Home Sweet Oklahoma, Confessions from The Styled Shoot

There’s no denying my love for my state.  Born and raised in Oklahoma, I know how great the people are, how beautiful the land is, and how genuine the overall vibe is.  To be able to display that in a styled wedding shoot published on an exclusive, national blog makes me downright giddy.

Swooned magazine picked up and published a styled shoot that I worked side by side with stylist, Krissi Farrimond to create.  Swooned titled it, “Home Sweet Oklahoma” and my heart swelled.

I am so glad to represent our state this way. One of my favorite lines from the publication is,  “The final result reflects the spirit of the region—its wide open skies, dusty beauty, and downhome hospitality—and the soul of the community who brought it to life.”

Those words resonated with me, because I love this place.  It’s raised me.  So when I collaborated with Krissi (a native Oklahoman) on our styled shoot, I jumped at the chance to show how gorgeous Oklahoma weddings can be by showcasing the talents of brilliant Oklahoma vendors.

I’m sharing some of my favorite images and, as always, some confessions, so keep reading to the end.

 

First confession, there was a hat tip to my husband in the shoot, really a cowboy hat tip, if you will.  Those boots next to the Valentino’s, those are my husband’s.

In the world of cowboy boots my husband owns the equivalent to those Valentino’s (They’re caimen, that’s a big cowboy boot deal, ya’ll!), so he got a spot. However, those Valentino’s are not mine!  (Unless of course he wanted to surprise me and purchase a pair as a congratulations gift.  The price tag is about a grand, so I’ll just enjoy that I shot them.)

I loved that I could acknowledge my husband in some way in the shoot.  Which leads to another confession:  this shoot was the day before my second flight to the Dominican Republic in a matter of one week.  I had just traveled there to photograph a wedding and here it was seven days later and I was going back, but not before our day long styled shoot.  I scheduled a family session and a styled shoot the day before I flew out at 6am.  My amazing husband stepped up as always and took care of the family.  So, those boots, that’s my thank you, honey.

Confession #3:  Since these images were being submitted to an exclusive blog, everything was kept under wraps completely, even to the vendors.  So, these seriously talented vendors didn’t get to see anything, not one image, not one preview of any of the shoot until it published and the entire internet got to see it.

Their trust and confidence in blindly committing to this project, to not seeing anything until the final product published, it reiterates the genuineness of Oklahomans and that a hand shake still stands in our part of the world.

One other moment, not caught on camera, but vital to the shoot, Krissi and I enjoyed some fake cheese while shooting.  Roast beef and cheddar is a deceiving name, because let’s be honest, that is probably not cheddar.  Whatever it is, we inhaled it, giggled at our mutual love of fake cheese, and then realized we had something here.  We also both have a love for this adorable powder blue Ted Baker dress and our model, Abby, who was outstanding.

The entire team had mutual love for all the vendors involved.  They are fantastic.  And from the bottom of my heart, to you all, my clients, blog readers, friends, you are all one in the same, I can’t thank you all enough for your constant support and love.  It continues to inspire me.  Thank you.  If I were real corny, I’d sing that old country song, “You’re the reason God made Oklahoma” right here.  I’ll let you sing that for the rest of the day.

Trochta’s Flowers-Floral Design, JJ Kelly-Dress, The McGranahan Barn-Venue, Linens, & Chairs, Mitchener Farrand-Jewelry, Cake-Amy Cakes, Videography-Little Big Films, Make-Up-Toni Marlo, Hair-Sarah Woolly Hair Care, Stationery-myheartcreative, Nail Stylist-Brianna Mock, Krissi Farrimond-Shoot Stylist, Sheradee Hurst Photography, Model-Abby Davis.