The Photoshoot I’ve Been Waiting For!
Recently we joined forces with Strut Bridal. A local (now one in California) bridal dress store that specializes in plus sizes and dresses made for full figure ladies. We planned a photoshoot to show off the beauty of the dresses as well as the talents of the Babydoll stylists. It went swimmingly (I mean I still cannot believe how well this photoshoot went) and I have been sitting here anxiously waiting the photos (and for those who know me, that is incredibly difficult for I have the patience of a 5 year old). But then, finally, finally, they arrived! (It really didn’t take that long).
I am first so incredibly proud of the ladies of Babydoll who worked on the models. Sabrina, Amanda, Micky and Charly; all whom are lead stylists and all whom are incredibly talented and have their own unique style that really shines through in these pictures. Secondly, I cannot thank Anne and Ashely of Strut Bridal enough for joining forces with us and providing the dresses and some of the best models and ladies I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I also have to thank Ben of Ben and Kelly Photography for capturing these images. It’s hard enough for me to articulate my ideas sometimes so the fact that Ben was able to create and make what I saw in my head a reality is amazing and so grateful for him and his talents.
It’s hard to explain the feelings of seeing something like this photoshoot come to life and be everything you wanted. The joy of it is incredible! There was this precious brain child of a photoshoot that Sabrina and I had. We saw a need and we wanted that need to be filled. A need that has been needed to be filled for quite some time. We just hope that we are able to accomplish that with these photos. We want to promote full figured ladies and the body positive moment. We want to help change the industry and the thoughts that every women can fit into a size 2 wedding dress. But really, most importantly, we just want every woman, no matter her size or shape feel drop dead gorgeous in a wedding dress.
Alright, now that my Grammy speech of thank you’s is over let me give you some back story to how this all started. Rewind to about late summer. Sabrina, the owner and I were attending an open house. We started talking to two ladies, Ann and Ashley from Strut Bridal. A dress store (two locations now!) specializing in plus sizes of bridal and formal dresses in which Ann owns and Ashley is her right hand lady; very similar to Sabrina and I. Maybe that’s why we hit it off the way we did; but no matter how we hit it off I am so happy we did!
We stood there talking about the wedding industry and why we all loved it but there were some things that didn’t sit right with us. One of those being the lack of full figured women in magazines, advertisements, etc. After Sabrina and I got over our shock of this being true the feeling of disappointment sunk in. Not every bride can fit into a dress size is a 2 and when a store doesn’t even carry her size the frustration and sadness that comes with that is unimaginable. As we continued talking and as this news sunk in I wanted to change people’s outlook on wedding dresses and full figured women. I wanted to change the magazines’ outlook of full figured women in wedding dresses. I swear sometimes Sabrina and I share a brain, especially when she said exactly what I was thinking. We both wanted to change the minds and promote the beauty of any and every women.
After a meeting and a few months of planning this brain child of our’s was born. A brain child of a photoshoot set in the beautiful halls and rooms of Cheatau Luxe. A brain child of a shoot with four full figured models, all in dresses from Strut, each one unique in shape, color and material. A brain child that lets Babydoll stylists have full creative control and create a look all their own; a look that shows off their talents. A brain child that celebrates the full figured frame, the creativity of the artists and hopefully a brain child that can hopefully change some opinions. And I am so excited to share it all with you! Stay tuned.
Charly, our DIY queen has another great tip for us! Using beets as a lip and cheek tint.All you need to do is simmer coarsely diced pieces of a freshly peeled beets in 6oz of water for about 5-10 minutes. Strain the pieces of beet out of the water and then transfer the water into a small jar or a glass vessel. Charly suggests adding a tsp of rubbing alcohol for preservation.We learned from trying out this method for lip and cheek tint it was a little light for our preference. If you prefer a darker red like we do you can simmer the beet pieces longer to reduce the water and it intensify the color.