Why Styled Shoots?
with Hayley Gurney from Gulf Coast Glam House
Now that we’ve covered how to make a wedding toast a highlight, let’s talk about something a little more fun and, perhaps, mysterious: a styled shoot. For my most recent podcast recording, I got to chat with Hayley Gurney from Gulf Coast Glam House. She is a huge supporter of styled shoots, having participated in “over 100 styled shoots” herself. As a DJ, I’ve always thought being a part of a styled shoot would be fun but I didn’t really see how I would fit practically. Hayley shares about how styled shoots are not just beneficial for brides who are wedding planning. They’re also great for the wedding professionals that play a role in making each styled shoot come to life.
Hayley Gurney Prepping A Bride For Her Big Day | Photo Credit: Ash Simmons Photography
DJ Josh: We were talking offline earlier, and you mentioned that you had some experience doing styled shoots. Would you care to share a little more about why you are see styled shoots as an opportunity for both couples in the planning process as well as why wedding pros should be a part of them?
Why Follow Styled Shoots As a Bride?
Hayley: Yeah. For a bride, I feel that something these girls can really relish in and gain from a styled shoot. A styled shoot can help them find wedding professionals that they want to work with.
A Moment Together Alone | Photo Credit: Kayla Baptista Photography
My goal is always to make the styled shoot look like a wedding. But instead of just recreating a wedding, the wedding professionals participating in the styled shoot may have noticed a trend or style change or, for instance, a florist might say, “I created this new floral arbor. I’d really like to showcase it to brides as something they can have at their wedding.”
Because we are all local to the Gulf Coast, what is captured isn’t something that you’re only going to find on Pinterest. Local brides won’t have to be disappointed that what they really loved is only going to be found in a bigger market like L.A. or New York City.
Finding the Right Wedding Pros For You
One of the reasons I love styled shoots so much is brides aren’t just looking at the beautiful images. They’re also picking out the different elements by wedding pros that they like. As they’re doing that, they know they can have those looks or details as part of their wedding because they have the opportunity to work with the local wedding professionals that created them.
Styled Shoot With a Snazzy Boutonniere | Photo Credit: Sarah Coleman Photography
A styled shoot I am currently obsessing over features a florist that created a fainting bow tie out of florals for the groom to wear. I thought it was so creative and beautiful. I can see this being a trend that would be attractive to bride and grooms that have an earthy or hippie vibe to them. When I saw that, I thought, “A lot of times we’re covering girls in florals but why couldn’t we put florals on a man while keeping his masculinity intact?” This would also be perfect for those couples who love everything outdoors. It would be a great way to incorporate who they are as individuals beyond your basic boutonniere.
Style Inspiration For Your Wedding Design
That was something that came from a styled shoot that can inspire a bride. Not only does it inspire the bride, but the bride can also have the thought of, “I love what the florist did. That’s the florist I want.” It can allow a bride to pick the perfect wedding pro to be a part of the wedding event team that really tells the couple’s story perfectly.
With any styled shoot I’ve been a part of, there’s always that chance for vendors to get together and collaborate. It’s such a beautiful melting pot of creativity. You’re more likely to have a bride think, “These are the people I want for my wedding day.” A lot of times I have brides reach out to me after we do styled shoots and say, “I saw the work that you recently did with such and such and that’s the exact makeup I want!” Or when girls come to their trials they’re showing me, “I love this makeup.” I’m like, “Ok. Let’s create it.”
Styled Shoot With POPS of Color | Photo Credit: Aspen Grey Photography
From Pinterest/Instagram To Where Your Wedding Will Be
A styled shoot creates an inspiration that takes you away from Pinterest, takes you away from the global scope of Instagram, and shows you that these looks and ideas are realistic and attainable. A bride getting married on the Emerald Coast knows they can work with the creatives featured in a styled shoot because we’re not going to be too good or too far away from them. We’re here locally.
It’s not only good for local brides because of word-of-mouth referrals, but it also helps with destination couples as well. When they’re searching for hashtags like #30aweddings, #seasideweddings, #pensacolabeachweddings, and they see the same wedding companies popping up on posts, a bride from Atlanta or Nashville can think “I’ve found the wedding pros I want to work with!”
Why Be a Part of a Styled Shoot as a Wedding Pro?
Here’s what I have to say about styled shoots for wedding professionals. If you haven’t been a part of a styled shoot and are curious how they work, I highly recommend getting involved in at least one. Give it a try. I believe anyone who works in the wedding industry can be a part of one. You and talked about it before coming from the perspective of “How would a DJ fit in a styled shoot?” One way we could incorporate a DJ in a styled shoot would If we wanted to highlight how a beautiful reception looks. We can create emotion and showcase that. We could also include uplighting and table settings as well. The possibilities are endless.
Stop And Smell The Florals | Photo Credit: Sarah Coleman Photography
Brides need to see that because it’s sometimes it’s just easier to show rather than tell someone what is possible for their wedding. When they see what’s possible, it makes more sense. Then they can think, “Yes. This is what I want and that’s who I want. And I love how they did this.”
More Than Just Photos
Styled shoots are also more than just photos now. We’re also linking up with videographers. So not only do they get to see the styled shoot captured in still images, but with video we get to incorporate movement and music. Here’s an example of a styled shoot using videography: StoryLive Productions Brenna & Raquel Styled Shoot.
I will say that if you want to really get the most out of a styled shoot, you have to be willing to bring your creativity to the table and not expect anything back. We’re all just coming together as creatives saying like, it could be me saying “I wanna try these new makeup trends that seem a little different.” And, because we don’t have a client sitting in the chair paying, I just want to convey this and show what it’s like. Same with florals or anything. People are getting that opportunity to really showcase their skills, what they’re working on, what they’ve refined. It’s just so cool. I really encourage all wedding professionals to be more active in them.
Outside The Box
What’s really fun about them is there are so many unexpected things that have come out of styled shoots. We did a styled shoot where we worked with Ballet Pensacola. It was done around Christmas time, so we incorporated a Nutcracker theme. It was beautiful.
There’s so much out of the box stuff that goes into a styled shoot. That’s what makes them so fun. But the point is just to create pure inspiration for a bride, for another vendor. If I can inspire another vendor to say, “Oh, I want to try this,” that just feels so rewarding.
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Hayley, thank you for stopping by and providing a lot of insight and, hopefully, an inspiration for both brides and wedding industry professionals about styled shoots. I definitely fit into the category of not having been a part of one, yet, but I hope to be a part of one soon! Check out these links to get an idea of what styled shoot videos look like! Shout out to Salt & Light Visuals and StoryLive Productions for creating two awesome video styled shoots along with the other wedding pros that made it happen!
I mentioned the Make Your Wedding a Highlight podcast. This week, I feature Donavan and Kasey Perry from Coastal Coffee Bar Co as they share their journey to starting their second wedding business, why having a coffee bar with wow your guests, and what it’s like to work with your spouse in a business.
