I’ve been so excited for Megan & Jeremy’s Rooftop 220 Armature Works Wedding since they said “yes!” to me last spring! Rooftop 220 is Armature’s next-door event space that overlooks our beautiful Downtown Tampa. And, Armature Works is right here in my neighborhood, just a 10 minute walk from our house! So, getting to shoot in a new, yet already well-loved space with such a wonderful couple was a bucket list item for this year! To make it even more special, Megan & Jeremy are east-coasters and planned this as a destination wedding. They fell in love with the rooftop vibe, as all they wanted was an incredible evening with their closest friends & family!

The day started at the beautiful Westin Tampa Waterside. Megan adores champagne, so, bubbly flowed while the girls had a laid back morning! We also got a few sweet photos with Kerrigan, M + J’s pup who unfortunately was in an accident a few days before. He wasn’t able to make it to the wedding so I’m super grateful puppy snuggles happened at the hotel!

First Look & Portraits

We left The Westin Tampa Waterside (gorgeous getting ready suite & wonderful for out of town guests, FYI!) and made our way to Armature Works! I met Jeremy & his guys at the incredible Fine & Dandy bar. We then ventured to the area above the outdoor courtyard for their first look. Next, over to Rooftop 220 for bridal party portraits.  Absolutely love all the textures & spaces in such a small area! Even with people all around, we were able to carve out a lot of beautiful and intimate spaces.

The Ceremony!

A perfectly “them” cocktail menu met guests at Rooftop 220 as a friend of theirs sang and played the guitar. Guests arrived from the Westin by boat! It was a beautiful March day and the design & planning by Amber Veatch Designs,  florals by Events in Bloom, and rentals by A Chair Affair set a stunning stage for “I Do”!  We zipped down to Waterworks Park/Ulele waterfront after for pictures, which was also gorgeous!

The Party!

When we met in August for their walkthrough, Megan said more than once that they sincerely just wanted an incredible night with their best friends & family. No formalities outside of a fun champagne tour & toasts from their best friends! Stations by Salt Block Catering allowed everyone to move from inside and outside and enjoy at their leisure. It truly felt like a “family” dinner… with gorgeous desserts by Hands On Sweets and great music by Grant Hemond. My contract ended earlier in the night but…. since this was all in my neighborhood I came back and surprised them with a few sparkler exit portraits! So fun!

Import Images

Such a wonderful wedding I won’t soon forget! Thanks so much for trusting me, just from an initial Instagram stumble! I absolutely loved being a part of your day! And so grateful for such a wonderful vendor team. Congratulations Megan & Jeremy!!

Photography: Laura Foote Photography
Design & planning: Amber Veatch Designs
Venue: Rooftop 220 Armature Works 
Hair: Bella Ti Artistry makeup: Jankail Sherri
Dress: Sarah Seven Salon NYC
Flowers: Events in Bloom Tampa
Lighting: Tampa Lights
Rentals: A Chair Affair, Inc.
Catering: SaltBlock Hospitality
Dessert table: Hands on Sweets
Entertainment: Grant Hemond & Associates, Inc. (Adam Hensleigh)

xoxo,
Laura

 This week on Instagram I was sharing about the importance of #communityovercompetition. The next day, this Tampa Adoption Newborn Session gave me the chance to live it out! My friend & fellow photographer, Brittany, needed someone to shoot this really sweet and important session for her dear friends and I’m grateful it worked out to be there! Baby Cam was placed into Trisha & Matt’s arms about a week ago, after God turned their adoption timeline around in a series of amazing events! He was 10 days new and just so sweet. Trisha & Matt were so calm and clearly in love with their son. All family stories are so special, and I’m so honored to make the first set of images for this family of three! Adoption is a tremendous gift, and a brave choice all around. Hello, beautiful Cam!

So grateful to have been a part of this Tampa Adoption Newborn Session! All my love to you, Trisha, Matt & Cam!

xo,

Laura

I’ve been waiting for this incredible Stonebridge Wedding, and now, I get to share it with you! Yunsoo + Brice have become a near and dear couple to me over the two years I’ve known them. I still remember when they came to my little “home office” in January of 2017 for their consultation and it felt like I was inviting old friends in! Their engagement journey had a few unexpected turns, but we finally found ourselves in November 2018 on their Stonebridge wedding day!

