Bonnie & Clyde’s Wedding – A Styled Shoot in St. Louis

April 15, 2016 | Weddings

“This here’s Ms. Bonnie Parker. I’m Clyde Barrows. We rob banks.”

Bonnie & Clyde were America’s gangster sweethearts of the depression era. They were smitten immediately with each other, yet never married. Even though they robbed and killed people, I have always been captivated with their story and their legend.

When I was accepted to teach at the annual, kick-ass, photography convention Shutterfest in St. Louis, I knew I had to do a class on styled shoots. St. Louis is such a historical place, with the coolest old buildings and urban decay, every where! What a perfect opportunity to make Bonnie & Clyde’s wedding come to life!

I love styled shoots because it gives me a chance to be creative and perfect my craft & practice, gives me a great excuse to build relationships with other industry professionals, and gives me fresh work to submit for publication (I’m obsessed with getting published, and thanks to Two Bright Lights, it’s easy and efficient). Yes, wedding styled shoots are a lot of work, but I think they’re totally worth it if done right. My semi-OCD will allow for nothing else…

So, what if Bonnie & Clyde did get married? What would that look like? What props do I HAVE to have? Where will I get these props, especially since I don’t know anyone in St. Louis? The answers to these questions is what keeps me up at night. I can think of nothing else until it’s executed – the “curse of creativity” I call it…

The one thing I couldn’t live without was a car. One of the most iconic props in the Bonnie & Clyde story is the car. I searched for months, googling, emailing, contacting car clubs, museums, etc. in the St. Louis area. Finally, the stars aligned and I found Steve and Diana Thum of the St. Louis Model T car club. They offered their 1926 Model T to use and I couldn’t be happier!

Most of the props I put together myself, borrowed, or found at thrift stores, and was fortunate enough to have a friend from Denver driving to the convention that let me throw my stuff in her trunk (Thanks Nikkie!).

Of course, I couldn’t take a full table, chairs, etc., so I found the wonderful ladies at An Affair to Remember out there to help out with the flowers and the table scape! Blakely was absolutely wonderful to work with! She listened to my ideas and threw her own flair in there to make it stunning and it tied everything together perfectly.

The models were fantastic – Josh & Monica are a real couple and they looked and acted the part flawlessly! Thanks to my friends at d’Anelli Bridal here in Denver, I had a dress and jewelry. I also got the suit from Jos A. Bank and it fit Josh like a glove…not bad considering he wasn’t here to try any of it on (he lives in Iowa!). GREAT work by my friend Tammie at the Cherry Creek location…bravo!

Everything worked out wonderfully and somewhat painlessly, except for one thing… Here we are the day of the shoot, and the forecast calls for rain…NOOOOO!!!! Well, rain it did…buckets of it. Steve & Diana were so sweet – they brought the car on a trailer and waited for 2 hours to see if the weather would let up…yet it did not. It pained me to have to send them away, but by the time the class was scheduled to start, there was no end in sight. I am so grateful to them for their flexibility, time, and understanding! Half of the story board had to do with the car, but oh well, what are you going to do?! #pivot

We shot everything in the lobby at the beautiful Union Station Hotel, and I am thrilled to share with you the photos from Bonnie & Clyde’s wedding…enjoy!