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Category Archives: Trash the Dress

Miranda + Ryan

Love is sweet! So sweet, that it should come as no surprise that love could come along in one of the most unlikely of places: the candy aisle of the supermarket. For Miranda and Ryan, what started as an ordinary day turned into one that wont soon be forgotten when while out shopping Ryan spotted Miranda and knew he had to get to know her. Conversation was first sparked over the somewhat important matter of what flavor of M&M’s should be purchased. Miranda recommended the ‘chocolate-orange’ flavor, which Ryan purchased (though he later admitted his dislike of orange-flavored candies). From there, Ryan followed Miranda about the store making small chat as they shopped, and in the end scored her number. It’s a great thing he did, because I think it’s clear to see how perfect these two are together – from their magnetic smiles to their happy lovers glow. Here’s some photos from our time together.

Miranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Destination Wedding

Ryan’s a pilot, and brought his uniform all the way from Australia for a few images!

Miranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingMiranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Destination WeddingMiranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Destination Wedding

Miranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingMiranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingMiranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingMiranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingShoutout goes to Janine and LaVey at Your Beauty Call for Miranda’s gorgeous hair and makeup. Love these girls! Miranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingMiranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingMiranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingMiranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingMiranda and Ryan's Las Vegas Desert WeddingM+R: Got your little package in the mail a couple days ago. :-) Thanks so much for the sweet note and chocolates (YUM!!) It was so thoughtful and very appreciated. I’m so happy I had the chance to get to know you guys and I cherish our time together. Hope to see you again on a future trip out west! Congrats again and much love from Vegas!! xo

March 29, 2013 - 1:50 pm Susie Burns - Dear Ryan and Miranda Adorable moments of your wedding day artistically captured. These photos portrait a couple in love. Wishing you both a lifetime of more happy memories both preserved in photos and stored in your hearts. Love Susie and Burnsie x

March 29, 2013 - 2:14 am Donna White - Stunning photos, worthy of a front cover shot on any bridal mag. My nephew and his new bride look amazing and so in love.

March 29, 2013 - 1:49 am Debbie - Stunning photography, gives me goosebumps! You have captured their love and happiness perfectly!

March 25, 2013 - 11:32 pm Mir - The most amazing day and most amazing photos ever! You were so much fun Chelsea! xx

March 25, 2013 - 7:41 pm Charee - Gorgeous photos - gorgeous couple! The desert floor and lighting is so dreamy!

March 25, 2013 - 12:12 pm LaVey - love these!

Kassie & Ryan’s Wedding + After Session

Kassie and Ryan’s ”cosmopolitan meets vintage chic” themed wedding was filled with one-of-a-kind, personal touches. As a creative couple (they are both photographers) they share a love for the arts, modern decor and fashion. They wanted a wedding that you can’t just buy off the shelf. And they had it! Las Vegas was the perfect destination for their unique celebration with family and friends, with the wedding taking place on the scenic grounds of the Springs Preserve. The ceremony was held in the Garden Arboretum, and the reception was in The Library with magical views of the strip. Here’s some of my favorites from their beautiful day.

Kassie looked absolutely breathtaking in her ornate St. Pucchi wedding dress (from the Avine Perucci Collection). The bodice was bead-encrusted, with silvery crystals that played with the sunlight.
 The ceremony took place amidst the Springs Preserve’s lush botanical gardens, as the sun peaked through the trees. Over 24,000 pink rose petals lined the aisle.Circle City Designers did an incredible job on the floral and centerpieces. And as an added bonus, the reception room was filled with the soft auroma of the stargazer lilies, roses, and hydrangea.

Instead of a cake, there was a beautiful strawberry and lemon cupcake tower made by the talented girls at Gimme Some Sugar. I adored the little signs placed in some of the cupcakes with the sayings: “All you need is love” and “Love is all  you need”

In addition to all the pretty details on the day itself, Kassie & Ryan’s invites for the wedding were created by one of my favorite invitation designers and friend, Tifany of Gourmet Invitations! Click here to check out photos in Tifany’s blog post and the custom plexiglass invitations she designed. And while you’re there, you may want to peak around. I’m sure you’ll love her work as much as I do!

