A NEW TAKE ON A TALE AS OLD AS TIME
Recently, Party Magic teamed up with Delightful Little Darlings on the photography studio’s latest Mini-Portrait Session, this time with the theme, guess what, Beauty and the Beast!
Given that Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favorite Disney movie (sorry folks, Ariel the Little Mermaid just doesn’t cut it for me, nor does A Whole New World) I couldn’t resist! And the timing couldn’t have been more perfect with the remaking of this classic into its live-action version.
Den Llanos, the studio’s photographer extraordinaire, asked me if I could style The Beast’s library scene. Here’s what the Party Magic team and I came up with:
The Beast’s Library: the bookworm Belle’s dream come true
As part of the Mini Portrait Session, cakes were also featured, such as these ones done by Lovelots Cakes
Rafa (who is all grown up!), with Daddy, Mommy and little brother Liam!
THE MINI PORTRAIT SESSION: AN INEXPENSIVE WAY TO CREATE BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED MEMORIES
I don’t know who ever thought of creating Mini Portrait Sessions, but I absolutely love the idea. For a fraction of the price (packages start at P7,500) you’d normally have to pay, you get to take advantage of beautifully designed sets made by professional stylists (not just us; check out Flourish and Frills too!), PLUS get to have your photos taken by one of the best photographers in the market right now.
This is a deal you’d be crazy not to take.
DLD’s Mini-Portrait Sessions: create beautifully designed memories.
Delightful Little Darlings conducts these Mini Portrait Sessions all year round, with the next one coming up on May 6-7, 2017 as a pre-Mother’s Day photoshoot. Sign up at helloDLDstudios@gmail.com. More details here.
IDEAS ON A BEAUTY AND THE BEAST PARTY
While the new Beauty and the Beast movie stuck to the important plot points of the classic (Gaston wooing Belle, Belle’s dad gets lost in Beast’s forest / courtyard, Belle takes her dad’s place, falls in love with Beast, and so on), I love how the writers added certain elements / songs to the movie to add more depth to the characters:
- Belle and her dad are treated as “outsiders” in their town, and Belle keeps referring to “this provincial life”. How did they end up there? Apparently, Belle was from Paris, and had a mom who died of the plague. To escape the illness, Belle’s dad took her to the small town to live.
- Beast’s mother similarly died when he was at a young age, and he was then governed by a cruel father who apparently passed on his cruel behavior to his own son.
How do these new layers to the characters relate to creating a new take on a Beauty and the Beast party?
Well, I think that these new details helps us realize that there are multiple angles to the tale, which we might be rewarded by giving attention to.
Besides the Beast’s Library, here are some more ideas on which scenes you could try to recreate in your own party:
Maurice’s (Belle’s dad) Workshop
Belle’s dad is the ultimate tinkerer, artist and creative, a man ahead of his time. He is also a man who loves his daughter very much. I think it would be fantastic to recreate this scene, complete with little trinkets, tools, and mechanical gadgets.
Belle’s Attic in Paris
In the new movie, the Beast showed Belle a magical book that allowed them to transport to Belle’s childhood attic. Of course, it might be better if we adjust the look of the attic a little bit since the one shown in the movie was already falling with disrepair. For example, you could recreate the attic during the time when Belle lived in it.
Belle’s lyrics in her rendition of the new song How Does a Moment Last Forever will forever haunt me:
This is the Paris of my childhood
These were the borders of my life
In this crumbling, dusty attic,
Where an artist loved his wife
Easy to remember, harder to move on,
Knowing the Paris of my childhood is gone
THE GREAT WIDE SOMEWHERE
Whether it’s Beauty and the Beast or some other theme, I always try to convey a sense of discovery, imagination, and possibilities in all of Party Magic’s works.
Belle nailed it when she sang,
“I want adventure in the great wide somewhere”
Love,
Michelle
