From the photographer:
Concept & Team
“I had recently done an engagement session in the mountains by Lake Minnewaska that turned out beautiful with some left over snow and ice. I wanted to showcase how gorgeous a bride could look amidst this scenery, so I began to plan a stylized bridal shoot.
Julianna is up-and-coming model whom just moved to New York City from California. When I approached her with the concept, she was excited for the adventure and to explore the mountains of upstate New York and immediately jumped on board.
Following booking Julianna, I called my favorite makeup artist, Dee. I have worked with Dee several times and knew she was fast, reliable and produced GORGEOUS work. Not only did Dee join the team but, also agreed to come on location with us for touch ups! I recently started working with a phenomenal hair artist, Gina and thought she would be the perfect addition to the team.
Lastly, we needed florals that would pop against the scenery. After researching I contacted Maria of Lyndhurst Florals, pitched her the idea and asked if she wanted to be a part of the shoot. She gladly said yes!
Shoot Day
The week prior to the shoot, New Jersey had a significant snow storm which meant up state New York would have a significant amount more snow. Due to the amount of planning that went into this shoot, I had a mind-set that whatever happens, we will make it work and it will be great. At this time, I had to throw out what idea I had in my head for this shoot and knew I would need to work with whatever we came across.
I aimed to start shooting as soon as the park opened which meant a very early call time for Julianne. Julianne started her travel from Brooklyn, New York City to New Jersey as 3 am where she met with Gina and Dee who simultaneously transformed her into a vintage looking winter bride. Dee, Julianne and myself, with flowers in tow, packed into my car and started the hour and half drive to upstate New York.
We arrived at the foot of the mountain at 9:15 am, where I was told that due to the snow, the top of the mountain (which is where I originally intended up ending our shoot) was closed due to the snow and only accessible by snow shoe. I immediately had to come up with plan B. We parked the car, grabbed our gear and headed to lower ground that was open and started exploring.
We hiked through snow past our ankles shooting along the way and eventually came across a pretty wooden bridge over a frozen stream that was covered in snow. Julianne was up for an adventure and climbed through snow, and ice for some of the images we captured.
For the second part of our shoot, we traveled a different path that lead to waterfall. Along the way, we passed frozen water hanging from rocks, amidst the snowy scenery creating the most beautiful backdrop. We passed snowy cliff edges as we worked our way down a mountain that finally led to the partially frozen waterfall. It was truly a sight to see!
The hike back up the mountain to the car in snow was more challenging than it appeared but the images were worth it!
I hope this shoot is inspiration to all brides that, if you embrace the weather, you can get some really fun and unique imagery. Do you want to take an adventure and document it? I would love to join you!”