A note to future brides: relax. Things happen. And when those things happen your true self will emerge. Keep calm, collected and in charge. It takes a strong woman to deal with the issues that sometimes arise the day of your wedding, big or small. Unexpected situations may pop-up, and it’s how you deal with those situations that will define who you are and who you will be. We as wedding photographers see, and are forced to deal with breakdowns, emotional distress, and the occasional problem. Problems are rare on the day of the wedding. We barely see anything out of the ordinary, but a few Saturday’s ago we ran into what could have been the greatest wedding-day disaster of all time.
I’ll try to keep this short so you can get to the photos…
I knew from day one that Cassie and Doug were going to be a barrel of fun the day of their wedding. Both are awesome people and we had a ton of fun while shooting engagement photos. That’s first and foremost. Cassie told me that her Dad has a 1960′s Thunderbird convertible, and that she would like to get some pre-ceremony photos with the car. Nice!! No problem.
We are outside shooting photos with the car and Julie had a cool idea to get her Dad in the driver seat. Great, let’s do it! The sunshine started to peek through the trees and was hitting the driver’s seat in a way I did not want. So I asked her Dad to move the car up about 5 feet. When he stated up the car to move it up, Cassie turned away to talk with Julie. It was that moment that could have ruined the day. The beautiful car spit ugly, grease filled exhaust all over the back of her dress! All over. We were about to leave for the church!
What do we do? Is Cassie going to lose it? I googled grease+satin+wedding dress. A formula came up! Lemon juice, dishwashing soap, water. Dab, don’t rub. We grabbed what we could and Julie, Cassie’s mom, and a couple of Cassie’s girls spent the next 45 minutes in the driveway, on their hands and knees. It was beginning to work. A hairdryer and an iron was needed to get the wrinkles out. After what seemed to be forever, it was time to leave. Cassie was only 2 minutes late for her wedding and the dress looked 100% better.
Did she lose it? For less than a minute. Did she step up and remain calm and beautiful? Yes indeed. Did she drink a healthy glass of vodka while everyone worked? Yes.
That’s what I am talking about. You as the bride must remain in control because everyone feeds off your emotions. It was very clear that Cassie loves her family and friends, is a dynamic person, and one of the best brides we have ever worked with. Cheers to you Cassie (and Julie, Cassie’s mom, and everyone else who pitched in). The girls made Julie a honorary bridesmaid and all was well. Doug had no idea.