Yunsoo was my calmest bride to date and the whole celebration simply felt like a gathering of dear friends! I absolutely loved working at Stonebridge Weddings & Events, too. The property is incredibly serene and matched Yunsoo’s calm demeanor perfectly. From the beautiful getting ready house to the historic live Oak they were married under, there’s something so special about this place!

Ceremony Under the Live Oak

 

Cocktail Hour & Reception Under the Stars

Yunsoo + Brice,

I am so very thrilled for you two and so honored to have captured this incredible day! Thank you for trusting me and journeying with me over the last two years! I love you both!

xo,
Laura

Incredible Vendor Team: Venue, Stonebridge Weddings & Events, Florals, Marigold Flower Co., Catering, 4 Rivers BBQ

I’ve been counting down to this fall, Kansas City Intercontinental Wedding since I was introduced to Madison & Jay last year! To say it was a dream to see all of this come together is an understatement. From the vendors, to the couple, there were endless details that made October 13th one that will not soon be forgotten by all who were a part of it!

I connected with Madison & Jay through their incredible wedding planner and my dear friend, Nellie Sparkman. Nellie is doing state of the art work in Kansas City and has become so special to me, even though we met after I moved to Florida. In fact, we first collaborated in 2016 on a Forever Royal styled shoot, celebrating the Royal’s Winning the World Series! Madison saw that shoot and told Nellie “I want this vendor team for my wedding!” And so, as I like to say, my KC dream team (including my other dear friend, Ashlie of Blue Bouquet) came together again!

From the heirloom gown Madison had altered to fit her Essence of Australia custom dress, to the LIVE parade that lead everyone from their Loose Park Ceremony to The Plaza– truly not a detail was left untouched! Can I also say I LOVE that they had guacamole on the tables at their reception? Who says wine service & gorgeous greenery + linens can’t also include guac! Also, their pup Rosie got to be a part of the festivities and that was basically the icing on the cake. Just SO much love for this day! And clearly, all of the images…. it was hard to pick the ones to blog!


I truly am so sad sharing these means this Kansas City Intercontinental Wedding is officially over! But It will not be forgotten anytime soon!
All my congratulations to Madison & Jay! And HUGE thanks to the best vendor team! Thank you for always making coming home great!!

 

PLANNING + STATIONERY Nellie Sparkman Events & Stationery // CEREMONY Loose Park Rose Garden // BAND Marching Cobras KC // RECEPTION CATERING BAR The Intercontinental Hotel // FLORIST Blue Bouquet // VIDEOGRAPHER Luxe // ENTERTAINMENT Lost Wax // PHOTOBOOTH Elite Sounds Entertainment // DANCE FLOOR + UPLIGHTING Chuck Bergman Audio // CAKE Adorn Cakes // HAIR + MAKEUP Traci Morby // BRIDAL + BRIDESMAID GOWNS Belle Vogue // TRANSPORTATION Showtime // RENTALS Ultra Pom // 2ND SHOOTER Bailey Pianalto 
xo,
Laura

Laura

shared from the Laura Foote Newsletter series. To receive these live & get all the goodies, click here!

Maybe in January?

Have you heard this lately? From a friend. Your hairdresser. The contractor you were meaning to hire before gaggle of family comes through your house for the holidays? It seems like everyone is booked up. Running around. Full to the brim. And as the most wonderful (and busy) time of the year has arrived for creatives and non-creatives alike, I am wondering. Is your business and life projecting #allthethingsssss you’re doing/eating/seeing, or, is it projecting a sense of enjoyment, maybe even savoring, these special last moments of the year? You know, busy season?

I’ll be honest, as I do the insta scroll these days I love the pumpkin patch adventures, ideas about decorating for the holidays, and time with family and friends that are shared. But I also see a lot of people sharing their to-do lists as a form of entertainment. Ummmmm. What?

Now I might not be talking about sharing a literal, stuck to the refrigerator, paper & pen, to-do list. But, insta story after insta story starting with “I’m going to bring you along!” and then 5 stories later, I’ve simply watched a person go about their errands, work, kid pick up etc. has me wondering.

Why do we think that busy sells?

Now you might be thinking, “Laura, I don’t think that!” Or “they are just sharing life, not selling busy!” But friends, I’m telling you, what I see in the creative industry corner I’m in, is a lot of sharing #allthethings without any value to the consumer, outside of hoping it’s interesting. And that they’ll stick around. And maybe book. Buy. Or refer.

