Who else is *obsessed* with the beautiful love story of Jack and Rebecca from the popular NBC show This Is Us? Check out our This Is Us wedding inspiration, complete with a terrible towel, cuddling on a bathroom floor with wedding vows, and tiny muffin cupcake! Scroll to the bottom if you want to know the behind the scenes story of the shoot, and find out about all of the amazing vendors who helped this vision come to life!
From Karen, Behind the Scenes:
I have been obsessed with the show “This Is Us” since the first episode premiered. I am a bit of a TV junkie and I had been trying to think of a completely unique wedding inspiration shoot that hadn’t been done yet. Then I saw the episode of This Is Us where Jack & Rebecca get married and it hit me right then and there that I had to do it.
At first I was unsure because the details were a little difficult to gather. Compared to some pop culture inspired shoots (think Harry Potter) where there are so many things to reference, styling this took a LOT of time and research to get everything just right!
Then there was the issue of models. In order for this shoot to be impactful and truly reference the show in the way I wanted, I needed a real life Jack & Rebecca look- alike couple. I started to think maybe I should move on because the chances of finding a couple that resembled them would be impossible. But I casually sent some messages to some friends to see if they knew anyone. Day 2 right out of the gate, Kim, a friend of a photographer friend Hayley, put me in touch with Peter & Emily. I could NOT believe my luck when they said they were 100% game for it!
And crazily enough, they had just moved out of their apartment and it was empty for an entire month! So it seemed like the shoot was meant to be. We had an empty apartment just like in the anniversary scene. Once we chose a date, I gathered all the styling details and decided the shoot would be two parts: 1- some photos outside referencing Jack & Rebecca’s courthouse wedding, 2- some photos inside referencing the anniversary scene where Jack & Rebecca return to their old empty place and Jack has their vows and it’s lit with candles and twinkle lights.
I decided it was ok to include details from different times in their relationship since the show skips back and forth so much, so I included the tiny “muffin” cupcake Rebecca made Jack when she forgot his birthday, made by my great friend Candace at Westminster Cake Studio, a terrible towel donated by my stylist and steelers fan friend Carly from Pins-N-Brushes (I promised the models it wouldn’t be used the same way it was in episode one haha), and two gold wedding bands because in the show so far we have only seen the bands (no engagement ring), a moon necklace from Layered and Long, a stunning vintage-inspired boho lace wedding gown from Kite & Butterfly. Ashlyn from Transformations Artistry really did “transform” Emily for our styled session. Emily is already stunning, but Ashlyn gave her a glowy flawless finish and some gorgeous big 70s hair inspired by Rebecca’s wedding day look.
One of my favorite details about the shoot is the invitation suite created by Leah’s Letters in collaboration with Curious Fox Press. They took my ideas of neutral colors, a watercolor moon, and we brainstormed to come up with some adorably clever references to the show and characters with some fake and some real addresses in Pittsburgh. And PS- take a peek at the wording on the RSVP card! They knocked it out of the park with their stunning take on my idea. Leah also made custom vows for me, from the scene where they read their vows over glasses of champagne in the bathroom.
Peter & Emily’s natural connection and adorable romance made them the perfect real life Jack & Rebecca. My husband Josh tagged along to assist and we had a blast shooting, popped some champagne, walked around their hometown looking for the perfect spots to shoot, took a break for some carnitas and ended the evening all squeezed into a tiny bathroom to shoot the vow scene.
Now that I have done this shoot, I guess I can claim my true fan-girl status for all things This Is Us. So thankful I was able to collaborate with a fabulous team of vendors and amazing models-turned-friends who helped me make this little idea of mine come to life!!
Vendors:
Photography // website: Karen Rainier Photography (find KRP on facebook and instagram too!)
Paper Goods & Calligraphy // Leah Letters + Curious Fox Press (collaboration)
Hair & Makeup // Transformation Artistry
Cupcake // Westminster Cake Studio
Dress // Kite & Butterfly
Necklace // Layered & Long