The day following the wedding, we met back up for a day-after session and some newlywed portraits in the Nevada desert.

To see and read more about Kassie & Ryan’s wedding, check out their real wedding feature in the May/June issue of Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Magazine (on the stands now)!

Big congrats to my ultra-fab couple! :-)

 

CREDITS
Venue: The Springs Preserve – Las Vegas, NV
Wedding Planner & Floral: Circle City Planners & Designers
Cupcakes: Gimme Some Sugar
Wedding Dress: St. Pucchi
Groom’s Attire: Nordstrom
Bridesmaid Dresses: Vera Wang
Hair & Makeup: Hera Beauty
Invitations: Gourmet Invitations
Music: DJ Harry O of Vegas City DJs & Vitamin String Quartet
Lighting & Furniture Rental: LED Unplugged & RSVP Rental
Linens: La Tavola Linen

May 16, 2012 - 12:07 pm René Tate - Congrats Chelsea!! Great shoot!!

May 14, 2012 - 3:58 pm Kassie - What an amazing spread! Chels, thanks for doing such an amazing job! I am such a lucky girl to have a wonderful husband, and to have had a wedding like we did and it could not have been possible without all my vendors - but a special thank you to Chels and Tonya and Tiff are wedding planners. Love all you girls! Be ready to work again for our five year vow renewal!

May 14, 2012 - 9:48 am Tiffany Mullen - You guys are still just the cutest couple ever. I just love how you two look at each other!!!! Thank you again for having us be a part of this special, memorable day. I may never get to do another wedding in Las Vegas, so I will remember you forever!

May 11, 2012 - 10:55 am lorenz - Stunning! enough said.

May 10, 2012 - 7:56 pm EN - Absolutely gorgeous imagery of a gorgeous wedding! WOW!

May 9, 2012 - 7:19 pm Laurajean Pittman - Great to talk with you the other day! These are amazing but all of them are! Your so very special! What an eye!

May 9, 2012 - 11:49 am jodi - beautiful!! :) xo.

May 8, 2012 - 6:31 pm Kacie Skidmore - It was a fabulous day..for a fabulous couple! The photos are beautiful!!!

May 8, 2012 - 5:43 pm mckenzi - great photos!

May 7, 2012 - 12:06 pm Suzi Lighten - Wow, Chels, wow - gorgeous work! Love these shots, and HUGE congrats on being featured in the magazine - that is so amazing! :)

May 7, 2012 - 10:53 am Juliet Douglas - Wow, what a pretty wedding. LOVE her dress and that carpet of roses!!

May 7, 2012 - 10:42 am Cindy - beautiful work Chelsea! LOVE the bride's dress, so sexy and chic. Very fun details and colors.

Married: Kristin & Greg

Today I’m going to share some images of newlyweds Kristin & Greg! I met these two during their engagement session in 2010 and instantly fell in love with their easy-going nature and sincere personalities. That, along the affinity we share for haunted houses and horror movies! I knew we’d become fast friends.

While getting to know them, I found out that Kristin and Greg love exploring new places together – especially old buildings and places rich in history. We incorporated this into their wedding photography by getting back together a couple days after the wedding for a multi-location trash the dress at the Neon Museum (a collection of iconic neon signs that are being preserved as part of Las Vegas culture and history) and the beautiful nevada desert.

Thanks goes to Megan at Makeup in the 702 for Kristin’s fabulous hair and makeup!

Loved Kristin & Greg’s matching converse shoes!

Lipstick kisses. :-)

 

May 11, 2012 - 12:11 pm Amber and Dave - Soooo beautiful and sweeping. Love the lipstick kiss pic!

March 10, 2012 - 11:27 am Reni - So glad I could be there for your special day. Congrats to you and Greg!

March 4, 2012 - 1:09 pm Kathryn - Great photos! It looks like you had so much fun. Congrats!

March 3, 2012 - 6:21 pm Kristin - Chelsea, your photos are AMAZING! The Trash the Dress shoot was so much fun and the Neon Boneyard, haunted house, and dry lakebed were the perfect locations. You captured everything perfectly and were so much fun to work with!! Thank you for everything!

