Julian, a historical California landmark near San Diego, was a gold rush town back in the days of the Civil War. While James Madison’s apple seedlings which were brought up to the mountains, flourished in the clean crisp air made this town known for its baked apple pies.  Think Julian Apple Pie Co. Along these winding roads, bespoke a natural scenery of grass and oak, encapsulates a sleepy town of 1500 which also holds a kind of romantic setting you’ve read in fiction from the likes of Louis L’Amour. And more so evident in a place called Meadow View Inn where Cassandra and Koby held their storybook wedding. Though I would sometimes forget the venue I was in because of the attire and decor. Was I in a story, a dream or just a fanciful masquerade ball? Did I fall into a book where steampunk, Roaring 20’s, and Western were all balled into one? Nonetheless, I would go back to my photography to capture the fairy tale that was Cassandra and Koby’s wedding, enjoying every bit of detail that was to be but a moment in time.
One morning, out of the blue, Connie and I decied to take a morning walk around Walnut. Before we realized it, our morning walk turned inspirational when we got sidetracked and found ourselves at the Brookside Equestrian Center. I said to Connie, this would be great place to showcase our work. One passionate thing we do when inspire hits us is to sit right down and brainstorm. We began our search for models and gowns but also we began assembling a team to help make the idea come to life. One thing led to another, we hooked up with Erica España of Twine Events and we hit it off right away. I knew this was the beginning of something. Next was to secure the location. I called Rose Wade of Rose Wade Events who manages events at the equestrian center and pitched our idea. When she got on board, the rest started to come in place. For gowns, Veronica of La Soie Bridal was welcoming to the idea of our shoot and also added hair accessories from Veronique Coleccion. We made a casting call and found two great models, Nicole Maxwell and Mark Finochiaro. For makeup, we turned to our friend Kat Laskey whose work we admire. She brought her friend David Harrington to do the hair. Erica was so kind to find the rest of our team, Nancy Benninghoff Jr. of Oak and the Owl to execute the floral designs and Amber Moon of Pitbulls and Posies for the invitations. We also turned to our friend Gretchen Norton of Barnhill Boutique for antique rentals. Baker Party Rentals provided the exposed wood table, bench and chairs. And to tie it all together, Saadia Kibriya of Kismet Event Planning & Design helped with the romantic white draping that encompass the feasting table. We even managed to get a few boleros for the bride thanks to Joyce Brady of Gertie B on Etsy. Now, we needed to make sure this was all documented on video and we turned to Kelsey and David of Charles Lauren Films. The rest is history as we not only got a wonderful photo shoot out of it, but a behind-the-scenes look of what transpired. So sit back and watch a little video of our creative collaboration. Â
Horses, Cameras and Couture: A Behind-The-Scenes Look at a Bridal Photo Shoot! from Charles Lauren Films on Vimeo.
Vendors Credits
Venue:: Brookside Equestrian Center -Â www.brooksideequestrian.com
Venue Contact:: Rose Wade Events – www.rosewadeevents.com
Planner/Stylist:: Erica Espa̱a Рwww.twineevents.com
Florist:: Nancy Benninghoff Jr. – www.oakandtheowl.com
Stationery:: Amber Moon – www.pitbullsandposies.com
Male Model:: Mark Finochiaro – www.modelmayhem.com/2360336
Female Model:: Nicole Maxwell – www.modelmayhem.com/1614265
Makeup Artist:: Kat Laskey – www.katlaskey.com
Hair:: David Harrington – www.davidharringtonla.com
Cinematographer:: Kelsey and David Pluskat – www.charleslauren.com
Bridal Gown:: Veronica Trebels – www.lasoiebridal.com
Hair Accessories:: Veronica Trebels – www.veroniquecoleccion.com
Rentals:: Baker Party Rentals – www.bakerpartyrentals.com
Antique Rentals:: Gretchen Norton – Barnhill Boutique – gretchen.r.norton@gmail(dot)com
Draping:: Kismet Events – Saadia Kibriya – www.hellokismet.com
Bolero:: Gertie B – Joyce Brady -Â www.etsy.com/shop/Gertieb
Photography:: Connie and Desi Baytan Photography – www.desibaytan.com
On the Fashion Issue of The Knot Magazine, you’ll find on page 16 and 60 a photo of one of our brides. This from Kit and Terry’s wedding at the renowned Four Seasons in Westlake Village. See the gallery on Style Me Pretty’s The Little Black Book.
So wonderful to see our photo in the latest issue of The Knot Spring/Summer issue. We’re on page 52. An image from Eechin and Joe’s wedding at the Athenaeum, Pasadena. This wedding was also featured on Style Me Pretty. See it here.
So nice to see that hard work does pay off when you see Katy Carrier and Erica Espana’s work on Style Me Pretty. They made this gorgeous wedding even more so. They certainly kept me busy because there was just so much to photograph! And that’s a good thing.
