After the wedding, I took care of household things which lasted quite late and I went food shopping well after midnight. I was still in my suit and was pushing a cart through the baking aisle while wearing headphones when a woman tugged on my shirt and asked where the marshmallows were. I removed my headphones, looked at her, took my hands off my cart, and asked her to repeat herself. She said “oh, you don’t work here, do you?” What gave it away? I found a store attendant and asked where the marshmallows were. He told me, and I relayed this to the lady who had asked. She was delighted to know and gave me a fervent thank you. She walked past me and said to the attendant who I had asked “that suit man is so helpful”. Suit Man, the best dressed and most useful on a day to day basis of the superheroes.
Tag: wedding
Sam and Erin’s Wedding
My assistant and I left for Erin Healy and Sam Lodise’s wedding at 11:45 and we made it to the Kimberton Inn by 1 PM. Suzie was tasked with taking pictures of the ladies, bearers, and babies as they dressed. I took pictures of the venue and the men as they paced about and talked with a jittery calm.
The rings became a bit of a football being passed from person to person until it paired up with the ring bearer a few minutes before the ceremony. The ceremony itself was short and simple. Erin and Sam had written their own vows and Jeremiah worked out well as the officiant.
Posing the group shots was harrowing but was soon enough finished and we moved on to the cocktail hour and the wedding reception.
I took 84 gigs of pictures today, some 1500 or one about every fifteen seconds. This doesn’t count the pictures Suzie took. The tendons on the back of my hand are killing me as lifting a camera + flash arm + flash seems to be the most effective way of destroying them. The day was hard but satisfying. I may have been a volunteer but the next time I charge double.
Rehearsal Wedding
Sam Lodise and Erin Healy are getting married tomorrow and I have the honor of being their wedding photographer. Today was their rehearsal luncheon at the Kimberton Inn in Phoenixville. The proprietor was a fellow by the name of Jeff who exuded polish, the Bruce Lee of event management. We received a tour of the facility and did a walkthrough of the ceremony. The run-through ran 20 minutes. Weddings are short.
We retired to Valerie and Teejay Green’s house and caught up while staring wide-eyed at equally wide-eyed children. I can see why I don’t always get replies to the texts I send them. I took pictures and slipped out the back after saying I was leaving. Erin stopped me on the stoop to give her thanks and to ask if everything was ok.
This was my response: You will get married tomorrow and I am very happy for you. You and I didn’t start off on the best of terms but now we’re good. I have rooted for your happiness and you have rooted for mine. But tomorrow you will share more in terms of life circumstances with Sam’s mother than me and that’s a switch I’m keenly aware of. I’m better than ok, in fact, I’m doing damn well.
Wedding Sprint
A byproduct of Max’s medication is that he drinks a lot more. He’s not quite fast enough to go outside when he needs to pee so our kitchen has been graced with various patches of doggy tinkle. Sometimes the patches were in the living room or dining room but never on a portion with a rug or carpet. Good dog.
I took today to pound out Chris Sollars’ nee Lutz’s wedding photos and experienced a rare drive to finish them. I did three passes and realized I didn’t know who some people were. I called Chris, not there. I called Stephen, not there. I cried a little. I very strongly wanting this chore off my to do list. Stephen called back, hooray! During his lunch break, he walked me through who each person was. This doesn’t seem too impressive until I realized he was doing this over the phone as follows:
Me: Stephen, who’s the person next to your aunt in this picture?
Him: Is she wearing purple?
Me: Yes.
Him: That’s my aunt Gene.
Me: And on the other side.
Him: Is he making a stupid face?
Me: Yes.
Him: That’s Mark.
HIs memories of his wedding were clear enough to remember the order that people were standing during seven person group shots.
Flash Cards at a Wedding
I was a dick today. I didn’t want to be, and I could have avoided it, but I wanted to both attend Anthony Celona’s wedding and get in another four or five hours of studying so I brought a stack of flash cards to a wedding. I went through them before during and after the ceremony and while people at my table were making small talk. I was able to cut the number of cards whose answer I didn’t know reflexively from around 120 to less than 50 so I consider it a productive wedding.
Afterward, Joe and I were talking and he mentioned he had to explain this to someone. “What’s wrong with Terry, he seems agitated and distorted. I just looked at them and said ‘math, that’s what’s wrong’.” Thank you, Joe.
Chris Lutz’s Wedding
Chris Lutz is rare among my friends in that I have no memory of us meeting. Not that we’ve known each other since some time immemorial but just that there was a time when I didn’t know him then there was a time when I did and I’m not sure what event separated the two.
