Image: Lauren Beresford Photography
So I don't know about you but by now I am beyond hyped for the new Disney live action Beauty and the Beast; and seeing this amazing Belle cosplay from Cait of Cait and Chay is not helping calm me down!
Cait actually first starting cosplaying before she met the other half of her cosplaying duo, and her cosplaying journey actually began with her dad taking her to MCM London Comic Con for a day out when she was about 10 or 11 years old.
But, the first time seeing people in cosplay was not the instant falling in love experience you'd expect: "We actually found it weird! Oh the irony".
I don't think she finds it weird anymore.
Image: Lauren Beresford Photography
However, as she grew "a bit older and got more into 'nerdy' stuff" she "used to go with friends". The cosplaying part though didn't come until college when Cait mentioned to her best friend "how it would be fun to go again but dressed as Team Magma from Pokémon", as she'd "always wanted their uniform!".
Her first ever cosplay though, like everyone's first attempt at cosplay was not the standard she pushes herself to today, but still every bit as fun:
"We bought black dresses from H&M on our lunch break at college, and cut up two red hoodies to make the uniform. The sewing was terrible, the hoods didn't stay up, and our props were tennis balls painted as Pokeballs".
Proof of how cosplay is all about hard work, determination and developing skills over time.
Image: Lauren Beresford Photography
However, the whole experience was still "great" (as all cosplay no matter your skill level is good cosplay). So great in fact that when Cait and Chay started their relationship they decided to start cosplaying as a couple, as he, "insisted he wanted to be Flynn". And despite originally having "no plans to make Rapunzel" she ended up getting "a bit carried away".
Image: Kevin Hennequin Photography
This wig is basically identical to the film!
Image: Gallagher Photography
So let's face it they are pretty much the cutest Rapunzel and Flynn cosplayers you've ever seen. So what was it that made Cait want to cosplay Belle as her next project?
"At the time we'd recently met another couple that cosplayed Disney characters and we became good friends with them. Myself and the other girl (Tilfey Cosplay) are similar in height, Chay is quite athletic and Tilly's (now ex) boyfriend was taller and a bit stockier. We chose to do a Frozen group for an upcoming con because of that, and that made us think of what other characters we suited. I'd always had my eye on Belle because she's a brunette, like me, but I'd always hated her yellow dress. I figured that I could make it gold which is the colour I always wanted it to be anyway, so we ended up choosing Beauty and the Beast, with Chay as Adam, myself as Belle, Tilly's boyfriend as Gaston and Tilly as one of the Bimbettes- it didn't end up quite going to plan though in the end".
Image: Catberry Photography
Characters: Claudette, Laurette, Paulette, Gaston and Belle. Cosplayers: SqueakehB (Claudette), Bon Schweetz Cosplay (Laurette) and Tilfey Cosplay (Paulette), Cait and Chay (Belle and Gaston).
What happened instead is that, "Tilly's ex boyfriend ended up having to work that whole weekend" so it "seemed weird that the Bimbettes would be hanging out with Belle and Adam and seemed more realistic that they would be following Gaston who's following Belle".
Chay didn't mind though, as, "he loves Gaston" and according to Cait has the "attitude and mannerisms to pull him off" but "in the best way", of course!
Unsurprisingly, Cait is also definitely looking forward to the live action Beauty and the Beast:
"The latest trailer that came out made me a bit emotional. We get nostalgia really bad, it's a curse! It's the whole being reminded of being little. I think I also get a bit more emotional over things once I've cosplayed them. Chay of course is obsessed with the new Gaston design..."
I think now is a good time to say that being this awesome at cosplay and posing for stunning photographs does come up with its risks, especially when British weather gets involved in your shoot! As Cait said, it was "absolute freezing" during the Lauren Beresford Belle shoot, "but it was worth it".
Image: Lauren Beresford Photography
It was so totally worth it though.
Image: Lauren Beresford Photography
However, it helped that it was Lauren taking the photographs, as they've known each other for a long time, and they stopped to "have a lot of fun which helped!". Though, "the best part was the few random passers by who stopped to take photos from a distance".
Cait said that overall her favourite ever Disney couple is Flynn and Rapunzel, which is also the cosplay of theirs which has got the biggest response, as their "Instagram account was very small" until they "posted some quick WIP (Work in Progress) shots of the new wig I was making". The image "got over 1k likes and to us that was insane!".
She said that she would cosplay as Belle again however, but "probably not to London MCM again but I've always wanted to go to a Midlands expo, or perhaps a smaller London con".
Their next convention Cait and Chay will be attending is MCM London Comic Con in May!
And their cosplay plans for the future are definitely numerous so prepared to be delighted!
"We're currently working on Jolly Holiday Mary Poppins and Bert, and remaking our Rapunzel and Flynn Rider cosplays. After that, we're planning on making Captain Amelia and Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet and Elizabeth and Will from Pirates of the Caribbean. Chay wants to try his hand at making Doctor Strange, so when he's doing that I'll most likely make Jane from Tarzan".
Be sure to check out their Instagram to keep up with their progress and get yourself inspired and ready to see Beauty and the Beast!
This post was originally posted on April is the Cruellest Month, and has been republished here with permission.