STORIES FROM THE SET: BEHIND THE SCENES OF BANFF

What is that saying – it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it? That’s pretty much photoshoots in a nutshell. And perhaps the Banff shoot most of all.

Y’all ever made it snow in July? Because we have.

“How do we always manage to make things so hard for ourselves? I mean, seriously. It’s 100-degrees outside and we’re MAKING snow. We’re out of our minds. But man, isn’t that a gorgeous shot, though?” Cheryl says, staring into the iPad as photos load.

The outdoor snow was a combination of bunting and some kind of spray foam, a concoction we mixed and blasted all over the clearing outside the cabin, with a big white sheet in the background. It was SO gross to clean up, felt like snot. The inside snow – those incredible cashmere photos/videos – was basically soap; Jack had a little hand-held machine, perched on top of a ladder, essentially blowing bubbles everywhere. And we do mean everywhere – the models’ hair, the chandelier, and ALL over the floor, even Jack’s mouth**. Safe to say we literally left that place cleaner than we found it. In hindsight, Banff might be the most beautiful catalog we’ve ever published. We pretty much made the impossible happen and, in the end, it was worth every slimy, soapy second. But let me tell you, it was a labor of love.

“It’s funny, it’s almost like giving birth,” Cheryl laughed. “You get a few months removed and you tend to forget all about the painful process and are just in awe of the thing you created.”

Audrey: Is it getting in your mouth, Jack?

Hedy: It’s just soap, I’m sure it’s not the first time you’ve had soap in your mouth.

Jack: I sure know the difference between Ivory and Dove, I can tell you that!

You know what else we did? You know that awesome bed with the new DDR Home bedding on it? Yeah, we built that. We brought it with us. 450 miles.

And neither of those ended up being the biggest obstacle we faced.

“What did we go through, like 8 tires when it was all said and done?” Audrey said. “I don’t know if the cabin was cursed or we are, but the rate at which we were replacing tires was unreal.”

Seriously. I mean, it was more likely nails from all the construction going on in the area than it was supernatural spirits, but still.

“What did we go through, like 8 tires when it was all said and done?” Audrey said. “I don’t know if the cabin was cursed or we are, but the rate at which we were replacing tires was unreal.”

Seriously. I mean, it was more likely nails from all the construction going on in the area than it was supernatural spirits, but still.

It wasn’t all bad luck, though! As much as we tend to lament the weather on photoshoots (and yes, it was hot as Hades on this one, too), sometimes it does us a solid. Depending on who you ask. The day of the outdoor snow scenes, we got a late afternoon rain. That means we got to call it a day early and make use of the cabin’s game room, with the 30-and-ups teaching the young'uns to play darts and pool, and the under-30s teaching their elders who/what is cool in music and pop culture. Everybody wins.

And last but not least, a little anecdote we’re filing under ‘Things you never ever thought you’d have to say out loud’: “Fresh tampon! Hot tampons coming through! Steaming tampons!” Did you know that you can microwave a wet tampon to create fake coffee/hot chocolate steam for a photo? Well, now I bet you can’t UNknow it. You’re welcome.

BONUS TID-BITS:

We’re not going to name any names, but one among us (who is well into adulthood) still uses a mark on her right index finger to tell right from left.

We had to fly into Dallas and then drive up to Broken Bow, and our little Los Angelino was absolutely mind blown at how long it took us to get out of Texas.

“Now what state are we in?” “Still Texas.” “HOW?!”

And a little confused by some of our town names.

“Where are we?” “Paris.” “Wait, seriously?” “Yes. Is it everything you imagined?”

One word: Gasquatch. If you know you know.

Christmas is a whole mood. We couldn’t just make it look like Christmas, we had to make it feel like Christmas, so yes, we were blasting Christmas Spotify at full volume, in the middle of summer. And singing along. And playing “Name That Tune”.