Welcome to the final installment of Blogging Around the World! I hope you’ve had a chance to visit the rest of the blogs but if you haven’t the links to all the great posts will be listed below. I am thrilled and honored that all of these bloggers, literally from all over the world, have joined forces to present a unique look at one shoot. In case you aren’t familiar, the idea to organize a series of posts from bloggers all over the world started last year with a shoot by the talented Valley and Co. It was a lot of fun for both those involved and for those of us that got to follow along!
For my post I’d like to talk a little about location both in general for any event and specifically about the location we selected. Several months ago when the idea to do a shoot was presented to me by Raeleen of Fancy Fin Photography, we had no ideas or vision for what we wanted the shoot to be so essentially we were working with a blank slate. I decided to tackle finding a location first and let the rest of the details fall into place from there. If you are planning a wedding, photo shoot, or any celebration the location sets the stage for the entire event. A rustic wedding would look awkward in a fancy ballroom just as a modern glam wedding would be strange in a barn. The location can dictate the details, color schemes and decor but it also dictates the mood for the event. I wanted a unique location for our shoot that would be unexpected, unconventional, and unlike any wedding pictures out there. I also thought it would be fun to bring some awareness and exposure (more on that in a bit) to one of our local area’s popular attractions: Out of Africa Wildlife Park. With a setting filled with desert landscapes and wild animals, our theme was set and a Vintage Desert Safari was born.
There is a fine line between cheesy and elegant when you are dealing with a theme for any event but especially a wedding. In an effort to carry the African theme throughout the shoot we wanted to incorporate subtle details. The paper goods had silhouettes of animals, the cake was detailed with an African tree, and the details included wooden animals, African masks and lanterns.
Despite what many people think Out of Africa Wildlife park is unlike other wild animal parks such as zoos or places like Sea World. The animals live in as close to natural environments as possible and they remain untrained. Out of Africa is more of a sanctuary for animals that need a place to live. Many of the animals are rescued from private owners who thought owning a Tiger or Caiman (looks like a small alligator) was appropriate. Many of the animals confiscated from homes are not socialized and thus frighten and aggressive. It takes a lot of time and effort to restore some of the natural instincts the animals lost while living in someone’s backyard. The caiman for example had never been exposed to sunlight. The rhino at the park was saved by Marc Ecko, co-founder of the Ecko clothing company, when he was purchased at auction to be used in a canned game hunt. Canned game hunts are still legal in Texas and involve people essentially shooting an animal in an enclosed area solely for the trophy. Marc Ecko paid double the amount that the rhino was auctioned for and then paid for him to be transported to Out of Africa to live out his days. Many of the animals at the park like the rhino are endangered species. The park is dedicated to creating relationships of dignity and respect for the animals and to educating the public on the topic.
It truly is an amazing place to visit if you are ever in Arizona. To clarify, Out of Africa does not host weddings but was gracious enough to let us complete part of our shoot at the park. In the near future, people will have the opportunity to sponsor animals at the park in an effort to help save more animals and to get people more involved in protecting these amazing creatures! The following are some organizations with the mission of protecting wild animals:
Thank you so much for joining us on this blog tour today! If you haven’t had a chance stop by these other blogs to read their best tips and advice!
- Bubble Rock Studios (New Zealand)
- Cap Classique (UK, South Africa)
- The Unreal Bride (India)
- Brancoprata (Portugal)
- Bijoux Bride (UK)
- Bridal Musings (UK)
- The Oceanside Bride (US)
- Hey Gorgeous (US)
- Sparkle and Hay (US)
- Wedding Pickle (US)
- The Perfect Palette (US)
- Oh Lovely Day (US)
- La Petite Coquin (US)
- Brenda’s Wedding Blog (US)
- Fab You Bliss (US)
- Landlocked Bride (US)
- Bow Ties and Bliss (US)
- A Paper Proposal (US)
- Engaged and Inspired (US)
- The Charity Wedding (US)
A BIG Thank you to all the vendors who made this shoot possible especially the amazing Fancy Fin Photography who came in from Seattle and Kim Duncan for the gorgeous styling! ALL of the props used were from Kim’s personal stash! Amazing right?!
