CAPTURED BEGINNINGS

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Our beginning was sweet, inspired and just a little bit salty. Well I’ll get to the salty part, but now lets talk about our beginning: Garnish & Gather’s first photo shoot that is. Shot at Serenbe, this site holds a particularly special place in my heart, as this is where my husband and I got married a few years ago. We both revisited Serenbe on a recent chilly February morning and were overwhelmed by the sweet familiarity and nostalgia of the place. Our last drive through the property had been on our way out, to begin our new life as a married couple. Well, here we were again, creating a new life so to speak, as Garnish and Gather’s identity was conceived, realized, and captured.

The photo shoot itself was the perfect day that crystalized our image of not only what we stood for as a company, but the creativity and passion that drives us every day. I knew what G&G was to me, how I saw it bettering the lives of our customers; but turning those myriad visions into images that told our story simply and coherently required a set of skills I just don’t have. The team did an incredible job of making this a gorgeous reality: Heidi and Paul behind their cameras, and Ginny arranging each scene just so.

The highlight of the day truly was watching this team of artists bring it all to life. So much care and attention to detail went into making everything perfect, from reshooting a scene from every conceivable angle, to spreading a pinch of salt as artfully as possible. I never had imagined the complexity of styling like this. And when Heidi hopped up on table tops and balanced on any surface possible to get the perfect angle, I knew everyone was buying into this idea and not just going through the motions.

I was particularly touched by the kindness of some friends of friends that joined us for the shoot to stand in as our model family, making the amazing dinner on camera. While I had promised them just a few hours of their day, they were still smiling and eager to help on hour 7, hour 8, and beyond. I could hardly have imagined the number of shots it would take to perfectly capture salting the chicken! Their sweet baby Henry was even an angel; a chorus of “aaaawwwwww”s could be heard anytime he was carried into the room.

Serenbe is a special place – if you haven’t been yet, you must visit to see the quaint shops, animals, and the idyllic hamlet of a town. Not only is this a place of serenity and beauty, but for me, it’s a place of beginnings. Welcome G&G – you’re here.