Arizona Crazy Bridal/Pre-Wedding Photo Shoot Part II

         Well, I guess I will have to upload these pictures before you guys start hating me!!!

         I will upload a few of my favorite ones from different locations and advise what you will need to do from my experience. 

         IT'S SHOW TIME!!!!!!!

ANTELOPE CANYON:

        Definitely a great place to visit.  However, the shoot was quite a challenge.  First of all, I had to wear wedges because I was so short and it was very difficult to walk in sand with your sandals.  But the sand is super soft and fine.  They didn't get on my dress at all!! Haha.  

        Second of all, the lighting is essential as we all know for photography.  If it is not because of Holly's skills and our lovely Navajo tour guide, this task cannot be accomplished.  Jackey, our tour guide, literally helped us to find the right spot to take pictures and with natural light, one minute or two of difference in time can change the entire look of the same chamber.  

       Third, there are more than two hundred people inside this little cave. YES, I mean it!  It is very narrow and if you are not careful, you will bump into the walls and it is very painful if you do. :)  Jackey was being very nice to hold people off from coming into the chambers so we can catch these beautiful shots!

This is the crown jewel of the shoot.   I was sitting on this little piece of rock with Petrus holding me up!
However, it's so Vogue looking in my opinion.  lol

Around 11AM, the beam of light will start getting into the canyon, however, you will need to throw a bunch of sand to reflect the light to see the beam.  So, we copied Jacky and played with the sand.  It looked magical 

Ok, this is my solo outside the canyon.  It was  a natural move caught by Holly.  It was too hot so I lifted my hair.  Anyway, I specifically use a bluish-pink to high light my lips that compliment my grey dress

Horseshoe Bend: It is only 20 minutes away from the Antelope Canyon.  It is breath taking, but the hike was challenging for me, again, with the dress and everything.  We got there around noon, and it was not the best time for light.  The sun was too strong for photos.  Besides, you cannot get the entire view by standing up. Anyways, not highly recommended for pre-wedding photoshoot.

Colorado River!!!

Remember I said the sun was too strong so Holly had us hiding under some rocks.  Petrus said they looked like Dinosaur poops from afar.  Hahaha

Haha, I am at the top of the world!!! Just kidding!  You can see the sun was direct on top of me, NO SHADOWS at all. 

MONUMENT VALLEY: Two and half hours away from Antelope Canyon and this is where we stayed for the night.  We stayed at the Monument Valley Inn, which is 30 minutes away from the MV.  So, we rushed back to MV to catch the 5 o'clock to 7 o'clock light before sunset, which was 7:30pm during the days we visited.

Before we can head over to the MV, I had to change my makeup, hair and put on my white dress!!!!  I will have to tell you if I do not already know how I wanted myself to look and prepared everything for it, I cannot finish this within 30 minutes.  Yes, that's all the time we allotted for me. :(

Now, there is a trail in the Monument Valley park that you can drive along to see those rocks.  We drove down a little bit and picked out our fav spots.   If my other dress was causing some "wows" from other tourist, this white gown was causing too much attention.  People would be honking and waving at us to give us their blessing for our marriage!  Awww...we felt the LOVE!!!!

My absolute favorite!!!!!  I think that there is not much I will have to say about this!  You got the idea

This one is closer to sunset and you can see the sun cast shadows on this vast land and turned it into red!!
 B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!!!  Btw, can you see the details of the dress?
For photoshoot, everything needs to be a little bit exaggerated 

AHHHH!!!!  My 12 ft long veil is flying!!!  Thank goodness we decided not to cut it.  Bride-to-be's, if you want a veil like this, contact me because not all the veils can fly.  We tested and learned from the hard way.

Ok, Monument Valley is very pretty.  Honey, you deserve a little kiss on the cheek!!!  lol

BONUS location!!!!!!  Remember that I told you we went site seeing and got a little surprise from our small trip???   It was the CHAPEL OF HOLY DOVE!!!!   This little cute chapel is actually very famous and many  people were married here and signed their names on the wall for good luck.  Holly spotted it on the way to the Grand Canyon and we decided to do a BONUS shoot on the way home.

