Disney-Themed Photo Shoot Made These Expectant Moms Pregnant Princesses for a Day

A pregnancy belly is a beautiful beginning for many mothers and some even like to memorialize their baby bulges with a professional photography session. That’s where Vic and Marie Photography have made their mark — specializing in maternity and newborn portraitures.

Based in Texas, they are husband and wife team Victor and Marie Luna — ‘Vic’ is the photographer and ‘Marie’ is the photo editor — who began photographing expecting women in 2015.

“The reason we choose this particular art is because we are able to create once in a lifetime memories that our clients can look back on as they get older,” Marie Luna told Your Daily Dish. “It’s such a sweet and beautiful moment in your life, a moment that not many can experience, and a moment that should be celebrated!”

Traditionally, Vic and Marie provide personalized one-on-one maternity sessions, but this time they came up with the idea of photographing a group of expectant mothers. The theme for the shoot was initially inspired by the film Beauty And The Beast, but creatively grew into something else — a pregnant Disney princess photo shoot.

“It started out with a Belle inspired shoot, but as we talked about the ideas and planned it, the more we wanted to go outside of our own element,” Luna said.

The Disney royalty they chose was Belle from Beauty And The Beast, Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, Princess Tiana from The Princess and The Frog, Snow White and Cinderella. They collaborated with Sew Trendy Accessories, a business that makes handmade maternity gowns in knit, sheer, and lace, to provide the dresses for the pregnant Disney princess photo shoot.

The women in the pregnant Disney princess photo shoot were either previous clients or models who gathered together on April 7 at Newman’s Castle in Bellville, Texas, a castle that was personally constructed by local baker Mike Newman in 1998, to capture maternity magic. The Lunas had done other maternity shoots there before, so he welcomed them back.

“These women did not know each other previous to this shoot,” Luna told Your Daily Dish. “They met for the first time on the day of the shoot but we had all talked previous to the session so that way they could feel comfortable around each other. The only challenge was no signal on our phones. We couldn’t get a hold of anyone when we were there, but it worked out in the end!”

Each mom-to-be was aligned with the princess they best represented — Ilsa Garza (Belle), Dr. Ashley McQueen, DDS (Tiana), Sabra Hobbs (Cinderella), Paolinna Ramos (Jasmine), and Hilda Tamez de Galvan (Snow White). A few touches were added to enhance their inner princess — with ribbons, headpieces and flowers. This included a glass slipper for Cinderella, and an apple for Snow White.

Despite the fact that these women were well into their pregnancies, the pregnant Disney princess photo shoot went off without a hitch — with the exception of Garza whose baby was wanting out.

“That was Belle! Her name is Ilsa, but I think her nickname with us will be Belle,” Luna said. “She was actually contracting the night before and before the shoot! Surprisingly she was pretty calm during the Disney shoot and handled it extremely well. She went on to have her sweet baby girl Priscilla a few days later.”

Since the pregnant Disney princess photo shoot, the moms-to-be have taken to social media to share their photos — which have gone viral. They each wrote to Vic and Marie about their wonderful experiences about being a princess for a day.

“I thought it was a once in a lifetime experience that I wanted to be a part of because not only would I be posing as a princess,  I would be portraying Belle from Beauty and the Beast!,” Garza wrote. “As a child she was one of my favorites and continues to be. While heading to Newman’s Castle and during the shoot,  I began having contractions but that didn’t stop me from doing what I would say is a childhood dream! My sweet baby came a few days later and  thanks to Marie and Vic, our little girl Priscilla  has had her own magical photos taken as Belle. The princess maternity photos came out amazing and each time I look at them I relive the special experience of being with other moms-to-be posing as princesses.  It’ll be a moment I will forever cherish and a very special time in my life. I feel blessed to have been able to capture my pregnancy in such a unique and special way. My family and friends have also been very excited to see the photos and they have tagged and contacted me each time they see the media posting about it. It has been fun being able to share the images with loved ones and see how many people have been reacting to it. “

“Being chosen to be a part of this princess photo shoot was by far a magical experience,” Ramos wrote. “Arriving at the Newman’s castle was just breathtaking! The whole scene came together with the dresses and accessories. Vic and Marie really do take care of you from making sure you’re feeling okay at every minute even if that means stopping and taking breaks to making sure they get every shot you’ll cherish forever. They treated us all like princesses. I loved every minute of the shoot and every photo taken, as well as my husband and family.”

“I studied a photo of the beautiful singer/actress Jennifer Hudson who also portrayed Princess Tiana for hair and makeup inspiration in preparation for the shoot,” McQueen wrote. “I had so much fun taking photos at a castle with the other beautiful mothers-to-be and the entire experience was truly magical. I knew the idea for this shoot was innovative and creative as I had never seen anyone do a photo shoot like this before but I never expected the publicity that our photos received on social media. My family and friends all loved the photos and shared posts from different Facebook pages who had taken notice of our photo shoot. I am glad I participated as it was a wonderful experience that I will never forget.”