Marie Antoinette Themed Shoot

Every year I put together an annual group photo-shoot for the Vegas PUG (a local meetup group I lead for super-cool professional photographers). It’s a chance for everyone to get out on location, have fun shooting with others in the community and hopefully come away inspired and having picked up a new tip or two.  This year I wanted to do something a little different, so I surprised everyone with a styled shoot filled with eye-candy just begging to be photographed!

For for theme, I took inspiration from the unique style of Sofia Coppola’s ‘Marie Antoinette’ (if you haven’t seen it, it’s a must!). I’ve always wanted to do my own take on it for a wedding-shoot and love how it turned out. Huge props go to my incredible team that pulled the vision together and made the shoot-out a huge success: AMAZING floral by Layers of Lovely, the epic cake and treats by Gimme Some Sugar, killer hair and makeup by Your Beauty Call, decor from The Pottery Shop, inspiring off-camera lighting demo by Steve Fogarty, an awesome behind-the-scenes video by Lighten Films, my girls Kristin Wilson and Liz Le for all their help bringing everything together and last but not least, our models: Carrie, Sarah and Lindsey – (all real and completely FABULOUS brides). Tons of love goes out to you all!

Here’s some of my images from the shoot:

Admittedly I always go a little crazy over Catherine at Layers of Lovely’s floral designs. Here’s Carrie modeling the pearl and peonies bouquet:

Lindsey’s rockin’ the macaroons - one thing a Marie Antoinette themed shoot would be incomplete without!

Towards the end of the shoot we topped things off with a surprise cake fight! While it was a bit sad seeing Gimme Some Sugar’s masterpiece getting torn apart, it was so much fun (and delicious too)! I couldn’t resist digging my fingers in for a little cake action – YUM!

Below is a fantastic behind the scenes video by one of my fave videographers, Terrence of Lighten Films!
You may notice that I sound like a complete dork at the beginning. I’m going to blame it on the cold, lol. It was freezing! Props go to the brides for rockin’ it out in the crazy weather we had that day.

**Click here to check out more images from this shoot in the feature on The Wedding Chicks!**

May 29, 2012 - 6:25 pm Rachel - Whoa - these are magical - really stunning work! The video is great too!

May 10, 2012 - 8:02 pm EN - These are simply WOW. In CAPS.

February 10, 2012 - 9:47 am J. Lemmer - Amazing work! Your photographs are brilliant! Can I ask for the designer or vendors of the gowns used in these photos? The off-the-shoulder gown is exactly what I have been looking for. Thank you for sharing these beautiful images.

January 31, 2012 - 8:24 pm Dennise - Chelsea, your skills and talent just keep growing with every shoot...you go girl!

January 19, 2012 - 3:31 am Kat Forsyth - Yeah, um, this BLOWS MY MIND. I want to frame these on my wall! You rock!

Shauna’s Trash the Dress

I’m excited to share a few images from Shauna’s trash the dress session! I feel like I’ve known Shauna for ages. We started chatting last year when her and Dustin were in the beginning stages of planning out their wedding. They had an intimate wedding in New York, then came out to Vegas for their honeymoon and post-wedding shoot. It was awesome rocking it out together!

To top things off, Dustin’s a firefighter and brought his fire gear all the way from Florida for our shoot! Here’s a few of the images from our day together:


These first two were photographed against the colorful backdrop of the Neon Boneyard! Shauna brought along Dustin’s extra name badge to use as an adorable prop in celebration of her new last name:

To see more from this shoot, check out the feature on Destination Inspirations wedding blog!

January 17, 2013 - 2:52 pm Jeanne Dorion - Hi Shauna !! Chelsea gives me her permission. You want the same picture that I talk? Or do you want an other one? I'll give you my artist page on facebook, so you'll be able to see what I do: https://www.facebook.com/Jane.Peinture. Don't be surprised, my page is in french, because I'm from Quebec, Canada. If you want the same picture, I will just paint it for you and not twice. All my paints that I do are unique. If you come on my page, leave me a message and we'll be able to discuss about that! :)

January 17, 2013 - 9:03 am Shauna V - Jeanne, if Chelsea gives you permission, can you make two? I am the bride in the pics and would love to have a painting!

