CONFIDENCE | not your mothers prom pictures

These girls had a cold and rainy prom night so I insisted they put their dresses back on the following weekend so we could grab some photos to do these gowns justice! Honestly, hanging out with friends in elegant dresses in a dewy spring garden sounds more fun than actually attending a high school dance.

The thing that made me go “OMG YES these girls need pictures(!!!)” wasn’t necessarily the gowns themselves, but the confidence I sense in dressing 100% your own way during the teenage years many of us spend just wanting to blend in and dress and look exactly like everyone else. Wearing a replica of the 2015 Cinderella ballgown? CONFIDENCE. Making (yes MAKING) your own prom dress out of Nigerian fabric to honor your heritage? CON. FI. DENCE.

I would love to the confidence these girls exude and send it back to my high school self! Probs would have ended up with a prom look reminiscent of Leisl’s gazebo dress, Drew’s butterfly wings, or *anything* from Moulin Rouge.

KAMI+MICHAEL | the perfect excuse to wear a floor length gown

Kami and Michael get not one, but TWO wedding anniversary days. Why? Mike is Christian and Kami is Hindu, so they had two separate wedding ceremonies across two separate days. If you’re like me, your first question is, “So did you get to have TWO wedding dresses?!”

And yes, she did.

To celebrate their FIFTEEN YEAR anniversary (er, anniversaries) Kami went all out with another gorgeous dress. "Go casual, go fancy, or anywhere in between!" is my standard advice for clients. But like.... IT IS SO FUN when they choose fancy. Because the truth is that the typical adult doesn’t have a whole lot of occasions for a floor length dress once the wedding is over and that is just the saddest thing.

“It hasn't been easy, health and family weren't too kind to us but here we are 3 kids, a mortgage, and 15 years later stronger than ever. I'd like to think that the worst is behind us.” - Kami

SEE ALSO
LANEY+BRIGHAM | the day I stopped shooting at golden hour
INSPIRED BY GRANDMA | Grandma Kaiser and the nudists