Today he was getting married in DC to his partner and I was asked to serve as the photographer. I arrived only a few minutes before the service started but I had two cameras thanks to Joe Naylor and I looked like several tourists combined or in my head, a total bad ass. The pastor approached me before hand:
Pastor: So, you’re the photographer.
Me: *looks at cameras* Yep.
Pastor: Ok, you’re welcome to take all the pictures you want.
Me: Thank you.
Pastor: I’m not done, you’re welcome to take all the pictures you want from anywhere you want before the service but once the service begins there are some restrictions.
Me: Like?
Pastor: Please don’t stand in the center aisle, do not stand behind us at all, don’t stand in front of any of the guests, and don’t make noise during the important parts of the ceremony.
Is that all?
The ceremony went off without incident and the reception afterward was a study in smooth operation. I took some more pictures and headed out to meet a friend of mine my high school I hadn’t seen in about seven years.
Me: Sorry I’m late. I stayed a little longer than I thought I would at the wedding I was shooting.
Her: Oh, are you a photographer?
Me: Nah, nothing so fancy.
There are few people with whom the contrast of knowing me vs. knowing my life is so strong. I know many people who know my life but not me and the reverse was novel.
Prep for Weekend Marathon
Tomorrow I was going to be the photographer at Chris Lutz’s wedding followed by meeting up with a high school friend. Sunday I was scheduled to run in the Broad Street Run and take in 10 miles of prime Philadelphia pavement. I was already beat from work and as I lie in bed not able to sleep I Googled “how to take wedding photos”. The wedding was ten hours away in time and three hours away in distance so I was probably behind on doing this. Every list I found started with “get there early”. I guess I know which tip I’m skipping.
Ryan’s Wedding
My brother got married today. I don’t know if I believe the hype that it’s “the happiest day of his life” but I’d like to think that the day confirmed the happiness Amanda and Ryan have inspired in each other. Trying to paint a narrative would be foolish, so here are my notes:
- The photographer didn’t gel any of his flashes even though he was dealing with dusk light, incandescent light, and his flash. His photoshop-fu is strong.
- The first four songs played at the reception were “Stuck in the Middle with You”, “Here’s to You, Mrs. Robinson”, “1234” and part of “Good Riddance”. Someone should shoot the DJ.
- Deejaying is much less impressive when one uses a laptop and there are no physical media to manipulate. I think there should either be totemic discs somewhere or just a touchscreen to queue up songs.
- Suspenders fall into toilets too easily.
- Me: Blessed are the teetotalers, for they shall spoil the world’s parties. My Aunt: I’ll drink to that.
- Amanda Dilks is now Amanda Robinson and I now have a sister-in-law. Which just sounds weird to say.
- There’s a bit of a disagreement over who married into who’s family. Amanda’s side outnumbers my brother’s but we have the edge in size and firepower.
Ryan’s Wedding Rehearsal
My brother gets married tomorrow to someone he’s been dating for at least five years, leading me to respond “yes, you fool” in response to “did you think your brother would ever settle down?” In fact, the wedding seems to be the penultimate step as he and his fiance own a house together and even more damning, a cat. The ceremony is to be officiated by the mother of one of Ryan’s friends and when he was a much slimmer man she was a much larger woman for reasons I assume were medical. During the practice exchange of rings she stood in the center while Ryan and Amanda were off to each side until the ring was placed and the two stepped closer together. In a moment, the bright garb of the pastor was completely blocked out by my brother’s dark-clothed frame and I began laughing. Some looked at me quizzically and I just pointed to the alter and said “eclipse”.
Later on at the rehearsal dinner my brother gave his members of the bridal party a top-shelf alcohol of their preference and engraved SOG pocket tools. Knives and alcohol, that can’t end poorly.
Spoon
Dad: So you’re rescheduling it for next Saturday? Who’s running it?
Me: …me?
Dad: But it’s your brother’s wedding.
Me: But it’s the Klondike Derby.
Dad: He’s only going to get married once.
Me: One, that’s presumptuous, two, my obligation to the 300 participants outdoes watching my brother get married.
Dad: *grabs wooden spoon*
Me: What are you doing?
Dad: Scratching my back.
Me: That’s my wooden spoon, please don’t do that.
Dad: It’s my backscratcher, don’t worry, I wash it.
Me: Before or after you scratch your back?
Dad: Before, why would I do it after?
Note to Self: Buy second wooden spoon.