Shoot Credits:
- Location: Out of Africa Wildlife Park and Along the Verde River, Camp Verde, Az
- Coordination & Concept: Alicia French of The Charity Wedding
- Event Design: KD Event Designs
- Photography: Fancy Fin Photography
- Bouquet: Glamorous Occasions
- Cake & pastries: Kick Ass Kakes
- Invitations, Menu, Dessert Toppers and Hang Tags: Wedding Girl
- Model: Dahlee
- Makeup Artist: Sabrina Sweet Makeup
- Hair Artist: Erin McDonald of Aveda Red 115 Salon
- Gown: La Belle Reve
- Jewelry: Genevieve
- Cupcakes: Handmade by Alicia
Thanks so much for coordinating this, Alicia! What a lovely journey you took us on! There really is a fine line between cheesy and elegant when you are dealing with themes + the key is definitely all about being subtle! You guys totally acheived a beautiful balance with this shoot!
Thanks for inviting me to participate in this! It was fun + nice to work on a project like this with this sweet group of bloggers!
xoxo, Chrissy
The Perfect Palette
This was such a fun fun experience and it would not have been possible if it hadnt been for this fabulous shoot! Thank you for letting me a part of it and hope we get to do it again soon!
Like I told you last week…that venue is absolutely AMAZING. Unreal. Thank you SO much for putting together this great Blog Around the World series and sharing your content with the wedding blogging community. I’m so happy to have been a part of it!
Thanks for organizing, Alicia! It was great to see an outside the box idea for this style shoot. And, the model sure was brave for posing with the snake!
Thank you Alicia for bringing Africa to everyone’s attention! It’s been exciting to be involved, and amazing to see all the love being shared around the world! The shoot was just perfect, just the right amount of ‘Africa’ and beautiful inspiration
Congratulations on such a stunning shoot, and thank you for organizing this wonderful blog event!
Thank you for organizing this fantastic blog around the world and for sharing the beautiful images from your vintage desert safari shoot ~ it was fascinating to see how the shoot inspired each blogger in a different way. I was thrilled to be a part of it! Well done to you and all the fabulous vendors involved! Also, it was lovely to hear more about the Out of Africa wildlife park ~ sounds like an amazing place.
1- I loved this way of revealing a shoot! So fun to see everyone’s different spin on it! And 2- this shoot was so so gorgeous! You guys rocked this inspiration- so many beautiful details!
Alicia: thank you again for letting us go around the world and to Africa. It’s been a great second edition of our blog around the world series and I hope more will happen… It is a major task to organise it and the shoot we all featured really worked for the occasion… I now need to go back to Africa.
absolutely gorgeous alicia!!! thank you & the team so much for creating such a beautiful shoot & allowing all of us to take part in sharing it!!!
I love that you discussed the importance of the wild animals in the world and how many are endangered. I love how you bring awareness to serious issues. The beauty of nature around us is a constant reminder of the blessings and beauty God has granted us. I have finally been through all the lovely bloggers for this amazing event.
I want to thank you for asking me to take part as I am constantly inspired and educated by all of these bloggers! What an honor to be a part of something like this! It was so much fun! You are the best Alicia! Many thanks to you and the vendors of the shoot!
You’re inspiring, Alicia. Not only did I love the shoot (and so grateful to be part of Blog Around the World with you!) but I am in tears reading about the park and the rhino and I think it’s fantastic you have used this opportunity to raise awareness. I wish more people had your big heart!
I am so honored to not only be able to design the paper goods for this shoot, but for being a part of this special day in the wedding blogging world when we all joined forces and worked together. It was amazing following along each blog – looking forward to doing it again in the future. And, thank you to Alicia for organizing the shoot and this special “Out of Africa” blogging adventure.
Thank you so much for putting this all together and for inviting me to join you on this fabulous journey around the world. I am truly honored and cannot wait for the next one
You never cease to amaze me with your talent, and your amazing heart! This, my dear, you knocked clear out of the ball park! I love this shoot. One of the most creative shoots I’ve ever seen. Every detail is simply amazing! xo
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