Tag Archives: African themed wedding

July 20, 2011 · 11:00 am

Blog Around the World: Out of Africa #20

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!

  1. Bubble Rock Studios (New Zealand)
  2. Cap Classique (UK, South Africa)
  3. The Unreal Bride (India)
  4. Brancoprata (Portugal)
  5. Bijoux Bride (UK)
  6. Bridal Musings  (UK)
  7. The Oceanside Bride (US)
  8. Hey Gorgeous (US)
  9. Sparkle and Hay (US)
  10. Wedding Pickle (US)
  11. The Perfect Palette (US)
  12. Oh Lovely Day (US)
  13. La Petite Coquin (US)
  14. Brenda’s Wedding Blog (US)
  15. Fab You Bliss (US)
  16. Landlocked Bride (US)
  17. Bow Ties and Bliss (US)
  18. A Paper Proposal (US)
  19. Engaged and Inspired (US)
  20. 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:

17 Comments

Filed under Animals, Charity, Styled Shoots

Tagged as , , , ,