There is no way I would have believed you if you told me back then that I would return 16 years after graduating to pass along my wisdom. As a Wedding Photographer, no less!

The panel discussion was lively. With all different creative artists on the panel, I was struck most by how similar our stories and struggles are.

Panel Discussion Topics:
1.     What is the biggest misconception about life after graduation?
2.     How has your creative work changed? Did you notice a shift in perspective or belief after you were out of school?
3.     What do you do to make money? Do you make a living selling your creative work?
4.     Were you prepared for the realities of finding opportunities? (i.e. employment, exhibitions, clientele, access to studio space/equipment, etc.)
5.     Explain the significance/importance of networking.
6.     How do you come up with a pricing structure? What do you charge people for your work or your services?
7.     What are your goals for the near future? And for the long term?

The highlights that I hoped the students would walk away with were:

* You don’t have to afford your own work

* Someone wants whatever you are selling – Find them

* Create trends, instead of following them

* Join professional organizations to learn pricing, marketing, business and networking

* Try to be humble, yet don’t hold yourself back

The panel artists were:

Peter Pincus http://peterpincus.com/

Mahlon Huston http://www.mahlonhuston.com/mahlonhuston.com/HOME.html

Andrew Cho http://www.theandrewchoartshow.com/index.html

Bradley and Sarah Butler http://thebutlerstudios.com/

Romy Hosford http://romyhosford.net/

Myself, Heather McKay http://mckaysphotography.com

Thank you Bradley Butler for inviting me to participate. I hope that someone found some value in whatever I had to offer the discussion. At the very least, it was nice for me to meet the other artists and some students afterward!

Was there a favorite nugget that you received that night? Any insights since? What do you wish you could share with someone else??? Please use the comments below to continue the discussion!

The last time that I was in New Orleans was in 1997, for Mardi Gras, so this was quite a different trip. The days were sunny and a perfect 72 degrees. As you can imagine, we all walked a lot and photographed all of the little vignettes of the French Quarter, cemeteries, the trolley car and more.

Thanks to everyone who gave me great tips on where to eat and what to see while there. I even tried fried alligator! Thank you, Chris, for the extra photos of me….

The professional highlights of the trip were:
* Cheering as my good friends, Patrick Luke and Deb Woodard, received their Craftsman degrees. Many of you know Pat, as he is my super awesome Second Photographer/Assistant/Lighting Guru for some weddings.
* Cheering as friend, Dana Shaffer (of Fort Plain), received her Masters degree.
* Cheering as my biggest fan, Chris Kogut, received a Silver Grand Imaging Award for her International Print Competition successes.
* Attending classes about marketing my Certified Professional Photographer designation, and an intimate class by Allison Rodgers about running successful charity events.
* Mentoring several newly minted Professional Photographers.
* Finally figuring out how to make Twitter work for business/networking.
* Photographing the streets with other talented Photographers.
* Getting out of the trade show without buying ONE thing, yet made new connections for Greener Photography.

Congratulations to Chris, Pat, Deb & Dana on their hard work and recent awards! It was an honor to be there as your cheering section. Sitting in the awards ceremonies made me so proud to be a PPA member. Below right, we are using the Flashlight App on the iPhone to light Chris so I could take a picture! Fun!

Personal highlights of the trip:
* seeing a bicycle tricked out with Mardi Gras beads!
* strolling through an old cemetery near sunset
* walking every day
* having a latte and beignets at Cafe du Monde
* getting my Tarot cards read in Jackson Square
* making so many new friends
* walking around the streets with a beer!
* meeting a Photographer at the French Market who did a movie documentary about train hopping and their culture (Cure for the Crash). The soundtrack uses all hobo bands. I purchased the soundtrack and the movie and received a free photograph as a bonus! The soundtrack, “Listerine on Sundays” is amazingly good. Luckily, it is all music that I am really into right now.

Fun Fact: One of my past Portrait Clients, turned Professional Photographer…. Kiera Slye came to the convention with us to learn how to start and grow her business. She is sharp as a tack and will be very successful. We’ve met several times over the years, because I’ve known her Grandfather since I was 19 or 20. As I’ve been thankful for my early mentor, I’m happy to now be able to mentor someone else….

