Faces behind the scene.....

Name: Janie Budd

Time with company: Since the year 2000 but have had time away for study and children

Craft description: Bridal consultant, reception for wholesale and retail, admin and marketing

Education: Diploma of Fashion, Bachelor of Business - Marketing

What do you love about working at EdeV? The team I work with, the product I work with and helping clients have the dream experience and sharing in their joy.

Hobbies: I am often busy with my children, but when I get a bit of time I love sewing.

Fondest memory at work? Sharing in the experience of Annabelle Hankins and her amazingly lovely family.  They were collecting Annabelle’s made to measure wedding gown, 4 custom designed silk bridesmaid gowns and her mum’s mother of the bride dress.  It was a celebration to say the least with gifts, champagne and homemade sweet treats for all.  The joy they all had was inspirational and it was an experience I will never forget.

Favourite place: the beach

Favourite gown: The “Chevonne”…my dress

Most treasured possession: My two babies…well they are 3 and 6 now

 

Have you ever wondered what happens in the planning of a collection photo shoot ?

The planning for the shoot begins months ahead.  A tentative date is set which also becomes the deadline for the completion of the collection.  This is marked with a big red pen on the calendar and the count down begins.

We begin planning for the shoot by looking at what would suit our label and the collection.  Elizabeth de Varga Exclusive Fashions styling is timeless, elegant, feminine and modern.  The 2012 Couture collection is all about the fabrics and detailing with beautiful laces, heavily sequined silk georgette, printed silks and soft silk chiffons, with gorgeous detailing such as hand made silk flowers, an heirloom belt buckle appliquéd lace work and hand beading of Swarovski crystals, pearls and diamontes.   We felt the collection would suit a shoot that was soft, romantic and feminine.  For the first time we were looking at an outdoor shoot with the use of props.

An inspiration book was created with examples of shoot styling and props; hair and make up looks and model posing that we loved.  Below are some of what we had in the book.

The next step was to book in the photographer, model, location and hair and make up artists.  This sounds easy but is actually quite time consuming and stressful as some of these decisions can make or break a shoot.  Proposals were sent in from a number of talented photographers from which we had to make a very difficult decision.  We chose the gorgeous Calli from Calli B photography.  She is a very talented local photographer who we have worked with many times on photo shoots for the Sunshine Coast Brides magazine.  We had also seen some gorgeous photos from some of our clients who had booked her as their photographer.  www.callibphotography.com.au

It worked out that we would tie the shoot in with a shoot we had already planned with the Sunshine Coast Brides magazine an as such the hair and make up artists were already  booked. www.sunshinecoastbrides.com.au

The only change to our plans with this shoot was the inclusion of a second model.  As the collection was made up of 30 gowns we required a second model to fit with the timeframe for the shoot.  Auditions were held with models from Dallys Models www.dallysmodels.com .  In the end we went with our favourite model Michelle McNamee and the beautiful experienced Fleur Templeton.  Both stunning and talented in what they do. 

Our final big choice was the location…..and this was a hard one.  After looking a several possible local locations including an exclusive private residence, a guest house and a hinterland farm location, we finally decided on the gorgeous Spicers Clovelly Estate at Monteville www.spicersgroup.com.au .  We had used this location in 2010 and it really is a very special place.  The estate has a French provincial style.

With the props arranged including Flowers from Mondo Floral Designs www.mondoforaldesigns.com.au and Blooms of Noosa www.bloomsofnoosa.com.au …..and a crystal chandelier from Splash Events in Noosa www.splashevents.com.au , the only thing left to worry about was the weather!!  We had a back up weather day planned and a few worst case scenario plans – but were really hoping these wouldn’t eventuate.

The day came and the weather was perfect! The first couple of hours we were setting up and the models were in hair and make up.  Then the fun started.  Leonie a senior stylist at Elizabeth de Varga Exclusive Fashions was all business and had us all working efficiently with styling and changing of the models.  Calli was awesome getting the pictures she needed in good time.  We were also pleased with the models Michelle and Fleur, they were both super professional.

The collection shoot was a huge success!