The Inspired Retreat

Mar 1

We had the absolute pleasure of hosting The Inspired Retreat for a bridal content day! The retreats + content days are created + directed by Kaitlin Hays Photography who has a heart for cultivating inspirational, out of the box, editorial concepts! It was so special to witness the connections that attendees were making as they captured all the magic! The details of this shoot were simply fabulous + we haven’t been able to stop daydreaming about both the bridal looks they shot in our space!

The inspiration for the shoot: “The inspiration for this content day was high fashion bridal! I wanted to stray away from the trends and the stereotypical ideas that come to mind when you think of “bridal sessions.” The garden bride was probably the most classic bridal look we had, but still, we wanted to elevate it! Her dress was flowy and playful and kind of reflected the movements that flower petals do! Her veil had floral appliqué on it as well, tying it all together. We wanted the look to be simple and minimalistic, but still really springy and beautiful!

For our editorial bride, I originally wanted to do a simple satin dress with a robe on top, but we just couldn’t find a robe that matched my vision. When I came across the cape, I was immediately sold!! It was a look I never see and pairing the headband and gloves with it made it feel a little Parisian! It reminded me of something you’d see in Vogue, and we wanted the posing to reflect that as well. We used lots of different elements and spaces of The Emerson with this one, my favorites being the staircase and plain white wall in the reception area.”

What was one of your goals for hosting this shootout? “My goal for this shoot was to bring like minded creatives together in the DFW area! You never see many content days or retreats hosted here in Dallas, and although it’s not as picturesque as a destination city, so much can still be done here! My own photography style is very editorial and out of the box, and I never see anyone hosting experiences that cater to that niche, either, so we did!”

What drew you to choosing The Emerson for your styled shoot? “I have been wanting to shoot at The Emerson since it opened! The quaint and charming vibes are just adorable to me, and it’s unlike any other venue around here! I loved the chapel specifically because of the unique concrete walls and architecture. It was perfect for our content day because so much of the inspiration we see at The Emerson is modern and minimalistic, which was exactly our vibe.”

What was one of your favorite parts of bringing the vision to life? “My favorite part of every creative shoot I do is always getting to be so imaginative with the concepts. I love pushing the boundaries and showing my art to the world, even if it is a bit unconventional!”

Thank you Inspired Retreat x Kaitlin Hays for allowing us to play a small part in all of the magic of this content day! We hope to have you + your attendees back at The Emerson soon. Our doors are always open to you! We cannot wait to continue to see you dream up + execute more content days!

Be sure to check out + follow along with all the vendors who participated! Their names + websites are linked below! You can also find how they incorporated + styled CL x EMERSON rentals into their shoot!