Behind the Seams: Our Santa Ynez Spring Photoshoot

Last week, Whimsy & Row hit the road for our very first destination photoshoot! After a rocky start to the year and with much of our team working remotely, this trip was the perfect chance for some much-needed bonding—and an incredible backdrop for our shoot. Just 2.5 hours away in Santa Ynez, Central California, we soaked up the scenery, shared plenty of laughs, and leaned into Spring / Summer ‘25. We also snuck in a fab meal at Bar Le Côte!

 

  

We thought it would be a fun opportunity to take you behind the scenes, sharing all that goes into making a Whimsy shoot come to life!

First, PREP! Securing Samples:

Natalia, our Designer, has been working for months to get all our Spring Summer Samples perfect and ready for our shoot date. Once we have them all 40+ styles in-hand, Michelle (Operations Manager and Stylist), starts putting together the outfits and a moodboard is born.

 

Creating the Mood:

Rachel (Owner + Creative Director), Kate (Marketing Lead + Creative Producer) work together with Michelle to gather loads of inspiration. From there, we dive into scouting locations—combing through Peerspace and Airbnb listings. It quickly became clear we were after that charming East Coast, Nancy Meyers-style backyard garden vibe—no easy feat in the middle of winter!

 

After seeing photos our friend and go-to event photographer, Simi, captured at Hotel Ynez last spring, we were sold. The idea of rolling green hills was irresistible, and we starting praying we’d have enough rain for the golden hills to turn green before we got there. While the landscape wasn’t as lush as we’d hoped by the time we arrived, we embraced it and made it work.

 

Time for Talent:

Once we have our location and team dates outlined, we secured our makeup artist Amanda, and model KJ who has basically become the The Whimsy Woman. Both were up for a little road trip. In the days leading up to the shoot, we focused on fine-tuning the styling and shotlist, jotting down props to order in advance... and before we knew it, we were throwing the hunter boots in the car and heading north!

 

Shoot Day:

It was a crisp, foggy morning before the clouds broke into perfectly blue skies. We fueled up with lobby coffee and got to work steaming over 40 looks. With just six hours of shoot time, every moment counted…

Watch BTS instagram reel here. 

 

 

 

Hotel Ynez ended up being the perfect spot for our shoot. With it being the slower season, the property was quiet, giving us plenty of space to roam and create. Each room has its own little front yard with a hammock. The grounds are beautifully manicured and dotted with cozy fire pits. There’s a bocce ball court, and a pool which we didn’t have time to enjoy.. but next time! We all kept saying, "Wish we had planned to stay one more night..." Certainly wouldn’t have minded one more dinner at Bar Le Côte!

Thanks for following along! We’re so excited to start launching these styles and share even more photos from the shoot! Be sure to follow us on Instagram for more behind-the-scenes moments, sneak peeks, and all the Whimsy goodness coming your way. Stay tuned—there’s so much more to come!

 

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