Mallard Island Mermaid Session

Feb 20

There are some ideas that grab hold of your heart and simply will not quit until you bring them to life. In 2015, I began dreaming up an idea for a mermaid-inspired wedding shoot. I had seen these beautiful models wearing mermaid tails all over Instagram and thought that it would be so much fun to create a shoot involving one of them. I starting coming up with a concept and pitched it to three different wedding planners and designers. All of them turned me down with the simple explanation of “it won’t get published” or “it’s too fairytale.” I was beginning to lose hope but figured I’d give it one last try. I reached out to Jeanne at Bogath Wedding Events and was excited when she agreed to a phone call with me. I could tell from the beginning that she doubted that the concept would work, but I told her that I had procured a claw-foot bath tub and I know that it was weird enough that someone might want to publish it. She agreed and we began the planning. The first mermaid model I reached out to was interested but couldn’t get time off so she directed us to one of her friends, Hales. Hales agreed to drive 6 hours from VA to NJ and dawn her tail for us. My husband helped four (not so strong) women get a 500 pound tub onto a little rocky beach at the Mallard Island Yacht club and we were ready to go. At 4:30AM, we began shooting (with a hair and makeup call of 2:30AM) and were astonished at the beautiful sunrise that greeted us. This gorgeous Mallard Island Yacht Club Mermaid Wedding was just published in the Spring 2019 print edition of New Jersey Bride magazine and I am so thrilled to have seen this idea come to life! A special thank you to the amazing team who helped pull this thing together!