Dress Dying

I started with this inexpensive lace “robe” from Amazon and then I visited RitDye’s Color Formula page on their website to find the perfect shade of turquoise/mint:

Pale Turquoise (DyeMore for Synthetic Fabrics):

• 2 TBLS Tropical Teal
• 1 TBLS Kentucky Sky
• 1 1/2 tsp Daffodil Yellow
• 3 Gallons of Water
  My pot only held 1.5 gallons so I divided the formula in half

I followed the instructions on the RitDye bottles, heated my water, added dish soap, added my color formula and then started by dying the underwear first as a test swatch. In about 15 seconds they looked perfect so I removed them out of fear, LOL. I then rinsed first in warm and then cool water as instructed and sure enough, they looked perfect, so I did the dress. I left it in the dye bath for about 25 seconds, placed it on a cookie sheet with an old towel and rinsed like instructed. I didn’t use the color fixative because I knew I wouldn’t be wearing this “robe” again. I hung it to dry and I absolutely love how it came out!

Fifty Flowers

Fifty Flowers is always my go-to for shoots and events where I can’t trust my flower options to whatever is available in the store. My flowers arrived straight from the farm, 2 days before my shoot so that I could clean and process them, and have enough time for them to fully rehydrate and open before the shoot. I choose:

• Peony Rose Peach Ruffles
• Creamy White Spray Roses, Bulk
• White Ranunculus
• Eucalyptus Wedding DIY Greenery Box
  I chose all small boxes

Being 8+ months pregnant when these large boxes of gorgeous flowers arrived on my doorstep, I had to have one of my besties Jacki over, who happens to be an amazing florist, to help me process all the flowers and prepare them for my shoot. She removed all the packaging, placed flower food in each tub with water, gave the stems a fresh cut, and removed any leaves that would touch the water. These blooms rehydrated beautifully and were just right two days later for the bath.

The morning of the shoot I assembled my flower crown using Oasis Flower Glue and wire, I have an entire tutorial on this exact technique that you can find here. Then, as hard as it was, I had to cut off all the heads of the Peonies and Spray Roses to prepare for floating in the bath. I added a wet paper towel to the bottom of a tub and filled it with flower heads. I did this as close as I could to the shoot so the flowers would look their best. All the flowers looked awesome, unfortunately, the eucalyptus refused to float and it all sank to the bottom of the bath.

Kristin Eldridge Photography

For this type of vulnerable shoot, I wanted to find a female photographer for sure, that had a certain type of light and airy vibe, and previous milk bath shoots under her belt. Some quick Googling lead me straight to Kristin Eldridge Photography. Not only was she everything I was looking for in style, she was incredibly close to my home, AND, this part is unbelievable, this is her bath tub! She made the shoot so easy for me, and I struggled with my own insecurities especially in such a revealing outfit. She guided me through all the poses, kept rearranging the flowers, my hair, the crown, it was seamless. And let me tell you, I am so grateful. I will cherish these images forever.

If you live in Southern California and are looking for a newborn, family, or maternity shoot, check Kristin out!