Styling a faux wedding is always a fun adventure! From developing the concept to bringing all the elements together into one cohesive story, it is such a creative process. For our Mission photo shoot, the vision and design stemmed from a real-life couple, Tina and Travis, who just got married in San Francisco this past July. While their actual wedding was a bit different from the shoot, we were excited to collaborate and find ways to incorporate elements of their real wedding plans into our storyline
As residents of San Francisco’s vibrant Mission District, it was a no-brainer for the team to focus the shoot around key landmarks in this bustling neighborhood. Dolores Park is an integral part of the Mission landscape and where the couple spends a lot of time hanging out with their friends. It was also the perfect setting for a picnic feast of delicious food prepared by
Chef Stephanie. The meal was a combination of seasonal favorites including quinoa tabouli with English cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, minted red beets with goat cheese
and herb roasted chicken
with artichoke heart pesto. And while we couldn’t bring the Ojai Ice Cream shop into the Mission, we had the next best thing - ice cream sundaes from Bi-Rite Creamery. Yum!
Tina and Travis are avid cyclists and first met through the
Mission Cycling Club on a bike trip through the town of Ojai. For their actual wedding, they chose light blue and tangerine as their colors to honor the “Mission blue” of their cycling club and also the renowned “Ojai orange”, which also happens to be the flavor of ice cream Travis enjoyed on that first bike ride together.
Madeline wove these two colors into their floral design, as well as those adorable
Toms shoes that Tina and Travis were sporting. We’re all big fans of the magical blend of comfort, style, and social responsibility that Tom’s shoes bring to the fashion industry!
Adele Weschler provided us with a stunning dress from her eco-conscious collection of bridal gowns. In keeping with Tina’s personal style, we chose something that was sporty and fun, the kind of dress where a bride could say her vows and then hop right on to her 10-speed for an epic ride with her new hubby. Travis got to have a test run of the suit he’ll be wearing this month when he says “I do”.
And while most of the day’s shoot was a step or two from their real wedding plans, it was a fun adventure for our lovely couple. We chatted with the couple after the photo shoot and both of them remarked on how the shoot was a fun way for them to step outside of their comfort zones and have a little bit of role-playing for the day.
We wrapped up our shoot where they’ll begin this next stage of their lives together - at San Francisco’s City Hall. It’s a landmark in this gorgeous city of ours and provided a stately backdrop to the fun and playful day we’d built as well as a nod to their real wedding plans.
The highlights of the shoot? Working with a couple who are in love with one another and their home turf and being able to capture that essence in a perfect, sunny day in the neighborhood.
