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I am a sucker for animated film, so you KNOW that Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is one of my all-time faves. Also, I'm not telling you that I may or may not have watched it just because Jessica Rabbit is… fucking unbelievable.
So when photographer Alicia Lucia sent us this styled shoot of a modern-day Jessica Rabbit bride, yeah. My jaw might have fallen to the floor cartoon-style. We don't typically feature styled shoots, but this one made us reconsider our policy. This model's bright red, Veronica Lake waves are on-point, and that backless formal dress is exactly what Jessica would have worn on her wedding day. If, you know, she got married today instead of 1940.
The groom in this shoot definitely isn't Roger Rabbit, but hey, I'm not complaining. The understated formal-punk look works well to complement but not overshadow a starlet on her wedding day.
Vendors
Dress: Bridal Elegance By Darlene • Florals: Stephanie Yardman • Hair and makeup: Genica Lee • Hair piece: Bridal Elegance by Darlene • Photographer: Alicia Lucia Photography • Suit: Mr. Tux Formal Wear • Venue: Tanoan Country Club
This post was written based on information provided by the photographer. If there are any errors or omissions, please contact us.
HOT D A M N.
This looks amazing <3
I adore Jessica Rabbit and she did a fantastic job of recreating the look! I am so stinking jealous right now!!!
I can wait to show my hairdresser, Jason, this because he collects all things Jessica Rabbit! He is going to lose his mind!
That dress is everything.
OMG that shot of the dress sparkling in the shadows, I cannot even deal with the gorgeousness. Help I’ve fallen in love and I can’t stop staring.
This is gorgeous. That dress is *amazing*.
But please don’t reconsider styled shoots. Please, please, please, please.
Something I LOVE about Offbeat Bride is that it’s real and authentic. In all it’s awkward moments and occasionally poorly shot angles.
Did you know? Nicki Dougan was the inspiration for Jessica Rabbit. Nicki’s signature style was a very low cut back dress, sometimes so low it would slightly reveal her butt crack 🙂 She was an actress that never made it as big as many names of the time. Aside from the little now you know! These two look stunning!
Wow, I could swear I had a jaw five minutes ago… Holy crap, this is fantastic. While of course she’s stunning, that pic of him fixing his jacket just made me want to crawl into his arms. Yummy photo shoot!
Holy shit. Can I just… be her? Like, take over her life? This is absolutely amazing.
Hmph… usually really impressed with Offbeat Bride’s editorial policy, so this just sort of irks me:
“We don’t typically feature styled shoots, but this one made us reconsider our policy.”
Why is this one any different? Because she’s wearing red and has tattoos? Doesn’t this still set up the same unrealistic expectations you mentioned before? Or is it okay because this bride is unconventional and cool – but it’s not worth breaking your policies for brides that are more offbeat lite? As a longtime reader (and offbeat lite bride), this doesn’t sit well with me.
It’s as if the things I like (vintage, lace, God-forbid-mason-jars) aren’t good enough to have the Offbeat editors make an exception. Would love Ariel’s feedback on this one.
And for those of you that are curious, here is their original policy:
http://offbeatwed.com/2013/09/styled-shoots
“For now on Offbeat Bride, we’ll stick to real weddings, filled with real people with real bodies, working with real budgets, real families, and real time constraints.”
I have to agree. Beautiful pictures, but it is still a styled shoot. It looks like a styled shoot. Worse, it *feels* like a styled shoot. It doesn’t convey the good vibes that the featured weddings do. I have been a fan of OBB for a loooong time, but this just feels inauthentic. I hope it isn’t part of a larger shift in the Offbeat Empire.
You know what it is? I just realized she’s not smiling in ANY of the pictures. Yea she’s hot, but my favorite wedding posts are the ones featuring couples smiling ear to ear that genuinely look like they are in love. This ain’t it.
Agreed, 100%! She looks really pouty, and neither of them have any ounce of happiness showing which (for me) subtracts all the sexy right out of this.
I think it’s good to give styled shoots like this one more coverage because it is so atypical for the wedding industry. There are TONS of sites for lace and mason jars in weddings. Seeing this in a styled shoot, and showing that people appreciate it, shows businesses that this kind of style is “popular”!
Ariel or another editor can correct me, but the target readers here are people getting married, not the vendors that cater to them. Not to mention, there are a TON of great real weddings featured on here with a similar aesthetic that could (and do) accomplish the same thing. My issues with stylized shoots (and the issues that OBB cites in the original policy) still apply. There’s no reason for this sort of content on OBB in my opinion.
There’s no reason for this sort of content on OBB in my opinion.
Hey, Lauren! The editors and I talked a lot about this shoot before we decided to run it, and decided to publish it as an experiment to see how it performed. The results were pretty staggering. Here’s the post’s traffic, as compared to a typical day on Offbeat Bride:
As the site’s publisher, it’s my job to constantly adapt the site’s editorial focus and content marketing to keep traffic flowing. That’s the reason for this sort of content.
I absolutely recognize this post is a shift (which is why we linked my prior piece about styled shoots in the text!)… And I’m comfortable with trying a shift because, by necessity, the Offbeat Empire is always shifting. Remember how I used to write snarky posts about hating certain wedding trends? Remember Monday Montages? Remember Offbeat Mama? Or Offbeat Families? Web publishing is about constantly adapting and experimenting. I’m not saying we’re going to start publishing styled shoots regularly… but a few a year? I’m open to it.
Most importantly, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. I love having longtime readers who are as passionate about our editorial policies as we are!
HOLY SHIT
I cannot even with the gorgeousness and hotness and guh.
Thats the best I can do.
Guh.
Wow! She’s gorgeous and that dress is stunning and I spy a Last Unicorn tat!!!
I do agree with the comment about the lack of smiling though, smiles would have made this so much better! Unless they aren’t confident in their smiles in which case, it doesn’t matter anyway 🙂
I love the jackalope and the Last Unicorn tattoos as well. She looks like Famke Janssen to me. I prefer real weddings myself, but I appreciate the impulse behind showing this styled shoot – we would never have seen this in Brides or Martha Stewart! I think very selective styled shoots coupled with HUGE DISCLAIMERS is the way to go! Thanks for sharing!
I found this dress in a bridal boutique near me!! It doesn’t suit me in the slightest! But I was happy to have found and tried on this beautiful red dress! Its a difficult piece to maneuver into and you feel like your going to fall out all over the place! But my gosh its magnificent!
I need that hair piece
Personally, I’m a fan of styled shoots, and not just because I’m a photographer. OBB’s focus on real-life weddings will probably never change, but a lot of inspiration can come from styled photo shoots. Look at how most of the commenters are oohing and aahing over different aspects of the photos: the dress, the hair piece, the location. Showcasing the talent of multiple vendors in a way that most of us haven’t seen before is a great way to rev up one’s inspiration and think differently about one’s own wedding.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a kick-ass shoot every now and then!