The Rustic & Glamorous Day of #theforestphotoshoot

Have you ever stood in the middle of a forest setting and just listened? Peaceful…serene…magical.  The overwhelming calm and majestic beauty always takes my breath away.  Add in some rain and dark, gloomy skies and the atmosphere becomes just right for a moody, glam forest.  I’ve been sharing snippets of this day for a few weeks now on Instagram and even gave you a glimpse of what staging this setting entailed on my recent blog post {Here}.  I have been dying to share the full reveal with you all and today is the day!! Welcome to the rustic & glamorous day of #theforestphotoshoot.

One thing I learned of myself through planning and staging this forest scene is that I LOVE to stage for events.  You know I love to decorate a home, but being able to decorate a forest…be.still.my.heart. Being resourceful and pulling furniture from my home and borrowed pieces from other homes took me out of my natural element where there were no boundaries. No walls to arrange within, just 30 foot tall trees that gave the most gorgeous backdrop I could ask for. A rugged floor of pine needles beneath delicate legs of jewel toned, velvet, vintage chairs. Black candelabras setting the tone that something formal was happening here.  Everything turned out exactly how I envisioned when I first talked about the plans for this photoshoot {Here}.

Enough talk, let’s get to those photos!! Now let me insert here that I wish I could take credit for these fabulous photos.  Actually I took a ton of photos myself with my camera and had been editing those to share with you when….these rolled into my inbox.  Who need’s to see my “blogger aspiring to take good blog worthy photos” when you can get the real deal from the best photographer around!  This was my friend, Jennifer’s (jenniferwyethphotography.com) planned senior spokesmodel photoshoot. So of course, I can’t help but share HER gorgeous photos! I just did the staging, she did the photo magic.

Welcome to #TheForestPhotoshoot…(sit tight, grab a cup of joe, you’re in for the long haul here.  Too many good photos to share!)

A little trick…mix faux florals with real flowers.  It can be done and saves money.

My old rustic coffee table paired with an ornate brass bucket and crystal bead cake platters.

Our models ate every last crumb of this cake I “made” (wink).  The truth {here}.

From the moment until the guys and girls arrived, the forest was dark and cloudy and rain was threatening off and on.  These girls crossed this little wood bridge and sure enough here came the sun.  That was magical!

This is where it all came together!  When boy meets girl.

Sure makes a pretty setting even better when the models are GORGEOUS! I’m a little partial to the handsome young man below pouring a San Pellegrino (he’s my oldest son and yes I want to cry when I see how grown up he has become). Proud mom moment #sniffsniff.

This is what we call Prom in the forest.  So what do you think? Does it make you want to go drag your sofa out to a spot of trees a few miles down the road? Try it! You may find yourself daydreaming of the endless possibilities!  I know I am and you can be sure there will be more future scenes to come in the forest.  Actually, there is one more! So right after this photoshoot was done, I switched gears and set up ANOTHER scene right here. Well actually about 100 feet back to the most enchanting little spot. Think…less glam, more smores.  Any guesses?? Stay tuned for part 2 and I’ll keep my fingers crossed to show you the rest of our day later this week!

A special thank you to all these models who were so cooperative and made this photoshoot come to life with their laughter and energy. These are clients of Jennifer’s for senior photos. If you live in Colorado Springs and are looking for a photographer for your son or daughter’s senior class photos, I highly recommend Jen! Not because she’s a great friend and has enough energy to light up a room (or a dark, cloudy forest;)) but she is such a talented photographer and an absolute hoot to be in the presence of.  Her pictures tell a story…a beautiful story.