Project brief: To highlight and showcase a collection of wedding gowns.

Approach: Shot on location at historic Glen Echo Park for the Washingtonian Bride & Groom Magazine, “My Fair Lady” was a two-day fun festival. Working with the concept of the “fair queen” we showcased a series of contemporary and classic wedding gowns in a not-so-formal (but very memorable) manner. Prior to the shoot, we spent more than four weeks searching and pulling and building props. We even drove 150 miles to secure a swan boat!

Working with limited production budgets pushes our creative and DIY skills as we are always seeking new ways to enhance our photo shoots. For instance, the stacks of benches, bumper car and trolley car were all at the park so we looked for ways to incorporate them into the theme. We had to build, paint and assemble other props on site, such as the oversize target wheel and kissing booth. And that swan—well, it weighed 300 pounds and we had to maneuver it down a 150-foot ravine to get on the water’s edge, get the shot, then get it out of there before it got dark. On both days we worked from dawn to dusk and had to really push the schedule along to get every possible angle and shot we wanted. In total we had 14 images for the feature editorial, and yes, we prayed to the rain gods to stay away on both days!

Effectiveness: Since the magazine’s launch in 2009, it has seen a steady increase in newsstand sales and advertiser revenues. Currently the magazine sells well over 15,000 units for the larger metropolitan DC area; Martha Stewart sells about 11,000 units. Sorry, Martha.

Fresh way to look at the category. Nicely executed. Local publisher doing better than national. Clever writing, great photographs, great art direction.