Being a Matron of Honor and NOT the Photographer at Costa Del Sol
September 6th, 2014. My littlest sister is getting married. I have the honor of being Maid...er...MATRON of honor. (If you are married you are a matron for those who didn't know.) I began my responsibilities by promising her that I would help her find a great photographer since she immediately forbid me to be crazy with a camera. We found one shortly after who happened to be a good friend of mine from down this way at the time and now based in South Carolina, My friend Katie (and her partner John,) of Catherine Ann Photography. Melissa fell in love with their work right away and everything lined up, I knew she was in the best hands.
Now as a photographer, putting your camera down at an event such as your little sisters wedding is near impossible. So near impossible, that I wasn't able to do so completely. There was way too many family around to not have it, regardless of how awesome the hired photographers are. I didn't walk the isle with my camera or have it out when i shouldn't, and I did my best to NOT be "uncle bob". Uncle Bob is a term for everyone with a camera who is constantly trying to take the pictures the hired photographer is trying to get, and is getting in the way. Uncle Bobs get in a lot of photos that they shouldn't be in, and I am pretty sure I did a pretty good job of avoiding that title. (I hope.)
Her day was pretty perfect, we started out early in hair and make up, and got all fancy at Adristy Salon and Spa in Lebanon, followed by the getting ready process at her house. The energy was a mix of, "OMG i'm so tired" to "AHHH! I can't believe this is happening already!" to, "Foooood!" Neither the flower girl nor the ring bearer were over joyed to be walking down an isle in front of a ton of people, and they made sure everyone knew it before hand. They were still adorable and put a smile on everyone's face.
With every wedding day comes some bumps. Melissa and Angelo's wedding was no exception to them. The limo(s) were late to pick up the bride! She was so mad she was trying to drive herself. Clearly we weren't allowing her to do that so she took a breath and waited. Then the wrong type of limo showed up because the second one got a flat on the way! Can you believe it?! It was so crazy but we made all made to the church and proceeded on with the day as planned. It was perfectly hot outside and as the sun shined down to bless their marriage in warmth, luck was thrown into the mix with a short down pour of rain immediately following the exit from the church while we took formals inside. By the time we were done being formal, we walked out to find the sun shining again. While we waited for the OTHER limo, the one that would fit all of us in it, the first limo took us in two trips, down to Hampton Park to relax and take of course more pictures. Now i probably could have had a field day with my camera here, but instead i played in the river. The place where i lost a tooth eating a watermelon when i was a kid. A place that holds many happy thoughts for me, and i took my shoes off and crossed the rocks and cooled down the same way i would if i were 7 years old. Something i would never do down here in florida for my fear of gators is rather large.
The big limo got there and we were now rushing. Some wine and beers in the limo along with great music meant all was well again. A sprinkle on the way and a photoshoot by our sister in a passing car meant laughter and great memories as well as a fast ride all the way to Costa Del Sol.
The rest of the day consisted of love, laughter and dancing. My speech was probably incoherent as I cried through half of it and was shaking so bad it looked as if i was going to pass out at any moment.
I had a few moments in between the hustle and bustle to capture some images for Angelo and Melissa that day. I was so happy to be there. This last one was one of Melissa's favorites of what i caught that day and I was so happy to have been able to get a few images in my style for her. It was such a joy to see my sister marry the man of her dreams and welcome a great guy into our ever growing family. Cheers and well wishes to Angelo and Melissa. May your future bring nothing but happiness and be full of love, always.
You can view all the images i captured that day here, with permission from the bride to share with you of course. Enjoy, and feel free to share via facebook/pinterest etc.
