condo building! Looks like so much fun – can’t wait for the pictures.
So cool!!! Sounds like fun! I had to get all dolled up once for an event at an internship I once had, I did not look nearly as cute as you did and was definitely not wearing wedding attire!
That is so neat!!! That must have been a ton of fun! Haha once you got over the initial awkwardness of not being a model. I would have felt the same! And Sarasota is where one of my best friends from college is from, we went there for spring break one year!
That is so freaking cool! What a fun opportunity, and you’ll get some amazing photos from it. Can’t wait to seem them all! Lucky you 🙂
You look amazing, and who doesn’t love a little grown up dress up?! Can’t wait to see the pictures! What a fun day 🙂
That’s so cool! You look gorgeous. Although still not as amazing as your ACTUAL wedding. 😉
OMG that is my dream! Playing in wedding dresses all day?! Sounds amazing!!
Finally I found another 26-year-old who does not have her ears pierced!
I thought I was the only one!
How fun!! You looked gorgeous!
OMG Julie that is so much fun! You are beautiful and I bet the pics turned out fabulous!
beautiful, julie!! what a fun day 🙂
SO fun! It’s always good to be pushed outside of our comfort zones 🙂 You make a beauuuutiful bride (again!)
How fun! Hope you had a ton of fun and weren’t too nervous.
Holy hell woman, you look absolutely stunning in that dress!!
Wow! You look gorgeous! And how much fun, to be able to play dress up in wedding gowns after you’re married – trying on dresses was one of my favorite parts of planning my wedding. Love the vintage look of the shoot!
Wow, coolest day ever! That dress is beyond gorgeous. What an awesome day!
This looks like so much fun to get to dress up & be a bride again!
You look great Julie! This is like every little girl’s dream. Dress up as an adult. Ok, at least it was mine 😉 I bet you did awesome! My mom did wedding modeling back in the day…something I always thought would be fun to do!
that’s sooo cool!
you look stunning. looking forward to seeing the pictures!
That is so cool!! You got to try on wedding dresses TWICE- I am officially jealous 🙂 And in high school I did musicals and frequently wore curlers to school. NBD.
OMG how fun!!!! That looks like it was a blast, and what a fun way to get to be a ‘bride’ again! And the pampering! I’m looking forward to getting to see more photos!
How fun! Who doesn’t love to play dress up?
You don’t have your ears pierced??? It hurts but not too bad.
This looks like so much fun! You look beautiful!
I guessed right! I just knew it:) beautiful bride you are indeed!
So pretty!!! That looks like so much fun. I’m sure the pictures came out great!
wow! how fun! you get to be a bride all over again ;p too bad ryan couldn’t be there too!
That’s awesome!! And you look beautiful!!
Love this post…you look gorgeous
It’s like being Bridal Barbie for a day! How fun! I bet the pictures look beautiful.
Omg! You are gorgeous!!!!!!!! I’m so excited for you! This is a great experience. We all know you were a gorgeous bride, why not help get others excited and dream about the fairy tale wedding that you had!
I love how humble and sweet you are about it! Congrats!
That looks fun! I’m glad you didn’t pass an opportunity like that up. I’ve done a few things like that, such as posing for a local DJ’s album when I lived in Atlanta. It’s fun! You look beautiful!
OMGosh, I love that dress and you look so gorgeous! Sounds like such a fun day!! 🙂
~Kari
You look amazing! That sounds so fun!
What a fun opportunity! 🙂 Can’t wait to see more pictures!
What a fun opportunity! I can’t wait to see some photos, but I’m sure they turned out beautiful! 🙂
What a fun day! And I too, would never pass up the opportunity to wear a wedding dress again 🙂 You make a beautiful bride!!
Oh my gosh- how fun!! Sometimes I just put my wedding dress on and pretend like I’m in a wedding magazine (usually after watching Say Yes to the Dress), but you really got to do it!