My First Coachella
April has been a jam packed month to say the least. From jetting off to Morocco and then Paris, to attending Coachella less than a week later – I’ve done it all! It’s been such a fun and exciting time, but I have to admit I am pretty tired out from all of the festivities. But of course I wanted to share my first Coachella experience with you guys! Read on to learn all about it!
My Favorite Parts of Coachella
Going into our first Coachella Clayton and I basically didn’t know anything about it. We did a tiny bit of research but not much considering April was a busy month for us. But we made it – and below are a few of the things I enjoyed most along the way.
The Fashion
I have to admit the fashion at Coachella was truly my favorite part. The outfits at Coachella are so fun. People definitely dress ver bold and eccentrically which gave me so much inspiration! There was tons of mesh, tassles, sparkles, and crochet. I loved seeing so much expression and creativity everywhere I looked. This fun fishnet set from Yandy was one of my favorite festival looks. I can’t wait to go back next year and dress even more boldly!
The Music
Obviously the music at Coachella is superb. But like I mentioned above, the fashion took the crown for me. But the music was a close second. I was so impressed with almost every artist we saw. Beyonce easily took the cake because – she’s Beyonce duh. There was no competing with the queen’s voice, showmanship, production etc. But there was some other smaller artists that I really enjoyed as well. Daniel Cesar was one of Clayton and I’s favorite performances of the weekend. SZA was also great and so was LANY. It’s just an amazing experience to be able to walk around and consume some of the greatest artists of our time. For me it was slightly overwhelming to be able to absorb everything but I still really enjoyed it.
Fun Time With Friends
Like I said, Clayton and I basically went into this whole thing blindly. We didn’t plan much so we didn’t have a core group we were going with or anything. But luckily one of my good friends – Lizbeth (@imlvh) and her family were attending weekend two as well. We were able to meet up with them for basically the entire weekend, which was SO fun. She even rescued Clayton and I from car camping – lol. I’d say being able to spend time with Lizbeth and her awesome family was definitely one of the highlights of the entire weekend. They are Coachella pros so they helped us survive the entire experience. Without them I wouldn’t have had half as much fun! Also of course I wouldn’t have survived Coachella without Clayton – my #1 partner in crime. He constantly helped me get the shot, stay on track with my work duties, and made sure I was also having fun and being taken care of. He’s the best and I could not imagine doing Coachella without him!
The Food
The food at Coachella is actually delicious. It was so easy for Clayton and I to find vegan food which is so refreshing. Sometimes at events like this it’s really hard to find accommodating food and we just end up eating french fries and a salad. But not at Coachella! We were able to enjoy some amazing vegan burgers from Monty’s, vegan ice cream from Magpies, and vegan Nachos from Sage. Everything we ate while at Coachella was amazing and I was so grateful for that!
Things I Will Do Differently Next Coachella
You live and you learn right? Well, my first Coachella was definitely a learning experience. And now that I’ve survived it I’ve got a few ideas of what I’ll be doing differently next year.
No More Car Camping
It should come as no surprise that I won’t be choosing to car camp again. But honestly it was fun while it lasted. It was definitely a part of the experience. Sleeping in the car and getting ready in the car etc. wasn’t even the worst part. I just would NEVER go back to that bathroom situation. The portable bathrooms are beyond disgusting and it’s not okay. I basically wanted to go home and cry just because of the bathrooms. Next year I’d love to get an air bnb or a hotel with a bunch of friends. This year I didn’t know anyone going at the time of buying my ticket and I didn’t know anything about the lodging protocol. Needless to say I won’t be returning to car camping ever again 😉
More Prep
Next year I’d like to be a little more prepared. It was such a whirlwind of a week between returning from our trip and getting ready for Coachella that I felt really frazzled. I’d love to be more organized with my shooting schedule, my outfits, my partnerships etc. I will also be carrying bandaids in my bag next year. Although I was wearing pretty comfortable shoes all weekend there’s just SO much walking that I did get some blisters. Other than that, supply-wise I felt pretty prepared.
Weekend 1
Again, at the time of purchase I didn’t know much about Coachella and it’s politics. But come to find out Weekend 1 is definitely the weekend you want to be at, at least if you are a blogger, influencer, etc. I missed a lot of work opportunities weekend 1, but it all worked out because I happened to be going to Morocco that week for business as well. But next year I would love to be able to attend all of the PR events weekend 1. I will also try to stay Thursday – Monday next year. This year it was tough as we had just taken a trip the week before. I had a lot of work to catch up on and Clayton had to get back to work as well. We cut a lot of our time short at the actual festival because we were exhausted from our Morocco/Paris trip and because we needed to get home and get to work! Next year we’ll try to make it more of a prolonged relaxing trip! 🙂
All in all Coachella was an amazing experience. Just being in the atmosphere of it is enough. It’s full of art, creativity, and good vibes. I learned a few lessons and I made some great memories so I can’t complain. If you want to see a glimpse into the weekend watch the vlog below!
Shop The Look Below
Fishnet set – Here
Camo Pants – Here
Shoes – Here
You’re so cute! More videos please 🙂 xx colie