Zack and Aerith: Sector 5 Church

Long story time: FFVII has always had an extra-special place in my heart because it was the first RPG I ever played, and to this day it's still my favorite game of all time. About a year and a half ago I learned about this abandoned church in Gary Indiana through my friends, and it's located just roughly an hour from where I live. XD

It became a dream location for a cosplay shoot, and Crisis Core Aerith became a higher priority on my to-do list.

Once I had finished Crisis Core Aerith last year we did a shoot, but the image files were lost. Luckily I kept the flowers and was determined to try again with a better idea on what to expect in terms of flower bed placement and whatnot, but when the best opportunity arose to do the shoot again....the church's roof collapsed. D:

I was pretty devastated, but determined to make it work! Friends joked that the roof falling made it Advent Children appropriate, so I got to work immediately on Advent Children Aerith.

As an extra boost of motivation, a favorite photographer friend volunteered to shoot us. We don't get to see him very often, but we turned it into a weekend of fun hangout times and delicious food.  

Thank you so much Joe for coming all the way out here to shoot with us, to Genia for sharing church in the first place, and to all of my friends that supported me during the planning process.

Needless to say, the wait was well worth it!

Zack:
Sword & armor made by Ex-Shadow, wig and sewing by me.

Aerith cosplay made and worn by me

Flower bed was made by us; not photoshopped!
I got a bunch of fake flowers and bent the stems so I could tape them to a slab of cardboard.  Once it was placed in the location we gathered leaves and stuff from outside to hide the cardboard.

Photo by Joseph Chi Lin
www.facebook.com/josephchilinp…