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Answering a Reader Question #97

Anonymous Wrote:

Hi,the only part of being a model that i dont like is to expose my body in swimsuits and lingerie.But thats something that i would love to do, bridal.May you give me an advice how to find this specifically job in california?Thanks 

Hi, Anonymous! That's great that you want to get into bridal modeling. There are a few different ways to go about pursuing this. Luckily, California is a great state for this type of work. There are tons of vendors that specialize in the wedding industry in the Golden State, which means the need for bridal models. The two most common types of work you'll find in this field include doing bridal fashion shows and print work in bridal magazines and other similar publications.

One way to get into doing bridal fashion shows is to look up the different production companies that put on their shows/wedding fairs in your area. For example, if you live in Northern California one of the biggest wedding fairs is known as Brocade Weddings. They set up shows all over the Bay Area and surrounding areas. You can visit the company's website and check out their contact page in order to ask them who they go through to find bridal models. Once you know the name of the model coordinator, it is important to get in touch with that person (that may require more online research if the bridal show company doesn't already have that info to give you). Let the model coordinator know that you are interested in doing this type of work and see if you can schedule an interview. Then see where things go from there.

As for doing print work in bridal magazines and publications, the best way to get this kind of work is with agency representation. Good agencies have contacts with casting directors that work with bridal magazines and will have the first notification of openings for shoots and other types of bridal modeling assignments, which the agent will then submit you for. However, it is possible to find bridal work as a freelance model. It isn't as easy but if you are diligent and know where to look, you can make it happen. For instance, the way I got onto the cover and in the pages of the first issue of Mocha Bride Magazine was through a model call they posted on Craigslist. Pretty crazy, huh? Luckily, they were legit and the opportunity produced great tearsheets for my portfolio. Another possible avenue you can explore is to visit local bridal shops and see what bridal magazines they have on display or you can look up bridal publications in the magazines section of a local bookstore or grocery store. Find out what the website is for these publications or write down the name/email address of the editor or whoever they list in charge of the art direction/photos. Then go about contacting that person with your interest in doing bridal modeling. Hopefully they will be able to point you to the right person to get in touch with or if they only use agency represented models, ask which agencies they tend to do their castings through.

It is also important that you have bridal images to show in your portfolio. You will be taken more seriously if clients see that you have some kind of experience doing this type of modeling.

Here are a couple of links that may help you out. Again, it's going to take research, contacting people and major networking if you are planning on doing this freelance:

Brocade Weddings/Bay Area Wedding Fairs

Northern California Wedding Vendors

Southern California Wedding Vendors

Bridal Magazines & Publications in Southern California

Bridal Shows & Events in Southern California

When it comes to searching through wedding vendors, I would suggest looking up wedding photography businesses (these are great for setting up test shots for getting bridal images in your portfolio) and bridal shops that sell the dresses (networking with bridal shops is a great way to get your foot in the door and get info on whether they participate in any bridal shows in the area).

Good luck to you!
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