ghosty dreams and flower things: thanksgiving

This is a shoot but it was a real dinner party too. Or maybe lunch party (dunch party?) since it happened in the late afternoon. It was magic.

Last year, one of my favorite couples told me over a post-wedding dinner that they were planning on dipping their toes in the wedding industry by starting a boutique food company focused on creating small jars of deliciousness. I'm sure they could explain it better than that, but that's what their business means to me. I offered to help if I could, and Rachel told me that what she would really like to do to make their debut was a thanksgiving photoshoot. And this is what we made happen.

My criteria in wrangling this shoot:

-I wanted it to be collaborative. This was the most important thing to me. I brought in people who I think are amazing and asked them to just do their thing. Trust and freedom ruled the day.

-I wanted it to be simple. Pared back. Thanksgiving is about people, not excess. Rachel was adamant that she wanted everything to be attainable.

-Food was the star. We all know that the people you spend the holiday with are really the star. But c'mon, it's Thanksgiving. I didn't want huge flower arrangements and over the top decor. I wanted amazing food and happy people.

So that was what we started at. I emailed some of my favorite industry people (pitbulls and posies, found) and some who I just had creative crushes on (casa de perrin, braedon flynn) and we went to town. We got together, created something beautiful with our hands, and then sat down and enjoyed it together. Magic.

This is Rachel. She created all of this marvelous food along with her husband Jon (who was away cooking more food at the restaurant he was a chef at). She's a firecracker and gave me a big batch of homemade apple cider salted caramels just last week. I'm so thankful that Rachel and Jon hired us to do their wedding flowers and then became our friends.

This is Josh and Diana. They provided all of the insanely beautiful dishes and glasses and silverware. I ran across some of Diana's beautiful food styling work a couple of weeks before the shoot and Casa de Perrin's gorgeous website a few days later. I emailed them cold, hoping they would join us. I'm thankful that they said yes and then turned out to be really wonderful people. And that they've turned into friends too. And that Josh has my favorite laugh ever.

This is Loop. He is a busy guy who happens to manage some of my favorite venues, including Carondelet House, who hosted this shoot. He also coordinated Josh and Diana's wedding. He helped us out and made sure things ran smoothly. I'm thankful for Loop because honestly he cracks my shit up. And funny is pretty much my favorite characteristic.

This is Amber. She will modestly deny being conceptual, and yet she created placecards and food tags for us that were lasercut chipboard reminicent of deconstructed quilt pieces to go with our Americana theme. Go figure. I'm so thankful for this crazy talented girl, who has become one of my dearest friends and confidants over the last year and a half.

This is Jeni and Allison. I met Allison on the first shoot I ever did (she was doing paper at the time) and Jeni on maybe the third. They joined forces soon after and are pretty much vintage furniture superheroes now. I'm so thankful for their talent and sweetness. It has been amazing seeing Found grow so phenomenally.

This is us. We do flowers. And block printed cards. And I'm thankful for both those things. And thankful for Matthew. He's the bee's knees.

And of course, there is Braedon. Who took all of these gorgeous photos. He snapped about a million before sitting down to eat with us. He is incredibly gifted, and I hope to work with him again one day.