When I met with Alissa and Mike for their final consultation, I joked that they planned the wedding as if they were photographers. They were seeing each other beforehand, had an even number of bridesmaids and groomsman (which I love), and wanted me to come along on the limo bus ride for fun shots with the bridal party. And as I mentioned in a previous blog, they were even having their reception at the Northland Inn, where my man and I danced our reception night away six and a half years ago. Ahhh, good times! And did I mention that they got married on my birthday? It was as if the universe was giving me the perfect wedding to photograph as a birthday gift.
Ohh, Universe! What a twisted bugger you are!
Now don’t jump to conclusions. Alissa, Mike, their families and their bridal party could not have been more sweet, more cooperative, or more fun to spend the day with. There was no Bridezilla, Momzilla or any other kind of Zilla. Everybody was in a great mood, we started on time at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in East Bethel, MN, and Alissa and Mike looked fantastic. But we hadn’t even taken the first formal portrait when Alissa heard something rip as she walked up the alter steps. Yep. Her wedding dress ripped. And not somewhere in the back or under the train. It was right in front where the gathers from the sides came together underneath a sequin embellishment. Her personal attendant was wicked quick with a safety pin, and we kept moving.
The formal and informal portraits before the ceremony went swimmingly. The ceremony was lovely, and the receiving line moved smoothly with lots of hugs and laughter – just in time to let the guests out into the pouring rain.
Sigh. We had planned on taking additional portraits outdoors after the ceremony, but it just goes to show you always need a Plan B – and a golf umbrella in the trunk of your car — nestled between a step stool, reflectors, extra extension cords, clamps, and folding chairs (seriously folks, you never know what you’ll need on a wedding day). So instead of stopping at a park, we went to the bar, grabbed a few drinks (not me, of course, this girl needs to focus – literally), and headed to the hotel.
I stole Alissa and Mike away from the bridal party and wisked them up to their room to create some moody, dramatic images with my fancy new LedZilla video light. Lordy, do I love that light! And after I showed Alissa and Mike a few images on the back of the camera, I think they loved it too!
Just like Mike and Alissa, the reception was fun, full of laughs, and full of smooches. Like always, the reception hit warp speed, time flew by, and I packed my beloved Nikons to go home and have a birthday dinner with my man.
No such luck.
Right as we were rolling our bags out, the hotel staff was at the door ushering everyone into a basement storage room because of a tornado in the area. Now there’s a story the bride and groom will get to tell for the rest of their lives. Knowing there was nothing you could do about spending part of your wedding reception in the hotel basement, Mike and Alissa used the time to visit with their guests. And once staff moved some of us out of the storage room and into basement conference rooms, guests started making their own fun. The folks in the room we were in played hangman on the whiteboard. The room next to us had an informal family get-together. I unpacked my beloveds and starting shooting.
After a few phone calls to my man to confirm that, yes, I could now drive home safely without fear of ending up in Oz and crushing a witch, we hit the road. Thirty minutes later, I was safe and sound at home, opening up my birthday presents (thank you, Babe!). And even though that tricky Universe tried to mess with Mike and Alissa’s perfect wedding, it failed miserably. Mike and Alissa still had a gorgeous wedding, a delicious dinner, and a fantastic reception - including the part that was spent in the basement. They will always have beautiful photographs of their day (if I do say so myself), and most importantly, they will always have each other. That qualifies as perfect in my book.
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