Enchanted Fairies Storybook Photo Session: Everything You Need To Know

A few weeks ago, I was getting the kids ready to take their first day of school photos.  I’m one of those moms that has a cheesy chalkboard for each of the kids to hold up with different prompts that include their age, grade, and what they want to be when the grew up.  Dylan was no surprise; as he’s wanted to be an astronaut literally since the age of 2 years old.  With Mei, I was actually a bit curious — as she entered preschool last year, her heart was set on being a butterfly.  This year, she said fairy.  And the reason?  “Because I can’t turn into a butterfly, Mom, but I can turn into a fairy.”  #ohmyheart 🥰

My kids have always loved dressing up and playing make believe, so I thought what could be more fun than letting them indulge their imagination for an afternoon and I could get some special photos while we’re at it!  I booked a session at Enchanted Fairies and am so excited to share a review of our experience!

Enchanted Fairies

What is Enchanted Fairies?

Enchanted Fairies is a high-end magical portraiture experience.  If you have little ones that love fairy tales, adventures, and the notion of being transported to different fantasy worlds, then Enchanted Fairies is definitely a must!  All costumes, props, and accessories are provided, and it is truly the ultimate dress up opportunity.  There are multiple rooms where your little ones can choose from for their photo session experience, each one fully decked out with incredibly elaborate props and setup.  This is where the photography magic now happens!

Where is Enchanted Fairies?

The Enchanted Fairies studio is located in Plano, Texas inside the the Shops at Willow Bend mall.  It’s about a 20 minute drive outside of Dallas.  If you’re ever just shopping at this mall, you can also feel free to step inside the Enchanted Fairies lobby anytime and check out some of their incredible photography on display firsthand!

What is the Enchanted Fairies Studio Experience Like?

Step 1: Dress Up Time

Upon walking in, the kids are provided with full head-to-toe outfits in their size.  For the girls, their outfit transforms them into a fairy princess which includes a beautiful lace corset top and layers upon layers of tulle for their tutu.  There is a choice of costume color (15 colors to choose from!) as well as 2 different flower headpieces — Mei is a just about as girly as you can get so of course, it was a light pink color fairy princess costume with the beautiful pink rosette crown!

For the boys, they’re transformed into brave warriors with their signature archer outfit.  Pieces include a white lace-up warrior shirt followed by a huntsman vest and earth-toned jogger pants.

Shoes are not included and for the actual photos themselves, the kids are actually barefoot.

Step 2: Glam + Red Carpet Moment

You have the choice of adding a Glimmer upgrade when booking the photo session, where hair and makeup are done by the stylists on location.  We personally opted out of the Glimmer upgrade and instead just had a light sprinkling of pixie dust on the arms and shoulders to add a little sparkle!

Then it was off to walk the red carpet for Mom to play paparazzi!  Since personal photography isn’t allowed in the studio rooms themselves, the red carpet moment here is your chance to get a few extra shots of your kiddos in character!  Can you tell that Dylan was really getting into his warrior persona?

Step 3: Step Into the Fairytale

And now it’s time to enter the rooms where all the magic happens!  Each room is filled with elaborate decorations that help bring to life the enchanted storybook tale.  We started at an enchanted forest room (shown in the first photo with both kids) where the kids encountered creatures from their favorite storybooks such as flying fairies, mini bullfrogs, and beautiful mockingbirds.  It was the perfect backdrop as Dylan and Mei began their experience into the fantasy world and our photographer really captured some of the most precious pictures of both the kids here!

Second up was the warrior room and Dylan definitely had the most fun here!  Props included a bow and arrow as well as sword — Dylan had a blast re-enacting some of his favorite fighting scenes (as you can see in the third photo above!).  Enchanted Fairies really does an incredible job of catering to different interests — I was initially a bit wary that there might not be enough at Enchanted Fairies to really engage my son at 8 years old but that was definitely not the case!

Finally, we entered the unicorn room and omg, it was breathtaking (see the first photo)!  Center stage in the studio room was an all-white unicorn laying among flying butterflies and lush greenery.  It truly looked felt like a fairy tale come to life and Mei was able to sit, touch, and lay her head on the unicorn which absolutely made her day!

apologies for the low-quality pic — a quick shot of me and my girl before heading in to see the unicorn

my mask – code CUTEANDLITTLE for 10% off | mei’s kid mask

Coronavirus and Safety Precautions

I realize with everything happening right now, it’s also important to know how Enchanted Fairies is ensuring the safety of everyone involved.  Our temperatures were taken before entering and face masks are also required at all times except for the kids in the moments photos are taken.  The entire staff was wearing masks as well and stayed socially distanced at 6′ from us the entire time.  There were wipes and hand sanitizer dispensers in ample supply and I also appreciated the staff reminding us to sanitize throughout our photography session as we moved from room to room.

Bookings at Enchanted Fairies is also limited to avoid interaction with different parties — we were the only guests at during our session and it was actually really nice to have the space to ourselves.  When the photos were ready for us to preview (about 2 weeks after our visit), it was all handled virtually via a Zoom meeting and it was actually nice to not have to leave the house!  We felt comfortable throughout our entire experience and I really appreciated all the safety precautions Enchanted Fairies had in place.

Is Enchanted Fairies Worth It?

Our entire experience lasted just under 2 hours, and it was such an incredible experience!  Enchanted Fairies recommends budgeting in about 1 hour per child:  15 minutes to get dressed and walk the red carpet, 30 minutes of actual photography time, and 15 minutes to wrap up.  I love that Enchanted Fairies captured this special moment in my kids’ lives, and the photos so perfectly reflect their imaginative spirits.  The photographer really knew how to work with my kids and truly made the entire experience so much fun (even to watch as a parent on the sidelines!).  There were a good 20+ photos that I wanted to keep at the end and it was legit so hard to narrow down all of my favorites down to just the three that were included in my package!  There is the option to create a beautiful bound storybook using your child’s photos, and this would for sure make an incredible holiday gift idea.  If you’re only looking for a single photo and just want to experience the magic, there is also a $25 package that includes an 8″ x 10″ photo too!

If you’ve ever considered doing something different when it comes to capturing your kids on camera, I highly recommend Enchanted Fairies.  The kids still rave about their “jungle visit with the unicorn,” and I love that I have these magical photos for a lifetime.  Be sure to book early as their calendar fills up fast especially around holidays — they’ve told me that it’s common for families to travel from out of town to have these photo sessions done for their kids!

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Thank you to Enchanted Fairies for providing us with a complimentary session!