January 16, 2013 - 3:51 pm Jeanne Dorion - I saw the last picture on facebook, from a page about firefighter. I very love it and I want to ask you your authorisation to use it for a reproduction on canva in paint. It's very inspirited and the colors results is so nice!! Very nice job!

November 4, 2011 - 2:07 pm Stephanie - These pictures are adorable! I love them!

August 18, 2011 - 7:51 pm Karrie - very nice! The last one is my favorite.

August 17, 2011 - 11:12 am Charles Moore - WOW Shauna, These photos are as amazing as you and Dustin are! Congratulations to you both.

August 13, 2011 - 3:13 pm Stephen - Terrific pics. Well done.

August 12, 2011 - 5:07 pm Caroline - Beautiful!!!!!!!! I L-O-V-E these pictures!!!!! Congratulations again!!!

August 11, 2011 - 4:47 pm Lee - Gorgeous bride!!! Wonderful shots!!!

August 11, 2011 - 3:18 pm hope krokidas - Shauna, u guys look dreamy!!! These are the best ever!

August 11, 2011 - 2:58 pm Jason LeBlanc - Love the photos, amazing!

August 11, 2011 - 2:52 pm Allison LeBlanc - Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!

August 11, 2011 - 2:13 pm Becci Godwin - Lovely - absolutely LOVELY!!

August 11, 2011 - 2:09 pm Oliver - These pics kick-ass...I'm striving to get my images half-this good. I guess I would need to start with a beautiful couple to shoot...great shots!

August 6, 2011 - 8:16 pm JamieY - Gorgeous! Love the name on the belt thing, super fantastic.

August 2, 2011 - 7:02 pm Lanette LeBlanc - Beautiful and unique pics! Great job!!

August 2, 2011 - 10:17 am Suzi Lighten - Oh, these are so cute, Chelsea! I love all of the themed shoots you do!

July 27, 2011 - 1:00 am Angela G - These are so fun! Beautiful and amazing work!

July 26, 2011 - 5:55 pm Will Hawkins - Great pics! Congrats

July 26, 2011 - 2:47 pm Nykea - These came out great! Shauna you look AMAZING and so beautiful!! oh Dustin looks nice too lol.

July 23, 2011 - 9:56 pm Shelley White - I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! They are fantastic!

July 23, 2011 - 8:48 pm Sheila (Mom) LeBlanc - Wow! These are so good! What a beautiful, happy couple. Thanks for doing such a super job Chelsea.

July 23, 2011 - 8:40 pm Charlotte Allen - Great pictures! Nice job.

July 23, 2011 - 7:19 pm Michele(Auntie M) - These pictures are great! Can't wait to see the rest! Great job Chelsea!

July 23, 2011 - 7:07 pm Shauna - I love them, Chelsea!! I cna't wait to see the rest! You are so talented and we are so happy to have had our pictures done by you. Talk soon!

October 5, 2011 - 5:25 pm Day 1 of Marriage: It begins with an adventure and a test « Precious Adventures - [...] thinking my dress is gone forever.  Oh, and by the way…we were on our way to Vegas for a trash the dress photoshoot.  That’s right…the dress was a necessary component of that!  All I could think was [...]

Aviation Trash the Dress

Johnnie is a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. For the past two years he has traveled across the globe to fly in air shows for millions of spectators. And the love of his life, Angela, has been right there with him. So it’s safe to say: Flying has played a huge role in their lives together.

After some brainstorming, we came up with the idea of doing an Amelia Earhart-esque style vintage aviation shoot in the middle of the Nevada desert.

The plane in the first image is a P-51 Mustang – one of Johnnie’s favorite vintage airplanes and one that he had the opportunity to fly alongside during many of his air shows.

