Life

Inspiring Women Shotgun Beers & Eat Chicken Wings For A BFF Photo Shoot

We do this thing in our culture where we sort of choose the relationships that need to be celebrated. Like we're grading all of the people who bring us joy. Especially when it comes to commemorating relationships; romantic relationships get anniversaries, of course. Families do photo shoots together and celebrate holidays. But what about your friendships? I know my female friendships have made all the difference in my life. I suspect this is true for many women, so why not acknowledge that bond? This BFF beer and wings photo shoot is just about the best way to celebrate your most important friendships I can imagine on account of friends are great but so are wings and beer.

Breana Welch, the photographer behind Easy Breezy Photography in Athens, Georgia, feels the same way about friendships. That they should be honored the same way we honor our children, our parents, and our partners. As Welch explains in an interview with Romper, she had seen a best friend photo shoot in Texas and felt inspired to do something similar: "I wanted to put my own twist on the shoot and found two girls who were willing to be completely and utterly themselves during a photo shoot." She connected with best friends Samantha Clark and Christina Arthur from South Carolina, who were ready to commemorate their 23rd anniversary of being best friends with a photo shoot that really represented exactly who they were. And after Welch suggested to Samantha that the two friends bring their favorite food and favorite alcoholic beverage to their favorite place, a new tradition was born: The BFF photo shoot with wings and beer. As Samantha Clark explained to Inside Edition, "I thought it would be perfect for us because anytime we get together, we just laugh and act goofy and just straight up always have a good time with each other."

As Samantha and Christina explained in a sweet Facebook post, the two women became friends in kindergarten and have been thick as thieves ever since:

Growing up as next door neighbors our whole childhood years, we had the perfect friendship. From riding our bikes through the neighborhood, to staying up all night during our many sleepovers in our homemade tents, and all the way down to us learning to drive and both having babies, we've been with each other through it all! Every birthday party, every summer, every family Christmas party with bad karaoke or just me crying because I was too embarrassed to sing Frosty the Snowman.

I suspect their secret to their long years of friendship might be laughter. Breana Welsh told Romper that the two best friends "had so much fun during the shoot. They laughed so hard the whole time. That was my main goal. We even joked around about possibly going viral."

The photo shoot did end up going viral, perhaps because other best friends out there recognized something of themselves in these two women shotgunning beers and eating chicken wings. After the popular Facebook page Love What Matters shared their story, their photo shoot was shared thousands of times. And will hopefully inspire more women to take time out of their busy schedules to celebrate what matters; their ride or die friends. And Breana Welsh has some great advice for anyone who wants to do something similar, as she told Romper:

Go all out. Be you. Honestly if your favorite food is dollar store snacks , honey go stock up and have that photoshoot. Love Walmart wine? Go get it and do the photos with it. It is all about spending time with the one who is not biologically your sibling. Don’t pose for every photo. Pretend your on a bff date with some crazy paparazzi who’s sneaking photos of you seeming like you’re eating your last meal. Laugh out loud. It will be the best time ever if you and your friend just be yourselves.

Sign me up.