CFR Fashion brought to you by a couple of wild Canadian women roaming the prairies promoting the wild west.

On Halloween Day, I got together with western fashion clothing boutique owners Shelby Berrecloth from Wildrose Retro and Charlsey Whittmore from B&B Boutique. The masterminds between those two iconic Alberta brands have come together and launched the brand new Wild Women Events, an advertising, styling, promotion and entertainment company. The ladies have big plans on the horizon!! We did this shoot in the rain– it was cold, and the poor sweet girls were just shivering, but they toughed it out!!! The shoot was a fabulous creative outlet for me and let me flex out a new editing style that suited their brand. We wanted this shoot to be fresh for the Canadian Finals Rodeo that is in Edmonton this week, and we are all pretty excited about it! Shelby and Charlsey are industry leaders in Western Fashion, and I know that Wild Women Events will go far with their leadership.

The Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) isn’t just a rodeo!! There are loads of events going on behind the scenes. For instance the Ladies of Canadian Professional Rodeo, who hosted a luncheon & CFR fashion show fundraiser this morning. My girl Katy Lucas (past Miss Rodeo Canada 2015) from KT Rodeo Industries was there, interviewing Audi Roy from Classic Rodeo on behalf of Let’s Talk Rodeo, a daily talk show discussing the days competition hosted by Katy and Cassie Hausauer.

My ALL TIME favourite part of the Canadian Finals Rodeo would have to be the Miss Rodeo Canada pageant!! One of my role models, Shannon McCarthy played a huge role in my life growing up, including sparking my interest in horses. She was Miss Rodeo Canada 2003, and I remember vividly then that I wanted to compete in a pageant some day. I competed in a rodeo pageant once (Calgary Stampede), and although I didn’t make it to Royalty that year (I made it to Top 10!!), it started a domino effect of amazing connections in my life. When I was a contestant, I met Mick who went on to become the Calgary Stampede Queen and I photographed her amazing wedding this spring in Olds, Alberta. I went to school with 2010 Miss Rodeo Airdrie, Alicia, whose sunflower wedding was last summer in Rolling Hills, Alberta.  I met Mazlie (2014 Miss Rodeo Airdrie Princess) at one of my 2016 Weddings and I am now photographing her incredible wedding next August! (I fricken love her and Dave)!! And then, through her, I met the beautiful Terra, Miss Rodeo Airdrie 2014 whose wedding I photographed just a couple of weekends ago at the Olds Cow Palace. All of these women are so inspiring to me, and have gone on to do amazing things in their communities and in their lives, keeping western heritage alive.

STAY TUNED FOR A PART 2!

Ciao for Now!!