It all started with a very simple thought. Brady and Kat and I were talking about a shoot where we put a smoke bomb in a pumpkin, and that seemed easy enough. Before we knew it, ‘just putting a smoke bomb into a pumpkin’ had turned into a full-on wicked fall shoot in the middle of the New Jersey pine barrens, complete with a tablescape, vintage couch, skull make-up, multiple tuxedos, adoptable rescue kittens in a vintage baby carriage, and of course – smoke bombs inside a jack-o-lantern. I think it’s safe to say that once we choose to execute an idea, more is always more. In this case, A LOT more.

This shoot was so ridiculously fun to put together and shoot, and it would never have been possible without the talents of all the creatives involved. I think when we began to set things up we thought we could quietly occupy a corner of the woods without drawing any attention to ourselves. Ha. It became apparent within the first 15 minutes (and also once Brady pulled up in a U-Haul) that we were 100% committed and this was not going to be a quiet affair.

Many, many, many thanks to Kat’s artistic vision, Brady’s floral genius, Jenna’s insane make-up skills, Steve’s ability to always select the perfect tuxes to complement whatever crazy thing we’re doing, Kristen’s gorgeous and perfect hair-styling, Elena’s ever-stunning jewelry selections, All Dolled Up Paul Mitchell Focus Salon for letting us take over their space for a bit, Courtney, Gabriella, and Mike for holding straight faces for hours on end while being attacked by kittens, Katie for her support and love of Christmas (I promise we’ll get to that), Brian for shuttling everyone back and forth between parking lots, Paul for his amazing assistance and clutch thinking, and Dana for bringing us the cutest kittens that we ever did see!

I knew when we began that this shoot was going to be really cool – but I had no idea that it was going to go full on epic. It’s a true testament to the talent involved, the thought put into every single touch, and the dedication of every single person who spent 8 hours of their Monday in the middle of the woods making this one happen!

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as we enjoyed making them!

Also, please – go adopt these kittens: https://allfurone.org

Vendor Team:

Photography: Kelly Sea Images | Florals: Brady Everett (Ad Astra Floral) | Concept & Planning: Rock Paper Styled Chic | Make-Up: Jenna Apel | Hair: Kristen Haupt | Salon: All Dolled Up | Jewelry: Johnsen Diamond | Tuxes: ChazMaTazz | Kittens: All Fur One Pet Rescue | Models: Courtney, Michael, Gabriella