On a Tuesday evening in September, it was my Fiance's 30th birthday.
We decided to walk around downtown Las Vegas in a wedding dress, a tux and a wedding photographer.
People whooped and hollered for us as we passed by, and yelled CONGRATULATIONS!
But the truth is, we didn't actually get married that day.
Elopement models
It all started when Jannet Blas (IG: @jannetblasphoto) a wedding photographer from Atlanta, reached out to me on Instagram.
She was in town and missed shooting weddings since COVID happened, so she decided to plan her own Vegas style elopement shoot.
She already had the hair and makeup artist and florist, and asked if me and Oscar could be the models.
Since being in the photography/film world, we are almost always BEHIND the camera and very rarely get any pictures of us together.
So of course I jumped at this opportunity and Oscar agreed even though it was set to take place on his 30th birthday. (He takes the cake for best fiancé)
Jannet's moodboard she created as inspo for this shoot.
Getting Ready
We met at the Plaza Hotel in downtown to get ready.
Hair and makeup was done by Ellen Hudgins (IG: @glammedbyellen).
The makeup she did on me was everything! I love the glam look with the dark red lip as its so different for me so I felt uber dressed up.
The hairstyle she did on me was perfection and loved the bun with the curled front pieces.
She also managed to tame Oscar's mane and made it look sleek in the front but kept some of the wildness in the back.
Isn't this already giving such glam vintage Vegas vibes?
Jannet brought the dress which was from ASOS, and his bowtie.
We bought Oscar's jacket from Buffalo Exchange which also had some vintage feels to it as it was a velour, dark green which went great with the maroon flowers and lipstick.
Speaking of flowers, the beautiful bouquet was from Fragile Boxer flower house (IG: @fragileboxer).
The shoot
We started walking outside from the Plaza.
The reaction we got from people outside was overwhelmingly supportive and nice.
People were shouting "CONGRATULATIONS!" from across the street, honking their horns, complimenting our attire, and we even got some people who recited love poems to us.
What we learned from this experience is that people love LOVE.
Jannet was also a pro at making us look cute & happy. She had us playing mini games or talk about "our firsts" to make us laugh and have fun.
We walked from Plaza Hotel towards El Cortez and found a rooftop to shoot at sunset.
The Finale
By this point, we were pretty tired from the day. Our feet were blistered from walking around (even thought it was only a couple hours) but it was all worth it.
Because these night shots were EVERYTHINGGGG.
Her flash photography was on point and the downtown aesthetic really fit the vibe.
Final Words
This shoot was SO much fun.
From getting glammed, dressed up, and walking around and getting the reaction we did from people was so exciting and out of the ordinary.
Living in Vegas our whole lives, it was a totally new experience for us.
This also inspired us to get our real wedding plans set in stone for this time next year... but it probably won't look anything like this haha.
So that was our pretend elopement! What do you guys think about it?
A big thank you to Jannet Blas, Ellen Hudgins, and Fragile Boxer for being a part of this.
And of course, Oscar, for doing things like this with me! <3
Check out everyones Instagram below.