Today I’m going to let you in on a little secret. A lot of our brides like to do a pre wedding boudoir photo shoot as a gift to their groom on their wedding day. It’s true! And I’m always getting questions from the brides – What do I wear? Who should I call for this? What’s it like? And since I have seen quite a few of the boudoir shoots of our brides, I know the answer to most of their questions. But, to be honest, I really don’t know what a boudoir shoot is actually like, as I’ve never had one myself. Well, that changed about a week ago!
My good friend, and an amazing photographer, Kara of Kara Marie Studios, recently changed her business focus from weddings and boudoir to just boudoir. And she wanted to add some images to her new site of her boudoir work so she asked if some of us in the wedding industry would volunteer – with one teensy little hitch. We had to agree to allow the usage of our images online and in her marketing. Yikes!
But I did it. And I’m not going to lie – I was absolutely terrified leading up to the shoot! And I felt like such a hypocrite, because I always encourage my brides to do it and now here I was, scared like a little chicken. But I know Kara and I’ve seen her work many times so I knew that whatever happened was going to be incredible.
Here’s how it all went down:
Kara asked me to create a private Pinterest board for boudoir and share it with her. I was able to pin the pictures that I liked and she pinned some additional pictures that she thought I might be interested in as well. This way she could get an idea of what style of boudoir photos I liked. In my case, I generously allowed my husband to add pins as well. Of course, it wasn’t a surprise to him and we aren’t newlyweds, so it was a little different for us than it might be for a new bride.
I didn’t realize until later that this step was so important in that it was actually helping me to become very excited about the shoot, and at the same time, really comfortable with what was about to come. You see, Kara wasn’t asking me to pick pictures that I wanted to replicate – she was asking me to pin the pictures that spoke to me so she could get an easy visual of the “types” of photos that I was drawn to. Was it the detail shots that I liked? Am I more modest? More adventurous?
She emailed me a list of Do’s and Dont’s that I could use as a guide to prepare for the shoot. Things like what I should wear, what I should do before hand, to drink or not to drink – and how much. (This was an easy one for me, because I’m not really a drinker. But I can see how some ladies might like a little liquid courage with a shot!)
I followed all of Kara’s advice – exactly. And I think it made all the world of difference during the shoot.
I arrived at the shoot and the hair and make up artist, Erica with Erica Gray Beauty, started on my make up while Kara went through the things I had brought and chose the outfits she thought were best for me. You might do differently, but she’s the professional, so I just laid everything out and let her decide!
Up to this point I was really working under the assumption that this was to help out my friend in her business but once the hair and make up started I quickly realized that Kara was making every bit of this event about me. And it was really pretty cool! I started to relax and enjoy the whole experience. I’m a (30 something) mom of two kids that I homeschool – and I spend my working hours creating amazing days for other people. So let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of things that happen in my life that’s all about me! As corny as it sounds, Kara and Erica taking so much effort with every little detail of me made me feel like I was someone very special. It was an oddly emotional experience to see myself transform into this amazing looking individual.
Once finished with hair and make up, we started with the photos. And I was a little nervous at first. But within a few minutes we were laughing and having a great time. And it was easy – and so much fun! It was over sooo fast!
So, I’ve told you about all the good stuff. What about the bad stuff? Honestly, there wasn’t any. It was great. And I would totally do it again! But if I had to choose any one thing to do differently, I would have budgeted MORE TIME. The time just flew by. Seriously, if you do a boudoir shoot, just book an extra hour – whatever it costs. You’re already dressed up and you’re already there. You may as well enjoy it as long as you can!
The biggest thing that I didn’t expect from the boudoir shoot was how amazingly awesome I would feel! My photo shoot was last week and I’m still super pumped about it. It was a very empowering experience. And one that I think all woman should have!
—-> This whole experience made me feel extraordinary, so I’m going to do something totally crazy here and give you a sneak peak of MY OWN boudoir photos! Hopefully this will help you feel more comfortable with your decision to choose a boudoir shoot – as a gift or just for yourself. If this 30 something mom of two kids did it and loved it, you will love it too!
I used to think that a boudoir shoot was all about the groom. Boy you ladies had me fooled! Now I realize that it’s all about the bride! But hey, we don’t have to let the guys in on our little secret, now do we?
