July 8, 2015

A Very Exciting Opportunity…

Last month a very exciting email dropped into my inbox. It was asking me whether I fancied starring in a video with NatWest. It is part of a series they are doing to help us out with the big moments in life and this one is called ‘Life Moments: Having Your First Baby’.

I had my first baby last year and Laura, my co-star (it feels funny to type that!) is a first time mum-to-be who also happens to be an incredibly talented and beautiful soloist with the Royal Ballet.

After a few emails back and forth I was fully briefed and getting rather excited about it all. I was told the shoot would be at The Royal Opera House in London, in a real life ballet studio. I loved dancing when I was younger and did every type under the sun. Ballet, tap, modern, jazz, you name it. My real love was with ballet though, which I did up until I went to university. So the fact the shoot was going to be at The Royal Opera House, and with a real life ballerina, was amazing!

When I arrived at The Royal Opera House I met the lovely Louise, from the agency, who I’ve emailed many many times but have never met in real life. She was very reassuring and we managed to navigate our way through and find the production crew and client, who were all very friendly.

I met Laura and we clicked straight away. I think it made all the difference working with someone who I genuinely really got on with. It really helped with the old nerves.

The producer and directors had a chat with Laura and I to let us know what the plans were for the day. And after an hour or so of setting up, we were asked to go to hair and make up and wardrobe to get sorted for the video. Gemma, the fab stylist, had selected a super cute top from & Other Stories, a pair of cropped jeans and some plain White plimsols for my outfit, which I thought worked well. My hair and make up was kept pretty natural and fresh.

First, we did a few takes down in the lobby of The Royal Opera House, where there was some great decor. There were a few different takes of us meeting and greeting each other. The directors wanted to try out a few things such as shaking hands or hugging. We thought the hugging worked best! We didn’t have to talk at this point so that was a nice, gentle introduction to being behind the big camera. It was a lot different from just talking into my own camera, let me tell you!

The next scene was on a beautiful stair case in The Royal Opera House. It was another nice take to ease us into the whole being in front of so many people scenario. We just had to, each on our own, walk down the staircase. I was like ‘don’t trip, don’t trip’!

We had lunch in the dancer’s restaurant which was fun. I loved watching all the dancers come in from rehearsals and seeing what they bought for lunch. I’m super nosey like that. There was such a great view from their balcony too. London is still one of my favourite places ever.

The studio interview section was the hardest one of the day. We had a make up touch up and mics strapped to us before sitting down in the pre-arranged set. The directors were keen for it to be as natural as possible so they didn’t want to guide it too much. They did jump in with ideas and advice on where to take conversations if we were diverging a bit. It lasted a couple hours and there were a lot of different people in the room. Once you get into the flow of things, it’s amazing how quickly you forget how many people are actually in the room, watching and listening.

It was a very exciting day that I’m honoured to have been a part of. I always love being able to help out other parents. I can remember how overwhelmed I felt when trying to think about finances and all the essentials you need for your tiny bundle of joy when they come home from hospital.

I’m hopefully meeting up with Laura again soon so I can hopefully pass on some more useful information about finances and first babies!

Check out the video here:

And all sorts of helpful first time parent tips, from yours truly, over on the NatWest website now.

What are your top financial tips for preparing for you baby?

* I worked with Natwest on this project and have been compensated. As always though, all opinions are my own and all work is my own