Two gorgeous princesses had a storybook engagement photo shoot
Once upon a time, in 2016, Yalonda and Kayla Solseng realized they were each other's true loves.
So they dressed up as their favorite princesses for a stunning Disney-themed engagement photo shoot.
The Solsengs tied the knot on Sept. 3, but back in June, their fairytale came to life.
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"Yalonda had a dream one night about it, then began researching costumes, asked some friends to help and we made it happen," Kayla Solseng told Mashable.
"We also love the show Once Upon a Time and have bonded over that show since the beginning of our relationship. That show rewrites fairy tales and this was our modern day fairy tale."
"This photo shoot was so important to so many people for many different reasons," Erin Miller of Sun & Moon Photography wrote to Mashable.
"These photos are important for the world to see, and I'm glad that they are. They send a beautiful message – to give people hope and faith that their princess will come."
To Yalonda and Kayla, the shoot was important because of the imbalanced representation of LGBTQ+ characters in children's media.
"We just wanted to inspire others to write their own fairy tales. There isn't a fairy tale with two princesses and we believe that needs to change," the couple said.
"Gay marriage has been legalized in the U.S. for over a year and we hardly have gay/lesbian characters in children's movies; let alone them being main characters. The lack of connection that we had due to having no role models from the lesbian community made it hard as we grew up to identify with that community. Kids want to be the characters they grow up with but when none of the characters represent you then I (Yalonda) felt alone. I want our photos to be shown to kids and families as a way of saying its okay to be who you are. It's okay to be with the person you love. In this case, we were being who we always looked up to when we were younger but changing them to represent us now."
Taylor Snyder of Taylor Snyder Art & Photography also attended the shoot.
"I think the shoot is important to show the LGBTQ+ community that even though many people may be hateful or disrespectful, it's important to stay true to who you are and to be proud of who you are," Snyder told Mashable.
"Yalonda and Kayla have received hurtful comments from people regarding the photos, but for the most part everyone has been extremely supportive and loving, and I think it's truly fantastic to see that the support they have outweighs the hurtful comments."
"We definitely hoped our fairy tale would inspire others. It feels so surreal to be shared all around the world. We get many messages from people all over just simply thanking us for showing our love through our photos," the Solsengs told Mashable.
"We are even more in love with each other with every day and if our love can inspire others then that's truly amazing."
Unsurprisingly, their gorgeous engagement evolved into a beautiful wedding.
Topics Disney
Sophie was a Viral Content Intern for the Watercooler channel. More writing and other stuff by Sophie can be found at www.sophiehirsh.com.