But what if we could flip busy season on it’s head? Let’s go back to Disney, shall we?

There are several tourist websites that help visitors plan their Disney vacation, specifically as it relates to crowds, events on property etc. They color code each day and provide a lot of information to get guests ready (see below).

The truth? Disney will be in the yellow for a few more weeks (weekdays only) and then they will go red for almost a month straight. Basically, it’s their busiest time of the year. No surprise, right?!

Between October & January the season pass holders mix with the Vacation Club regulars and the “I’ve waited 10 years for this trip” goers for long lines, busy concierge desks and packed monorail rides.

And yet people love it. They actually CHOOSE to use their cherished holiday/vacation time off to BE with over 120,000 in Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day.

I don’t care if the icicle lights on the castle are beautiful, this makes no sense. And to add to the curiosity. Guess what Disney ISN’T selling.

THAT THEY’RE BUSY. Busting at the seams busy. Barely even closing the parks/backstage areas during these 3 months busy.

To which you’ll probably say “well of course they aren’t, Laura. Why would people feel enticed to come if they really knew the lines/crowds that awaited?”

Ahem.

Exactly why I think most creative entrepreneurs need to pause and really look at how they are sharing, engaging, and serving their clients and potential clients this time of the year.

Let’s start to flip this, shall we?

One thing that Disney does this time of year is offer “holiday parties” on select evenings. They start with a Halloween bash from September to October and then immediately (literally overnight!) transition to a Christmas/Winter party from November to early January. These parties require a separate ticket, either in addition to your daytime park pass, or, on it’s own. (ahem: added expense to most Disney patrons who are already on property, magic bands on, ready to go).

Here’s the genius of these parties:

  • They offer a wide range of potential guests an opportunity to get to Disney. Live in Tampa (hey-o!) and want to do something fun as a family for the holiday season? Grab a few tickets for a Friday night and come! Visiting the parks already? Perfect, you just bought your way to extra hours & all the holiday fun. The list goes on for who these parties serve well.
  • They offer VIP elements for everyone in attendance. A special Candy Corn shake from Auntie Gravity’s Galactic Goodies? You can only get it at the Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. A chance to ride Space Mountain without hardly a line? You got it. Florida “snow” during the Castle Christmas show? Only November-January with a nighttime ticket.
  • They add tons of FREE surprises & fun! Mainly in the form of sugar, but who is going to say no to that?! From candy at every corner in October to endless cocoa, cookies, and caroling during the Christmas party, guests are able to enjoy holiday related treats and takeaways that feel like big extras, especially with the VIP aspects to consider.

Basically, they’ve figured out a way to offer “extras” every year that are income generating for the company, very enticing for guests, and so fun/amazing that even a broke college student will be able to muster up $75-$90 and change to make it. They bring on seasonal cast members to make sure every guest is greeted, hire a time to work round the clock on décor maintenance and updates, and likely hold their breath a bit until mid-January. All while sipping on complimentary cocoa and ensuring the AC units on main street work to bring in feelings of fall & winter. 

Like I’ve shared in my last 2 newsletters as we’ve started this Disney dive, their approach isn’t hard. In fact, it’s really, really simple. But simple is hard, especially for us creatives. We make things more challenging than they need to be, ahem, all the time?!

 So today I want to share with you 3 ideas for games & fun you can consider implementing into your business during this season!

And as always, I’d love to hear from you. Does the busy of it all resonate with you? Or are you playing the “keeping up with the Jones’” game of looking busy, because that’s what we do? Honesty hour- I’ve been there. And I’m here for you not because of your calendar but because of who you are!

xo,

Laura

Well, this is officially the best week ever! An in-home newborn session (which I can’t wait to share!), this fresh 48 hospital session, and tomorrow is Halloween! Basically all of the baby snuggles + pumpkin carving + trick or treating fun has me on cloud 9. Baby Harbor arrived Sunday evening after her momma made it through a long labor! We’ve gotten to know her momma and daddy over the last year and they have become dear friends, so meeting her at less than 2 days old was the sweetest! She is already such a spunk and the rolls on her arms… oh my word. Thanks to St. Joe’s in Tampa for taking great care of their mamas and allowing me to visit & create these images, right in their hospital room!

Congratulations, Mark and Whitney! So much love for you & Baby Harbor!
xo,

Laura