I had such a great couple of days this weekend. The drive to Dallas was very fun. It was so great to get to know my friend and very talented photographer, Allen, a little better. When we work together, we don't get to sit and chat too much, so it was nice to have some quiet time to discuss all sorts of things.
And discuss we did! I am pretty sure there were only a handful of subjects we didn't cover.
The portrait session I helped him with that afternoon went smoothly. The vineyard we shot at was pretty, even though it was right off the freeway. That whole area would be a good place for a portrait session - there were some very nice office buildings across the street that would make for a nice backdrop as well. The winery building was small but beautiful and had some great areas to shoot in. And of course, there were the grape vines. This time of year the grapes are gone (or in some cases, shriveled on the vine) and the vines are beginning to yellow and dry out. But the rows still gleamed in the sun and made for a great photo op.
Friday evening after the shoot I met up with one of my dear friends from high school. We had dinner at Olive Garden (yum!) and had a chance to chat a little on the drive home (and a little more while circling the neighborhood just so I could finish my story! haha!). Once back at her place and after her kiddos were in bed, we all hung out on the couch, watched a little tv and played on our respective iPhones! lol! It was fun!
Saturday morning we got up and ventured out to a beautiful shopping center not far from their home and did a family photo shoot. It was so much fun running around the pretty shops before everything opened for the day. A huge Christmas tree was already up and decorated, the grounds were immaculate and the whole thing was perfect for a session.
After more visiting and lunch, Allen picked me up for the wedding. We headed over to the church and then were called to come out to the bride's home where the bridal party was getting ready. We shot some there and Allen left to find the guys. I rode with the bride and her maids in the HUGE limo out to the church. That was such a trip! I have never been in a limo that big before.
The girls got dressed at the church. There were a couple of pretty tense moments when the bride discovered she didn't have the chapstick she was addicted to, and when they were trying to get her into her dress. The zipper was a little messed up and the dress was pretty snug, so it took about 10 minutes to actually get her zipped up. I felt so bad for her; she was on the verge of panic for quite a while.
Thankfully everything worked out; a groomsman was able to run to Dillards for the chapstick and the zipper eventually cooperated. The ceremony went off without a hitch, and I got to shoot with a 5D Mark II and a beautiful 200 mm lens. About 10 minutes into the ceremony, Allen sent me over to the reception site to get detail shots. The reception was at the winery and it was soooo beautiful when they had it all set up. The tables were tight - they were seating 325 people in a room that really was more suited for about 250 tops. It was very difficult to get between the tables. But, we had so much fun and the reception was a blast. The couple left to a shower of sparklers that lit up the parking lot so beautifully. I got to stand up on the bumper of the limo and take some overhead shots of the getaway, taking in all the guests, sparklers and a running bride and groom.
Allen and I decided to drive back home that night, and we got on the road a little after 11PM. In order to keep each other awake, we talked the whole time. I did pretty good most of the way, but I really fought falling asleep for the last hour or so. My eyes were crossing even though Allen was talking to me. He did great driving and didn't seem tired at all. We got back to my house a little before 3AM and then of course I was wide awake. It took me about an hour to settle down and go to sleep, and I was so thankful this morning that the kids didn't know I was home so they left me alone and I was able to sleep in. Hubby took them to church so I could rest, but it left the house too quiet so I used the time instead to take a shower in peace, clean up a bit and vacuum the floors. So much for resting!
It was a great weekend, but I am totally beat. My whole body hurts, I have a headache and I am still fighting dozing off. So I will wrap up this incredibly boring blog post and call it a night.
Until,
D
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