Yes, that is rain pouring down and no that is not Chicago. It is Indiana which I personally thought was beautiful. I can imagine the corn fields in the summer are amazing. Anyway this is a photo of Savanah and Daniel on perhaps one of the most adventurous and eventful weddings I have shot to date. They will forgive me for detailing their wedding day as they are close friends and two of the most optimistic people I know. I think they have a lot to teach and hopefully you will be able to see what I mean. From beginning to end they laughed and enjoyed it all.
The story goes:
Friday Morning: I flew in and accidentally bumped into Savanah on the Shuttle bus going to the rental cars. I followed her to Steve and Brandi's house in Parkridge, Illinois home of Hillary Clinton. We ate lunch and I then took a train to scope out locations downtown Chicago for our photo shoot the next morning at 8:00 am. Chicago was amazing. I have been there a few times but this time was the best.
Friday Day: I ate the second best hotdog I have ever eaten in my life. The first was in Chicago a decade ago.
Friday Eve: I went out to dinner at a Sicilian restaurant with Steve, Brandi, their kids and Spat (Daniel's friend). Steve picked up the tab, thanks Steve. They were fantastic hosts. At dinner I get a call from Savanah that Daniel has not only missed his flight but missed it because he was pulled over by power hungry cop who held him for 45 minutes while his plane flew over head. Daniel's car was registered but just didn't have the sticker on his Cali plates. California offices were closed so the cop couldn't verify and did the next stupid thing which is take the keys from Daniel and impound his car. I was supposed to pick Daniel up that night but the plans were now changed. His friend picked him up and took him to the airport and he left at midnight instead of arrive.
Saturday morn: Because of the late booking of the flight he had to stop in New York and he didn't arrive till 9:30. Spat and I picked him up. We discovered that the airlines had put his luggage on a different plane and it wouldn't be in till 10:30. The wedding was scheduled for 12:30 at the Chicago Temple. We took Daniel to Steve and Brandi's so he could shower and stuff. He had been up all night. Then we went back to the airport dodging the airport parking monitors (mean people) and got his bag.
We didn't really no how to get to the Temple and we got stuck in Construction. Daniel was laid back and we had a good discussion about paving your own way in this world.
Meanwhile the bride Savanah, got pulled over on her way to the wedding and got away with a batted eye.
Fortunately in our lost state we looked over and Savanah's mom was in the other lane and we followed them to the temple. By now the once beautiful morning was turning arctic and windy.
We arrived to the temple and they pushed the ceremony time back an hour to 1:30 so we could get a few minutes of pictures in the cold and wind. We did just that for maybe 15-20 minutes then went inside just prior to Savanah turning into a popsicle.
They invited me to the ceremony which I was honored to attend and it was very nice.
Afternoon: Daniel and I hopped in my car and followed the bride and Alisha her friend. I think he wanted to come with me because of the higher chance of getting something to eat at Wendy's. We were set on eating. We grabbed something then ditched my rental car at a quasi rest stop/ service station area off the freeway. I hopped in with them as Daniel struggled to stay awake finally succombed and eventually curled up into the fetal position as Savanah drove 80+ mph while texting in a rain storm. Savanah if you are reading this, yes, I will admit I was frightened a little. The reception was located two hours away. We had 15 minutes to shoot and where to shoot was the question. We pulled into a Walmart and in one of my favorite scenes of the day Savanah went inside to buy an umbrella and use the restroom to change back into her wedding dress.
She came out and it was raining sideways. We had choices to make. This is where it pays to hire someone with a little experience. She turned around and said, "Where do you want to go?" I had never been to Indiana let alone whatever city we were in which I still don't know. So I said, "Right there, in the field next to the Walmart." The image below was taken just behind the Walmart. I had to take a plastic Walmart bag out of the picture. We had to wake Daniel up but he was a great sport. The image above was in a small town in Indiana close to the reception. By the time we got done we were all soaked.
Reception: We had a great time. The food was great the dancing was fun. I got in a dance circle and after I did my dance routine the bishop looked at me jokingly and said he was going to have nightmares after my performance. I gave it my all what can I say I have never been a wall flower even as a photographer.
On the Way Home: I drove home with my hosts Steve and Brandi and we stopped by what we thought was my parking spot for my rental car and my car was missing. After calling highway patrol we discovered that there is an identical rest stop on the north side of the road. We were on the south and majorly disoriented. We found my car.
Sunday morning: Blizzard. Snow was everywhere. I drove to the airport in the A.M. and dropped off my rental car. As I got on the shuttle from Hertz to the aiport a lady entered the shuttle and said, "Sir you left your wallet in your car." She handed it to me and I opened it and it was Daniel's. Great, I thought. How am I going to get this to them. I knew they were leaving to Mexico that morning and I knew his wallet might be important for their honeymoon. I texted him and as it turns out their flight was delayed two hours and they were just coming to the rental place. I gave his wallet to the shuttle driver and instructed him to drive it back to the rental place. I have not heard from them since so I assumed that received it.
Meanwhile the blizzard was so bad that my flight was canceled with no certainty that they were going to reschedule. Luckily I had Harry Potter 5 on audio CD so I didn't care. I sat in the airport for hours without a care in the world. John Adams once said, "You are never alone with a poet in your pocket." I never leave home without a book of some sort. I am never bored!
I finally got a flight and arrived home. It was a great trip only because Savanah and Daniel are genuinely positive people. They laughed the whole time and everybody around them did too. They turned what could have been a devestating day into a wonderful memory. The important thing is that they got married and their isn't a police officer in the world that can take that from them.
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