My fiance gave me a shoot package for a Christmas present, and it was awesome! The pros are that you're in an all-women space, and the ladies are fantastic, fantastic, fantastic---they really put you at ease and make you feel amazing. The hair and makeup is gorgeous and you really do feel like you've had a retro makeover. It really is an expensive undertaking, though--just for the shoot itself, even aside from all the photos you know you'll end up getting. My regret with the experience is that there were a few things I wish I knew going in, because I feel like I could have gotten more out of it than I did and I don't know if I'll be able to go back anytime soon. They do try to prep you by giving you a nice welcome packet, but if I had to do it over, there are definitely a few things you should really know:
1. Take advantage of the free preview and take a look at the clothes BEFORE you have a shoot. Please! My fiance had found out about this option before when he did the research and I had thought it sounded like a smart idea, but when I talked to someone about it on the phone they assured me that it wasn't necessary and that girls often had a hard time scheduling it around work, etc. and that someone would totally help with selection if it came down to it so because my schedule *is* crazy, I caved and just set up the appointment. When the day of my shoot came i was seeing the clothes for the first time, and I'm not a big big girl, but I'm big enough to have my fair share of curves and hips to work around. I thought there'd be more selection than there was, and while Heather was so sweet and helpful, I felt like my self-confidence took a huge dive as I started trying things on that just weren't flattering at all--- I had a two outfit shoot and I kind of felt like the outfits I went with I only went with mostly because I felt guilty about taking up too much time. The whole thing is about confidence, so I feel like this kind of put a damper on the fun of it a little bit and I went into the shoot very uncertain. I still looked adorable because they're amazing at what they do but I think given a little more time to choose, or if I did the preview--I would have made a better choice and had more fun, maybe even something an outfit i genuinely loved.
2. Take an evening slot! I had an evening slot, My session was on a Thursday night and it was perfect because I had the whole place to myself until the very end (which is not guaranteed ever, so that was lucky!) that helped put me at ease.
If I have any suggestions for Vavoom it's just that I hope that as they expand (I hear they're thinking of having "sets" with some bigger props and they're doing the cool mermaid shoots now) I hope they think about having more selection for those of us who aren't super skinny so we can get the most out of the experience too! read more