Well the day started out pretty normal for a Saturday… Get up, run some errons, grab lunch, watch some Beckstead in the Bahamuas, play baseball with the boys, get dressed for the wedding (pink today), see the fam off to the pool… I show up to the hotel for the brides prep and I had forgotten there were 11 attendedants on each side in the bridal party, that’s 24 people with the bride and groom, yikes! I was wondering how the group shots were going to pan out from the get-go.
When I showed up today I thought one of the bridesmaids looked familar but I could place her. Later in the day I found I shot her brother’s wedding in April but she wasn’t a bridesmaid or I would have remembered. Then right before the ceremony started I reconized someone else I knew as well. In fact, I just met her yesterday at lunch. I was meeting my friend “Joe Latter Photographer” at the Yard House after an engagement shoot in Long Beach and one of his former brides was joining us. It was her and her husband today!
Back to the group photos…. I shoot at a small place called the Hacienda and the best photo opt there is the outside of the building with these cool wall lamp and this old wooden doors. It gets really warm on the yellow stucco as the sun starts to set too! So I’ll set up the scene for you. The Hacienda is not on a busy street at all, guests stand out on the walk and into the street to wait or smoke, no big deal. I have shot the guys walking in the street, not a problem! So remember today there were 24 people standing in front of that cool wall, so I had on the 16mm and was backed up into the street but not even to the “double yellow” line, so I wasn’t even in the middle. I was shooting and shooting, and the whole time a cars were slowing down and going around us. Then a mini-van pulls up about 20 feet short of me and starts honking the horn. I motion him around and the guys points to the double yellow line in the road. I hold out my arms, like WHAT? and he keeps motioning to the road. Then he guns it straight for me and slams on the brake a couple feet in front of me obnoxiously honking again. I was in disbelief, stuned! Before I could turn around four of the groomsmen were on the driverside of the van, then all the guys were in the street. I can’t put what they said on the blog but I am now thankful there were 11 guys in the bridal party!
Here are a few shots from today.