Well, we are inside a chapel, correct?  I should do a more formal style so it goes with the spiritual, solemn vibe.  Luckily, I also brought the rhinestone headband, the crystal hair piece and my veil. They can all be incorporated together for this shoot.  Yay, a different look for me, although in the same dress.

Notice the couple on the left, they were married in this very chapel 37 years ago.  They came to visit the chapel every now and then,
We felt extremely special for them helping us in this shoot!

Finally, thanks for watching!!!!  Hope that you feel the LOVE and dedication we put in!!  Thanks for Holly for her most aesthetic photographic skill, for Matt being the driver when we all got tired, for Raymond being the most important personal assistant and behind-the-scene photographer.  Some funny pictures and behind-the-scene pictures will be uploaded soon!!!!!!!

Arizona Crazy Bridal (Pre-Wedding) Photo Shoot Part I - Planning and Preparation

Way before Petrus and I decided to get married, I always wanted our pre-wedding bridal photos taken place in a desert.  For some reason, I like the color contrast of the blue sky and golden sand.  Beach is cool and very common, but not my type.

Besides, I got inspired by a girl-friend of mine, who had hers done in Beijing at the Great Wall and a desert (of course, her desert is very different from mine; the color of sand is whiter).  Thus, I told Petrus about this crazy idea and he came up with the Arizona shoot.  He went to school in Arizona a few years ago and visited many of the cool places there.  He is the master mind behind this whole project.  Here are the locations he picked out: Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Monument Valley. 

Horseshoe Bend:  A great place to visit, but not so recommend for bridal/engagement shoot

Antelope Canyon: we did have some cool pictures inside the cave, but it is very challenging because of lighting and high traffic

Monument Valley:My absolute favorite for the scenery and the time and lighting we picked out is just right!

Later on, I met my AWESOME photographer, Holly Hoyt and she happily accepted the challenge.  Hence, we started the planning of the photo shoot.  BTW, I highly recommend Holly.  Her style is very natural and LOVE the way she directed the shoot.  I am a very critical person when it comes to photo shoot since I've worked with so many different photographers.  I have to say that I cannot ask for more for my own bridal shoot.  I'll explain to you in a makeup artist's opinion how to find your perfect photographer in a later blog!!!)

As the stylist and bride of the shoot, I have several challenges.
1. the color scheme of the shoot: blue sky, golden/coral tone desert, green succulents.  What color of outfits would go with the above elements?  I thought a natural color, i.e. black, white, grey, would do.  Or, a complementary color, i.e. purple, navy blue, could be fine as well.  

As I was shopping around, I came across with this elegant light grey chiffon evening gown with gold embellishment, which would be perfect to stand out from the background.  I fell in love with it once I put it on and decided to bring it with me to the shoot, Yay!!!!

     On the other end, Petrus and I went through his closet and found a light grey suit, a pair of dark jeans, and borrowed a casual dark grey blazer and a pink shirt from his brother. 

2. I also found this beautiful ivory wedding gown for a bargain of price.  (haha, I kinda show you my third style of the shoot, which is also a bonus)

Another bonus item: I D.I.Y. the bouquet with white/yellow flowers and a touch of green from the succulents.

3. With the two dresses, what are the accessories should be incorporated into the shoot?
    a. What kind of accessories can go with it?  
So I prepare a DIY hair piece(bottom right), a simple rhinestone head band(bottom left), and a beautiful flower piece with lace and crystals(top).  A bonus accessory is a cathedral length ivory veil. 

    b. My hair is only in shoulder length.  What hair-updo would look good in the shoot and easy for me to style?  To incorporate the hair pieces that I prepared, I decided to start with wavy hair do, then a messy bun and finally a more formal up-do.  

     c. On the other hand, I was asked this question many times: "Are you doing your own makeup?"  Yes, for the Arizona photoshoot, Yes.  On my big day, I will have help from a really good friend and artist!!!

Now, we have all the elements ready for the shoot and Flagstaff, here we come!!!!!

More sneak peaks will be uploaded soon...