The Birth of Our Boutique Studio!

We realized that we never posted about how our studio came to be. Well, today is the day! 

If you know me, you know that I love romance. I think that as a woman, feeling beautiful and sexy in your own skin is so important. For the past 7 years, I have been doing a variety of photography, from newborns, to weddings, to family sessions. In 2012, however, I decided to dip my toes in boudoir photography. Simply put, I have found my photography-soul mate. I LOVE weddings, and I never want to stop photographing them because they truly bring me so much joy. But there is something so very special about boudoir sessions and helping women realize that they truly are one-of-a-kind, beautiful, amazing beings.

After doing about 4 boudoir bashes at local hotels in 2012, I kept running into stressful issues and couldn't find a way to resolve them. For instance, hotels tell you that check-in time is at 3pm. Starting a boudoir bash of 4+ sessions at 3pm simply wouldn't work for me, so I would have to arrive very early at the hotel in hopes that they would let me check in by 11am. That was issue #1. Issue #2: Variety. Even though I absolutely LOVED my go-to hotel, all of my sessions started to look the same. One bed option, one couch option, the same walls, the same pictures on the walls. There was simply no variety. And issue #3: flexibility. Many times, we received inquiries from girls who lived out of town and were coming in on a certain week. They wanted to do a boudoir session, but unless I happened to be having a bash with space available during that week, I couldn't do the session. I couldn't rent a hotel because of how expensive they are for just ONE session, I couldn't do it at my house (just not my preference), and those girls didn't have a house here we could use. So with that, I had to turn those girls away with a sad, sad face.

After almost every boudoir bash that I did, I would come back to my husband and tell him how badly I wished I could have my own studio. It seemed so impossible. I had looked up photography rentals in the Central Florida area, but the only ones that came up were large open spaces for commercial photography. So with that, our studio was born!

THE STUDIO:

Our studio is located in Ocoee, FL, and is over 1200 sq.ft. We completely renovated it (photos below) and turned it into a boutique boudoir studio. From the floors, to the chandeliers, to the chic bedroom sets, we have transformed a once drab space into a sexy, feminine, chic studio with stunning windows!

VARIETY:

My handy and handsome electrical engineer husband gets ALL of the credit for the handy work in our studio! He tore up the very ugly carpet, laid down the floors 100% on his own, hand-built our mobile wall (photos below), put up chandeliers, and so, so much more. Because of him, this studio that I longed for has come to life. I have the interchangeable headboards that I hoped for (again, something he made possible!), the interchangeable backdrops (aka "mobile wall"), and more.

COMING UP WITH THE IDEA:

When I look back at Craig and I sitting at our favorite coffee shop (Axum in Winter Garden) discussing the details of our boudoir studio, it truly seemed unattainable. We talked about all of the amazing details, and I told him exactly how I envisioned the space. I told him that I wanted a huge, open space with no walls, and with dark wood floors. I wanted there to be floor-to-ceiling windows, and all on the 2nd floor so that my boudoir lovelies could feel more comfortable. We looked around on the surface, but decided that now wasn't the time. Besides, could I ever really find a space like that in Orlando? In my head, I pictured a New York ballet studio. Elegant, classy, romantic.

One day, after my most recent boudoir bash, I couldn't take it anymore. My excitement was through the roof, and so I started driving all over Winter Garden and Ocoee looking for "space available" signs. Just as I was about to give up and head home, I thought "let me turn into this one last plaza and see if there's anything." I had no idea my dream space was literally walking distance from my house. It had everything I wanted. Someone, pinch me! <3

So without further adieu, I introduce the birth of the Lovely in Lace boutique boudoir studio! I've added many before, during, and after photos. I hope you love it as much as we do!

Since the opening of our studio 3 years ago, Lovely in Lace has grown to include more amazing photographers (Kristina, Whitney, and Kara!), and we've worked with hundreds of amazing women who have all put their trust in us for this intimate type of session. We are beyond grateful to everyone who has supported us over the years, and we can't wait to see where this adventure takes us next! 

ONE more note: this was all done in less than a month.  Woop woop!

And now the "completed" space! Since taking these finished photos 3 years ago, we have added SO many amazing goodies to the studio! From vintage to modern furniture, a rustic wooden backdrop, gorgeous custom curtains, and so much more!