It was the night before the styled shoot at The Wadsworth, and all through the mansion, not a creature was stirring… except Lindsey.
Lindsey was most definitely stirring.
And before you wonder why Lindsey is writing about herself in third person: she’s not. Hi, it’s Sara! I’m Wildflower’s Digital Coordinator, and I’m here to write a blog post from my POV for once! I used to help Wildflower with day-of setup and breakdown of events back in the day when I still lived in America (long story) and transitioned to a remote digital role when I opened my business, Between The Lines Copywriting.
Now, I make Lindsey’s life easier (and more fun, duh) from all the way up in Canada 400 miles away by helping with all things website, content, and social media! And while we were discussing what to blog about this week, we knew we wanted to cover this gorgeous Christmas wonderland shoot from Wadsworth mansion, but we wanted to add a little bit of… spice.
So, here I am, bringing you the real BTS tea: what it’s like to *actually* execute an epic styled shoot day. While visiting my family in New England over Thanksgiving, I mentioned to Lindsey that I would be home if she wanted to meet up and talk about content planning for the new year. And by “talk about content planning” I obviously meant hug for 10 minutes and then talk about everything but content planning. So when she mentioned to me that she was doing a styled shoot close to my parents’ house, I jumped at the chance to throw it back to my Wildflower roots and help with setup.
This shoot was especially fun because Lindsey let me help her choose the models, so naturally I had to text my group chat of college friends to see if any of those gorgeous humans were down. Bianca swooped right in with the “me!” and volunteered her boyfriend Marco to tag along. Lindsey got to work searching for their outfits, and as usual, she killed it – I mean, deep purple velvet blazer? Are you kidding me?
Normally when we take you through a Behind The Scenes post, we’d talk about all the planning that went into it, how Lindsey chose the vendors and the venue, and the whole backstory of the ~mood~ for the shoot. But this is my blog post. So, we’re taking a little bit of a different turn.
I was really excited to help her with the day-of setup at the Wadsworth because a) I’d never been there and I was looking forward to seeing the inside of it after sifting through so many Wildflower pictures of it and b) there was a certain vendor that I’d been low key dying to meet for months: KE of KELI Photography.
Quick side note: for those of you that don’t know, the KE in KELI stands for Kelsey, and the LI in KELI stands for Liam, her husband. It’s not KELI like Kelly. Who knew?
Not me, until a couple months ago. And on the same day I found that out, I also found out that Kelsey and Lindsey were sisters, not just vendor-friends. Again, who knew?
Because Lindsey and Kelsey are both accomplishing amazing things in their own separate facets of the industry, they don’t get to work together on styled shoots much anymore, and this was the first one they’d collaborated on in a long time. And, as you’ll see from the gallery I’m going to insert below, it was 100% worth the wait.
Here’s a sneak peak…
When I arrived at the mansion (casual) I found Lindsey knee-deep in a flocked Christmas tree with a pile of twinkle lights around her, and boxes of chargers, wine glasses, and flatware everywhere. She was truly in her creative zone. Now, Lindsey and I talk almost every single day – whether it’s about work or not – so I know her well enough to understand her creative genius. But seeing it in person for the first time in over a year was so refreshing! I stood in the plain, empty room and thought to myself “she’s really about to make this place a winter wonderland in a matter of hours.”
I mean, the ability to conceptualize something, manage all of the moving parts, and then make it come to life in a seemingly effortless manner is a skill that not many people possess.
Long story short: she’s great at what she does. Like, look at this table.
How does one make something like a table an object that I feel tempted to refer to as “so beautiful!” without hesitation?
Whenever my husband get around to having a *real* wedding (we eloped on the beach, just the two of us and our Pastor), she’s hired. I’m honestly tempted to say “okay, 50 guests, Cape Cod, summer. Run with it.” And then just show up at my wedding, ready to walk down the aisle and renew my vows. She’s that good.
And, yes, she’s paying me to write this post… but, no, she isn’t paying me to compliment her work like that. That sentiment is allll me. I could ramble for days about how much I think all brides can benefit from a wedding planner (especially a wedding planner as good as this one), but I think it’s time to let the magic speak for itself.
Enjoy this gallery and all the Christmassy vibes! Have the happiest and healthiest holiday season — I’ll talk to you guys soon!
Oh, but before I go… make sure you’re signed up for our monthly newsletter Into The Wild because Wildflower has a lot to look forward to in 2021 & you won’t want to miss it!
Okay, now you can enjoy the gallery. Merry Christmas!
VENDORS:
Venue: The Wadsworth Mansion
Photographer: KeLi Photography
Florals: Leslie Lee Floral Design
Stationary: Cat Wilcox Design
Cocktail Truck: Cork and Craft CT
Hair and Makeup: Upstyle.co
Wedding Dress: Wild Blooms Bridal
Tabletop: Borrowed Blu
Linen: BBJ Linen