I came across Joy Thigpen’s work a few weeks ago on Jose Villa’s blog and I was so incredibly impressed! I was impressed, not only with her work but also with a new trend in weddings that is emerging… the fact that a wedding styling business like Joy’s exists signifies to me that we are about to see some wonderful new ways for a wedding to be styled and designed.
Jose Villa’s blog post was filled with beautiful imagery (as usual!) of one of Jose’s recent engagement shoots. The shoot was styled to perfection and the couple was adorable. I was so excited to click on Joy’s name and find out that some of this styling was actually thanks to her! Take a look HERE to see this beautifully styled shoot! You see, my photography roots are actually in editorial photography. Some wedding photographers start as newspaper photojournalists, some as portrait photographers, and others go straight into weddings as their passion, but I started off at a magazine as an intern and learned on the way. One of my duties was to help plan editorial fashion shoots. I would help to hire models, obtain location permits, coordinate with clothing companies, and also storyboard the photo shoots so our objective was clear on the day of the shoot. Much of this creative process I still use today in my weddings!
The point of all this background is that I learned through editorial fashion shoots, that each piece of the shoot is integral! This might be a surprise…. but, it is not just the photographer that makes the shoot amazing! Each part of the shoot is so important and this includes the models (or the bride and groom!), the hair and make-up artist, the chosen location, and at the very top of that wish-list for me, an amazing stylist! A stylist coordinates and lays out all the details that make a shoot gorgeous, and they do it in a way that looks natural and pulled together.
So what does this mean for weddings? And even for engagement shoots? It doesn’t mean sacrificing your own sense of style for someone else’s! It means having a professional stylist available to make your wedding or engagement shoot look AMAZING with a style that is your personality. The stylist just helps you to translate this personality visually. If you decide that you want to hire someone like Joy, she will act as your art director and/or stylist for their wedding and/or engagement shoot. Joy sits down with the couple and goes through her bank of images together or walks through their home or closet with them, and it can definitely work over the phone and via email, too.
I am so inspired by this new category of wedding vendor and really hope to someday work with Joy! Check out some of her work and inspiration boards HERE! And, here is one Joy was kind enough to share with us today!
Images courtesy of Joy Thigpen:)
by Heather
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