My sister has had this last dress for at least eight years.
I’m not entirely sure where it came from but, because I love a good vintage find, I like to think that I bought it for her at a vintage shop in Salt Lake City. When I was twenty, I lived two blocks away in an apartment I split with a girl named Karla and, when I wasn’t living my life scouring vintage shops, I worked at a fancy shoe store and took art classes and swore by Catwalk hair products and ate lots of cheap noodle meals and took art classes and dated lots of twenty-three year old boys with swiped hair and geeky glasses and, most importantly, I was really, really into vintage dresses. So! Because of this! I totally wanted to take credit for this dress but, in truth, Anna could have easily found this dress at a thrift store in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and, at the time, I still have taken total credit for it… even though I was living half a country away. Ha!
But! More about this dress! Anna’s dress is cream colored and boxy and knee length and lacy and looks great with a set of pearls and, over Christmas, when I saw it hanging with all of my formal dresses from high school in my parents’ basement, I totally nicked it. I mean, this dress wanted to be photographed in a styled bridal session! I couldn’t just leave it there!
So! A few weeks later, I stumbled on a mint green raincoat on Etsy and, a few days after that, ordered a birdcage veil and, after debating about posting a casting call, I looked up Nelli’s email address – she’d contacted me in the past about modeling photographs – and the rest, as they say, totally went from there.
I love these photographs! Nelli and I took these photographs at Walker Park in Fayetteville (Yes! She is totally standing in a skate park in some of these!) super early in the morning and I am totally into these photographs. I love the color and the dress and the veil and the coat and the morning sun and, honestly, I just wish I was more of a morning person so that I’d do more morning sessions like this sweet little styled shoot. And who knows? Maybe I will! Because the light in these? It’s on point.
Meet Nelli, y’all! Nelli is such a sweet, fun, and talented girl and I’m so lucky I was able to photograph her!
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* Lissa Chandler is a creative portrait and wedding photographer in Northwest Arkansas who specializes in lifestyle family, senior portrait and wedding photography. Lissa is known for creative and emotive photography in Northwest Arkansas and currently lives in Fayetteville with her family: a husband who, in fact, has never had a swipe, a four year old who just got bit by his baby brother, and a two year old who basically just wants to live off of chocolate milk and may, in fact, be a zombie – homeboy is always biting someone. Lissa is currently booking Summer and Fall Sessions for 2016 Seniors, 2015 & 2016 Weddings, and 2015 Lifestyle Newborn and Family Sessions in Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, and all of NWA. She is available for wedding work nationwide. *