Expert Planning & Advice

Industrial Styled Wedding Shoot | The Art Factory Studio in Paterson, NJ

BWE Events, For Couples, For Creatives

April 17, 2017

Behind the Scenes: April 14, 2017

It’s not everyday that a crazy awesome unique space comes your way for a styled shoot. When Alex from Idalia Photography called me last month to tell me about this space she had access to for the next four weeks to use for a workshop we decided that we would try and pull off a styled shoot as well! So, we got to work—fast! Not only did we work together to pull together an incredible workshop, Blogging for Creative Entrepreneurs, in 3.5 weeks (you can sign up for the waiting list for the next workshop here). We also planned an amazing industrial styled shoot at the same time with a full team of amazing creative entrepreneurs who were super-excited to collaborate with us.

Behind the Scenes of our Industrial Styled Wedding Shoot

Today, I wanted to take you behind the scenes of our industrial styled wedding shoot. We managed to pull together an incredible group of talented people. And with a lot of help from my new (and cutest) 12-year-old assistant! No styled shoot starts with photography. Instead it begins with inspiration. The inspiration for our shoot was the location, The Art Factory Studios in Paterson, NJ. Here’s a peak at the inspiration board that we shared with vendors to help them visualize the look we were trying to achieve.

Industrial Styled Wedding Shoot

The Art Factory Studios in Paterson, NJ

The Art Factory Studios in Paterson, NJ was built in the 1800’s and was originally a silk factory. Today, The Art Factory Studios is a creative space for all kinds of art-making activities. The Art Factory Studio “members” (you can purchase a monthly membership) have access to large spaces and common areas, including shared resources such as wood shops, metal shops, mail and package handling, community kitchen with free beer and coffee all the time, members clubhouse, screening room, park and garden with direct access to the Paterson Falls National Park. The former Dolphin Jute mills, is a complex of 17 buildings in the Great Falls Historic District.

Paterson, NJ is historically know as the silk production capital of the US. Founded in the late 1790’s the city has sadly fallen on hard times, but The Art Factory Studios is a small oasis within the city, very easily accessible from the Garden State Parkway. While currently you can not get married there, the city has said no to large occupancy crowds for safety reasons, this is something the owners would like to change. Previous owners had a few weddings in the space, and if you google it, you will find blogs of previous weddings held in a variety of the Studio’s spaces.

While we were there last Friday, we kept running into gladiators on a shoot for the Travel Channel. The space is used by NYC film-makers and advertising agencies for all types of photo shoot needs. My 12-year-old immediately started googling things that were shot there, and was stoked to find out that it was one of the sets for Who Framed Rodger Rabbit? And the set was there! And partially in tact, and OMG (!!!) in the same space where we worked on our shoot.

Photo Credit: Caryn Coon

8:30 AM: Pack Car & Drive

Caryn (my assistant for the day, who was off from school for spring break) and I packed the car. Seriously, there was barely an inch left over. We drove to Paterson from Barnegat, and she rode the entire time with the cake from Sweet Memories Cake Shoppe & Tea Room on her lap to keep it safe. It smelled really good. Vanilla bean and Oreo filling. Need I say more?

Caryn riding with the cake on her lap

10:00 AM: Arrival & Unpacking

The elevator was a little freaky. No joke. But we were using a studio space called “Linen” and incorporating cinder blocks into the design (I’d spray painted them gold), so there was no way we were going to drag them up four flights of stairs! The elevator was huge with the door that you have to pull down. Very old. Very nerve-wracking. Maybe a little bit creepy.

We began our set-up with the cake table so that we could get it back into the fridge. Seriously, we ate it the next day and it was delish. The photo above shows the setup about as neat as it ever was. For the rest of the day, it got messy, and messier. You would never know it from the photos, but the background of a styled shoot is usually quite a mess. And despite bringing upwards for four pairs of scissors and two pairs of wire cutters, I could never find them when I needed them.

The Cake Table

Here is a picture I snapped of the cake set-up. If you were following me on Instagram (@Bogathevents), you saw more! Check out the adorable cake topper designed by Kelli at Wanderlove Press Co. There is a chance you might have seen it if you were watching my Instagram Story that day.While I was setting up the cake table, Alex was busy photographing the day’s details: a stunning invitation suite from Art Paper Scissors and accessories (including a show-stopping head piece) from Foolish Ginger.

12:30 PM: The Bride and Groom Arrive

While we were already at work, our models were busy getting ready. Danielle, our bride, and her husband, Carl, had agreed to model for us. Danielle was busy getting her hair and makeup (OMG, the eyelashes!!!) by Laura Allen at Lock and Shade in Asbury Park. I wish I had taken more pictures of Danielle and Carl when they arrived at the shoot. They were so much fun to work with, and arrived taking selfies at the security check-in. They were posting their experience on IG the whole time. Too cute. I was busy working with gorgeous garden roses, flowering jasmine vine, and lisianthus to create an arbor made from the wooden factory beams and a few cinder blocks I DIY’d with gold spray paint.

The end result was something like this, but my pictures do not do it justice–you can barely see the flowering garland I made because of the light from the windows. I can not wait to see what Alex shot!! OMG. I. Can. Not. Wait.

3:00 PM: The Table

We did two versions of the table for the industrial styled wedding shoot. A sweet heart set up and a seating for 6. By this point in the day we were at dragging.

5:00 PM: Clean Up & Pack Up

Believe me, packing up takes way longer then unpacking. And we were pretty beat. We may have gotten a little goofy. Caryn was a total trooper and I couldn’t have pulled of this industrial styled wedding shoot without her help!

6:30 PM: Drive Home

The drive home from the industrial styled wedding shoot seemed a little bit longer then the ride there. But it was probably the North Jersey traffic. Either way, I was thrilled to arrive home and grab some dinner before unpacking.

8:05 PM: Arrived Home & Unpacked Car

We were all pretty fried. Caryn jumped into the shower. But my work that day was not done. My next blog post will take you behind the scenes for the ten center pieces I began working on that night for a 75th birthday party the next day. No rest for the weary.

Are you interested in a styled shoot of your own? Are you a photographer itching to try one? Give me a shout here. I’d love to see what kind of beauty we can create together! If you’d like to read about other styled shoots I’ve worked on, read about the Brant Beach Yacht Club here and the Lake Valhalla Styled Shoot here.