Men's Warehouse

Today was the day I had been both looking forward to and dreading, ever since I found out I booked the commercial for Men's Warehouse. I was up insanely early this morning, getting some final pumping in and then nursing Zoey one last time. I left the house at around 6:15am and got to the cast/crew parking lot at around 7:15. I sat in my car for a few minutes until I saw someone get into the shuttle van (I didn't want to be the first one :). When I approached the van, I was greeted by the driver and a fellow model who I had never met, Terrance. We then headed up to the house where the commercial was going to be filmed. When we pulled up to the house, it was very clear why they didn't allow any of us to drive directly there and park our cars. They had the road almost completely blocked off with equipment trucks and wardrobe trailers! 

We hopped out of the van and walked down this beautiful driveway!

This stunning and intricate garden was one of the first things I noticed.

(We met the homeowner and after we complimented his garden, he nonchalantly said "Yeah, the gardener does a good job"!) 

Terrance and I weren't sure exactly where to go, so we walked right up to the front door and ran into the creative director. We introduced ourselves and he looked at us and said, "Hey, did you guys know you're getting married today?". We looked at each other, laughed and then awkwardly reintroduced ourselves. The director then led us down to the media room, which had been turned into the hair and make up room. It was then that the waiting began...

Gorgeous home

(And all of the lights, cameras and equipment were pretty cool, too!)

There was already another "Bride" in the make up chair, so I headed out to the holding tent, to wait with other models and the extras. (I found out later that Men's Warehouse held an internal audition and picked a bunch of actual employees to be extras! Pretty cool.) 

Modeling is typically filled with a lot of "hurry up and wait" type situations.

I got there at 7:30, but spent most of my day under this tent. Fortunately, there were plenty of other people waiting with me :)

Soon after we arrived, I had grabbed a  Poptart from the food area, but as the morning dragged on, I decided to have a real breakfast. The catering was fantastic (never before had I seen hot food prepared on a set) and I ordered an egg white, spinach, mushroom and sundried tomato scramble! Yum. 

Normally there's just crackers, fruit and bottled water; commercial actors get spoiled! Haha

So, at about 9:30, one of the assistants came over and apologetically informed me that they were moving some scenes around and my call time was now way too early. He said that I could either go home and come back later, or just hang out until they needed me...after lunch! I told him that by the time I got home and sat down, it would be time for me to head back. So, I made myself a cup of tea, introduced myself to "Bride #3" and we chatted until lunch.

The first scene of the day.

This was "my" wedding party and the scene was the groom and groomsmen interacting with a few guests.

Left to right: "The bride's brother", "The best man", and "The groom".

The guy playing my brother, kept calling me "sis" throughout the day. I guess it helped him better connect with the role? Haha

One of the wedding scenes took place in the backyard, overlooking the water. 

(That's Bellevue, off in the distance)

The back patio, where my scenes were eventually shot.

Where those chairs are, there was a rectangular fire pit in the ground; so cool!

After a delicious lunch, and way too much down time, which I spent thinking/worrying/talking about Zoey, it was finally time for me to hop into the hair and make up chair!! I had been watching other people all day, and now it was my turn! The hair and make up ladies were fantastic; they whipped me into wedding day shape in no time! The transformation into a bride was just as fun as I remembered :)

I snuck into the bathroom to take a few pictures :)

The hair stylist didn't even use any curling or flat irons! She just pinned and sprayed everything into place; I was pretty impressed!

After my hair and make up were done, I was escorted up to the wardrobe trailer. After slipping into my dress and getting adorned with accessories, I suddenly realized that I was actually getting ready to film scenes for a commercial! I was feeling confident, but did my best to exude 3x the actual amount, as I stepped out of the trailer and joined the rest of the cast and crew. As we walked up to the back patio, the crew working the cameras and sound, the producers, directors and extras all began to hoot and holler! They helped us feel so good as we took our places and started taking some photos.

The dress was the complete opposite of what I wore on my actual wedding day, which made it even more fun to play dress up!

After the photos, it was time to shoot the action shots for the commercial. Our scene was that of an outdoor wedding reception. My nerves only intensified when I realized that I was going to have to dance! Fortunately, Terrance shared with me that he was a professional dancer and teacher, and promised to be a good partner and a strong lead. As the music played and we all began to loosen up, everything started to fall into place and became so much fun. We all just went with the flow, dancing and mingling. We were given our initial direction, but after that, the directors just sat back and let us do our thing.

I am so excited to see how everything is going to turn out. In the contract that I signed, it said that the commercial is going to run nationally, and that the still images we shot could show up in Men's Warehouse stores (posters, displays, window signage, etc...), on mailers, in magazines, on shopping carts(!), and the list goes on. Pretty much the only things I didn't see specified were billboards and the sides of buses! Thank goodness! Lol

As we wrapped our scenes, I couldn't wait to get back into my regular clothes, hop onto the shuttle and get back to my car so I could head home to my family! I called Michael to tell him that I was on my way back to the parking lot and that I'd be home as soon as possibly. He sounded very relaxed as he told me that everything was going well and he'd see me soon. (It was such a relief to hear the confidence in his voice and know that my baby girl was ok.)

When I got home (at close to 7:30pm), I ran in the door and threw my stuff down, expecting to scoop up my baby girl and hear all about her day with her daddy. Instead, what I found was Michael bent over the cradle, getting ready to place a sleeping Zoey into it. I think Michael could immediately read the sadness on my face and asked me if I'd rather hold her instead. My face lit up as I whispered "Yes!", and as he placed her in my arms, tears welled up in my eyes. Her sweet face, sticky and unwashed, was the greatest thing I'd seen all day! As I began rocking her, Mike grabbed the camera and showed me a video of her rolling over from her back onto her tummy!! She had been trying to do that for weeks and she finally did it! Although I was mostly just proud of her, a part of me was sad that I wasn't home to see it. Boy, I don't envy Michael at all as he leaves for work every morning. I now know what it's like to be away and it's really, really hard!

Reunited!

Happy Momma!

As it turns out, Michael actually made a pretty good "Mr. Mom"! Not only was Zoey dressed, happy and safe, the dishes were also getting done and dinner was ready to go on the grill! :)