I grew to love Johnnie and Angela when photographing their wedding way back in December of 2008 so I was stoked when Johnnie wrote to tell me they were returning to Vegas and he wanted to suprise Angela with a trash the dress to celebrate their 2-year wedding anniversary. It was awesome being able to both catch up on everything and capture them again at this new stage in their lives. They are bidding adieu to air shows and are starting their next adventure together in South Korea (where Johnnie’s now stationed for work). Angela even keeps an awesome photo-blog where they document all their travel and adventures.

Couldn’t resist doing my happier take on the iconic cinematography of Robert Burks in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “North by Northwest” (1959).

July 25, 2011 - 9:16 pm Letty - What a nice couple!!!! beautiful pictures, so professional!! Me encanta verlos tan enamorados muchà!!

July 18, 2011 - 4:27 pm Jessica B - These are so awesome!! What fantastic clients!!!!

July 17, 2011 - 6:06 pm joe smith - beautiful pictures'''beautiful couple----from a proud father-father in law!

July 12, 2011 - 6:38 am Juan Carlos and Meropi - EStupendas fotos. Muy buen tema. Felicidades por su segundo aniversario. Carrillo Charitonos'

July 12, 2011 - 4:15 am Lynn - The pictures are unique and interesting. What a wonderful way to capture the memories. Your friend in PA> LYNN

July 11, 2011 - 11:15 am Alexander Mo - God, that Alfred Hitchcock one is absolutely stunning/breathtaking/classic/phenomenal. You raise the bar every time with each new shoot.

July 11, 2011 - 9:26 am Kat Forsyth - Totally frikkin COOL. Man, your work is still so awesome after all these years I've been following it. I completely love you!

July 11, 2011 - 7:58 am Liza Carrillo - I think these pictures reflect how well the couple is now created a bond and how they have grew together as a couple. The pictures are amazing! Congratulations to the awsome photographer and the beautiful couple, love cousin Liza

July 10, 2011 - 8:01 pm Denisse Lam - Love love the pics!!!! When I see these pictures I can't help but think of Top Gun.... Amazing pics and amazing couple!

July 10, 2011 - 3:06 pm Ashley Thayer - I love the photos!

July 10, 2011 - 2:43 pm John Green - The pictures are truly beautiful! Makes me want to go back in time and be a pilot too, but I've no regrets for a past that produced such a great son and daughter-in-law!! All of our love . . .

July 10, 2011 - 1:44 pm Emily - Absolutely love this session Chels!!

July 10, 2011 - 8:02 am Janet Smith - Amazing photos from an amazing photographer! Amazing couple!! Proud MOM!!!

July 10, 2011 - 7:44 am jorge mario - realmente impresionante, ambos se ven muy bien, felicidades!!

July 9, 2011 - 4:22 pm Barbara Davies - Absolutely AWESOME photos. Your so creative and your photography is a work of art.

July 9, 2011 - 9:59 am Martita Green - Very creative! Both models are so beautiful and the photography work is outstanding.

July 9, 2011 - 7:32 am Julie - LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!

July 9, 2011 - 6:48 am Uncle John - Awesome photography work - Very cute model too - I mean Angie - Not Johnnie !!!! :-)

July 8, 2011 - 10:22 am Suzi Lighten - OH MY GOODNESS - Chelsea, these are fantastic! THE PLANE - how cool is that!!!! :)

July 8, 2011 - 9:38 am Jennie Green - What amazing pictures. Very iconic!

July 7, 2011 - 12:32 pm Karolien - Absolutely amazing pictures!!! Job well done :)

July 7, 2011 - 5:33 am Chanie - What an awesome idea- they all look amazing and it is so fitting!! love it!

July 7, 2011 - 5:04 am Adam - Absolutely amazing photos!

July 6, 2011 - 3:23 pm Danielle - Beautiful!! Chelsea, these pictures are gorgeous. Your photos are always incredible. And AJ looks absolutely stunning! I love them!

July 6, 2011 - 12:51 pm Jason - GREAT shots Chelsea! Gotta love our Air Force ;)

July 6, 2011 - 12:17 pm Lynne Holdeman - Absolutely Epic Chelsea!

July 6, 2011 - 11:57 am Jeanna Hayes - Oh my gosh, this is freakin' AMAZING!!!! I love your style so much, and what a fantastic shoot!