I’m only *officially* 3 years into this business and the amount of mistakes I’ve made have been too many to count. You got that right baby, sometimes I don’t think things through enough, I’m a self-proclaimed dummy. Luckily for me, every misstep resulted in lessons, that then blossomed into blessings. Just take this as me saying i’ve made a lot of silly choices — and the journey it took to get to this shoot was exactly one of those, oops.

I’m not in the business of dragging anyone through the mud for previous choices they’ve made so there won’t be any of that in this lil’ excerpt (no canceling over non-life threatening things people can learn from over here — but thats a story for another day). Yet, I’m not going to deceive you, I still get irritated when I think about this instance.

As a photographer, in order to grow my portfolio and attract a specific clientele I set-up styled photoshoots for myself and models, or everyday couples that fit the mold I’m aiming to capture. I originally purchased this dress, bow with pearls sown in, and long veil last fall for this same style of concept, just outdoor. I also purchased two bouquets from a florist that did me a favor and worked on rush delivery. I reached out to a model couple from the Seattle area who had wonderful energy and previously worked with several of my creative friends (hoping that meant I could trust them).

Total spent on this concept: $500+

I set up a fool-proof plan for our proposed shoot with location addresses, a timeline, and THE exact place I would be waiting for our session. We confirmed a week or so before, so I made sure to send them a message the day before our shoot to double confirm. I didn’t receive a response from them but I thought nothing of it as we had already confirmed for literally every other aspect of the shoot. I went about my day and got everything ready for our Styled Bridal Session that started at 3pm. 1pm rolls around and it’s time to head to Seattle to pick up the bouquets, still no response. Should I have realized then something was up? Probably.

I’m sure you can guess how the rest of the story goes, yet I’m going to tell you anyway! I sat in the parking garage across from our first location for 2 hours past our meet time waiting and thinking just maybe they were still on their way. They weren’t. I didn’t receive any communication from them until the day after, with excuses that aren’t worth even repeating.

Long story short: if that hadn’t happened to me I would have NEVER met Julia and Will, worked at my new favorite studio space for free, or taken these classy + trendy studio bridals!!!

I mean just look at these photos and tell me they’re not a win that grew from a loss!