How I planned and organized my first styled shoot?

What is a styled shoot and why consider doing one?

A styled shoot is a collaboration of multiple creative vendors who put their talent together to come up with a beautiful concept. It’s important for a planner to do style shoots as its a great opportunity to showcase their best work in a visual way. It will be a great portfolio piece to show your clients as well as a bragging moment if you do get featured ;) Its a win win really :)

There is no limit on what you could do for a styled shoot so you can be as creative as you possibly can. If you are a wedding planner this post is just for you. I have created this especially to help all other amazing and talented upcoming wedding planners plan their styled shoot.

When I first decided to plan this shoot, I was in complete state of confusion. I had zero idea where to begin, who to contact, how much to spend and what to do. It’s because of these reasons I decided to write this post, be as transparent as I possibly can and help as many planners out there.

How I picked the style for my styled shoot?

Before reaching out to the vendors, the first thing you as a planner need to do is pick a color palette and theme for the shoot. Create a mood-board either on pinterest or something more personal so you can send that to all the vendors. A moodboard is your vision so be very very specific, especially in terms of color and style. Remember, vendors create their pieces based on your mood-board and theme. Once you have that ready, reach out to 100s off vendors whose style matches your vision (I will be posting a list of vendors as well that I worked with for my styled shoot below)

I picked my colour pallet and theme based on what is currently trending and then added my own personality, flair and style to that.
The theme I picked was Citrus but when I did my research I noticed that ***it tended*** to be a more rustic affair. I wanted to add my own spin on the Citrus theme and make it more classy and contemporary.

Pick a theme that SPEAKS to you!

How to pick and find vendors?

Selecting the right vendor for your styled shoot is extremely important. I picked majority of my vendors from instagram. I looked at other planners who had similar style and vision and researched which vendors they used. I then reached out to them. Do not be disheartened if you don’t get responses right away. Just keep trying. I would recommend not picking vendors just because they are your friend. Be professional. I didn’t sign a contract with any vendors because we are all professionals and I personally didn’t think it was necessary, but I did have an eventful experience with a couple of vendors where they cancelled on me last minute.

Obstacles will come your way. Just find a way to deal with it and move on (sometimes things work out for the best). Remember, we live in a world where money talks and people might unexpectedly cancel on you especially if they are collaborating with you for free. The makeup and cake artist cancelled on me couple of weeks before this shoot which left me with very little time to find someone completely new and help them understand my vision. Hence, signing a contract with the vendors especially to keep them accountable is something to consider.

Planning a styled shoot is just like planning a wedding. It requires a lot of time, effort and dedication. So start early and give yourself at least 3-4 months. Most important, be ready for rejections when you first start off. Majority won’t reply unless you are a big name, many will ask to pay and very few will be willing to help. It’s all part of the planning process.

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
”

— Michael Jordan

Do you pay for the styled shoot?

Most of the vendors I worked with collaborated for the shoot in return for pictures and an opportunity in getting featured. The two areas that I paid for was the venue and florals but sometimes you might even get that for free. Typically florist will charge wholesale for the product (flowers) & provide you their labour free of charge. Flowers are expensive and perishable so that is completely understandable. Laura (photographer) was kind enough to split the venue cost with me. Again, do your research. Every vendor works differently so talk to them about it in advance. Remember this is a styled shoot so be ready to spend on areas that need it. At the end of the day, this is going to be one of YOUR big portfolio pieces.

From my experience, a lot of vendors will charge upfront but it never hurts to ask if they are willing to collaborate for pictures and exposure instead.

Do you need people to help on the day of?

Depending on how big you plan on having your styled shoot, I would bring an assistant in to help out. Luckily I had my husband whose my right hand and helped me for this shoot from the start to the end. On the day off, I was told that the elevator of the mint mintroom studio was not working (beautiful location but i’ve heard this happens a lot there) which meant that we had to carry everything 2 floors up. (Thanks hub. I don’t know how you managed to get that table up to the studio ;)). So be ready for ANYTHING and have a backup plan.

My experience over all?

AMAZING! I was lucky enough to have worked with a great team of vendors that worked as hard as I did to put my vision together. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it one more time, pick vendors that you can TRUST. Its nerve racking and heartbreaking when vendors cancel on you last minute when they were the very first vendors you had picked. It not only puts you in a state of stress but it can shatter you especially if it’s your very first style shoot. I am very proud of how my first style shoot worked out and I couldn’t be happier.

I am proud to say that this style shoot did get featured in Todays Bride magazine as well as their blog. Check it out https://www.todaysbride.ca/articles/citrus-splash-fruity-and-colourful-decor/

I am so very grateful to have worked with an incredible group of vendors! THANK YOU!

Planning & Coordination: Anamika Events
Seating Chart: Designer- Anamika Events and florals by FCL Weddings
Florals: FCL Weddings
Stationery: Good Day Inc.
Event Rentals: Event Rental Group
Makeup and Hair: Makeup Houz
Bridal Accessories: Accessories by Talia
Modelling Agency: Icon Model Management
Bridal Gown: Lea Ann Belter Bridals
Catering: Tropic Thunders
Cake: Guerdoo Cakes
Location: Mintroom Studios