Stepping Stone to Success

"Come with me, where dreams are born and time is never planned." -JM Barrie, Peter Pan

"Fly Away With Me" Styled Shoot

When I was first approached by Melissa from Tunky + Company to take lead on a styled shoot, I was more than thrilled to except. I have never done a styled shoot before and the idea of doing a nontraditional Valentine's Day shoot really got me excited. No red and pink colors and something that wasn't all about hearts everywhere; I was ready for the challange.

I had to come up with some great ideas that I could work with that included the colors of mint and peach...what to do? I collected a few ideas of a cupids arrow concept; even an X&O idea. Thinking "that could possibly work". I still wanted a great concept to bring to Melissa that would have that "WOW" factor. So I decided to add a "fly away with me" notion into the mix. A hot air balloon, vintage style sweetheart approach gave me butterflies as that was the idea I liked the most.

After presenting the vintage, hot air balloon concept; which I may add was the very first idea I pitched, Melissa was sold on it. Completely stoked about the whole thought of doing this amazing shoot, I went to the drawing board to get my image of what I wanted collected. Given the go ahead, I gathered all of the vendors that I wanted to use. That proved to be difficult as I needed to get everything done before the end of December..."phew"! So that left less than 2 weeks to gather and coordinator everything. With it being so close to the holiday's also posed a challange. For me, I still had to make the cupcake toppers and wrappers and the "fly away with me" banner; it was a lot of work but so pleased with the final result it all. Melissa's company provided the candies and party supplies, which took some of the stress of finding these products. Yes!!

With constant contact, persistence, and a lot of luck; I managed to get a team of wonderful and dedicated vendors. Which, to this day, I will be forever grateful to these amazing people. They came together, despite the challanges we encountered; these guardian angels pulled everything together and made it look fabulous. Mimi from Whipped Up by Mimi did a fantastic job on the cake, cupcakes, cake pops, and macarons. She even made the cake instead of a mock cake; just because she know how much I LOVE her lemon falvored desserts. She also saved me by providing the apothecary jars she just happen to have. Thank goodness for that. Matt Boozer of Matt Boozer Photography, worked endlessly to make sure and get as many of the best shots; bringing everything together and put his unique touch that I truly love.

The Hermitage Museum and Gardens...I absolutely adore this venue! When I first contacted Lil from The Hermitage, she was very accommidating and loved the idea of our styled shoot being at their location. There, the possibilities were endless and were perfect for what we were looking to achieve. Now to search for the props and table. This I knew would be ambitious, to say the least, as I had a specific look I wanted for the shoot and really wanted everything to tie in nicely. After great thought, I remember a referral I had a couple months prior, Chic Unique Vintage Rentals. Perfect!!! Sharon accepted the concept with open arms and the moment I stepped into her shop...HEAVEN! It's no secret to others that know me, but vintage is in my blood and I couldn't help but feel like a kid in a candy store when I seen all the lovely displays of vintage goodness filling the entire space. It in fact, made things a lot easier after that.

I became desperate to search for a cookie artist as I only knew of a few in the area and with it b

e so close the the end of the year, I knew this task may come down to me doing away with the cookie idea all together. But I took a chance and reached out to Kisha of Hummingbird Macarons & Desserts. I had ju

st met Kisha at a networking event a few days prior and for her to be incredibly sweet and offered to help; left me speechless. With all the vendors in place, I gathered some very adorable models that made the entire shoot so light and upbeat. Just the way I like it. I think I had just as much fun watching them have fun; playing and running and of course, at the end, eating all of the incredible sweets. The parents were also great, they are part of what made the shoot successful. Even a few helped with breakdown so we could leave the venue on time. I'm so blessed to have such incredible people in my life. It couldn't have been done without everyone who took part. You will forever hold a place in my heart!

After it was all said and done, I have to say that I am extremely satisfied with the final outcome. I was able to reconnect with old friends and work along side new ones. I am truly blessed and would recommend these very dedicated people to anyone. They are commited to their craft and it shows!