Sometimes, moms have the craziest ideas, dreams or bucket list items that they long to check off. My mom had the wildest one yet; she wanted to get Glamour Shots with my sisters and I.
Yep, you read that right — good ol’ ‘80-’90s style, big hair, gobs of make-up, frilled up with jewelry and big boas around the neck — Glamour Shots.
You see, when my grandma was alive (and Glamour Shots were the big thing), she and my mom went and did them. To this day, my mom talks about how much fun they had together — the full experience, the memories, the laughter.
Over the years, she has mentioned multiple times that she really wanted to do Glamour Shots with us girls. But come on, they didn’t even use the internet back then and yet there are so many awkward Glamour Shot photos lingering online — most of them made into embarrassing memes and shared over and over.
Not only that, but the studios offering Glamour Shots fell out in the ‘90s just like curls not sprayed with three pounds of Aqua Net. Even if we wanted to, there’s no way we could find someone who still did them.
But after years of my mother’s not-so-subtle reminders that she would love nothing more than to do Glamour Shots with us, my sister finally took the time to see if anyone in the area still offered these. And, surprisingly, she found someone in Findlay: Juniper Lane Photography.
We couldn’t believe it. Maybe we didn’t want to believe it. Ha! But, we no longer had an excuse not to get them done. So, for Mother’s Day this past year, we presented our mom with a voucher for Glamour Shots with her girls.
Weeks passed by before we scheduled the session then something would come up and we would need to move it. Dragging our feet a bit — ok maybe a lot — we managed to kick the session all the way out to October. When finally, we had no more excuses and set a date.
And I am so glad we did.
But it didn’t start out that way. At a maximum, I think we all expected no more than two hours dedicated to making this dream come true for my mom. Come in, slap some make-up on, throw in a few curls and snap some pictures. Never did we imagine spending an entire Thursday night at the studio. But Jenni, owner, make-up artist and photographer knew something we didn’t.
What first seemed like an eternity of getting glammed up, as Jenni took her time to ensure we had the perfect amount of glam to fit our individual personalities, we soon found out that the real fun in the experience actually was all that time that we got to spend together that evening.
Sure, having someone meticulously mix shades to match your skin tone, trim the appropriate false lashes, and smoke up your eyes to look like a movie star, was fun in and of itself. I mean, us full-time working ladies either prefer to not wear much make-up most of the time or literally just do not have the time to do it. So it felt good to be beautified. And watching as my sisters and mom had their chances as well, doing it together with the ones I love, was priceless.
And we had a complete blast through the entire experience. From remaking our old senior picture poses, to getting hit on by the Taco Bell drive-thru worker (hey, I didn’t have time to eat dinner before I came), to trying to perfect our “duck face” selfies, we laughed until we were literally worried that our tears would ruin our freshly coated faces.
When it came time to actually take the pictures, although hours from when we started, I found myself never wanting it to end. Inside the walls of that studio, we were completely together again — just like when it was mom and us as kids. Although the conversation was a little different now — kids, dog, work, and all the busyness of our lives, it was still just us four taking in the beauty of our time together.
And we felt beautiful. Beautifully done up on the outside and full from relishing in the unforgettable memories made throughout the night.
Crazy as the request may have seemed, my mom was right. That night was one I will talk about and hold on to forever. Even better, we have photos that will remind us over and over again about the amazing experience we had when we finally listened to our mom.
Now, all I have to do is talk my girls into this Mama’s crazy request to do Glamour Shots with them in about 20 years.
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