Weddingbee Blog

Do you remember when I mentioned that I would be doing some work/trade in order to afford our dream photography? Don’t worry—I’ll forgive you if you don’t, or thought it was just plain bonkers, or scratched your head and wondered how the hell it was gonna work. I DO think you may enjoy seeing some of the fruits of my labor though…

And don’t worry, I’m not gonna bore you to death with pictures of me doing data entry, cleaning our photographer’s house, or organizing her closet, although all those things would be kick-ass & valid trades in my opinion! Instead I thought you might enjoy seeing this engagement shoot that I styled for our amazing photographer Kirsten Ellis. The couple, Justen & Andrea, are adorable and were super fun (and easy) to style, and yes, they’re really engaged. And Kirsten? Well, I think her photos speak for themselves. Enjoy:

I really enjoyed the work/trade experience for a lot of reasons. First off - styling is something that I LOVE to do. I mainly do costumes for film/television, and occasionally do some print work, so this shoot reminded me of just how much creative freedom there can be in print and it was super fun to collaborate with everyone involved. Second - it’s been really fun getting to spend time with Kirsten and getting to know her better - I think the relationship we’ve built is gonna result in some kick-ass wedding photos AND an awesome friend! And finally work/trade really resonates with our values and our budget. We may not have the most money in the world yo, but we make up for it with love, time, style and elbow grease. And that combo is priceless!

How are you making the things you LOVE to do work for your wedding? Any other creative trades happening?

P.S. If you wanna see more cuteness from our shoot head over to the always fabulous Once Wed, which is actually where I discovered Kirsten in the first place!