Cure for the Crash Trailer

The images will be on display until January 30th, so head on down to the Owl House for a drink or meal to get a little better sense of what the skateboarding culture has to offer. Proceeds from the show will go to building the Rochester Skate Park.

* Fun Fact: The image of Vin skateboarding the Denver Skatepark only shows about a third of that skatepark and the Denver skatepark will be HALF of the size of the Rochester Skatepark…

Today was the first real day of winter in Upstate NY, so I finally grabbed my snowboard and headed to Bristol Mountain for some morning shredding…
Last year, I was able to ride a lot in December, so this was a much anticipated day for me. Also, I finally got to try out my new snowboard bindings that I scored for free!

This was the beautiful sky from my first run:

The image was from my brand new iPhone 4s, which I purchased this past Fall. Many more images and posts to come, I’m sure. I’m learning how to blog from the iPhone, using WordPress, so be patient with the quality or formatting. Hopefully the ability will help me keep the ‘ol blog more up to date!

Trisha, you were right! Having an iPhone is awesome! Maybe if I’d had an iPhone instead of a Blackberry, I would have never rebelled against cell phones last year.

Monday January 9th there is a FREE photo show and Roc City Skate Park fundraiser at our neighborhood restaurant The Owl House. JANUARY 9th!

Help support the Roc City Skate Park Project, Local Businesses and Local Artists. Boris Sapozhnikov, Heather McKay, Michael Carnrike, Josh Saunders, Lea Rizzo, Erich Lehman, James Haschmann, Casey Haley, Alan Presutti, Alex Gagne

This wedding was a long time coming. For several reasons…. For me, it was an absolute honor to photograph the wedding of someone that I met when I was 18! Ian and I went to the Rochester Institute of Technology together and we were in the same Photo I class freshman year! So, skip forward nearly 20 years (yikes!) and not only did I witness, but participate in, this amazing day. Truly an emotional experience. Add that to the fact that he was marrying Laura…and you have a recipe for bliss.

When Ian and Laura told me they were engaged, I was through the moon! Garrett (the officiant and good friend) summed it up best during the ceremony, so I won’t try here. What I will say is that they are both so busy enjoying life that I never get to see them. Whether it be running the Pikes Peak Marathon or Bristol Mountain’s Muddy Sneaker race, these two never stop their adventures. So, when Ian called to share the big news and hire my services, my response was “Yay! I get to see you this year!!”

All of our ‘wedding meetings’ have basically been Ian cooking for us, with Laura and I talking wedding. Ian and I would occasionally geek out over cameras and Laura would humor us. A great reason to catch up and hang out.

The wedding was about the same. Very low-key and relaxing. Ian and Laura had a ‘first look’ with a pint of beer, overlooking Honeoye Falls. It was a gorgeous Fall day, with only a hint of drizzle. It was just a bit too damp and chilly, so the wedding ceremony ended up being indoors (though both of them are so hardcore that they actually still wanted it outdoors).

The rest of the evening was really fun and full of love. And Apple iPads. Well, on Webber’s side. The best quote of the night was this: “iPad score: Webbers – 4, Williams – 0!”

Another notable awesomeness: the current gallery exhibit at the Rabbit Room was of vintage film cameras (Lori Horton: Gramma’s Cameras)! SO fitting for Ian and I… Ian even had his Kodak Brownie camera and took photos of Laura. We don’t fake our vintage wedding photos here at McKay’s Photography! If you see a cute vintage film camera…. it IS being used!

Well, I could go on and on about this wedding for weeks. I’ll stop here. Webber and Laura, it was an absolute pleasure and honor to be your wedding photographer! Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me be such a big part of your day. I hope your trip to Patagonia is fun and safe and you come back with tons of pictures. I can’t wait to hear all about it.

http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Trader-Joe-s-Coming-To-Rochester/wHeu2M8ZSkCHQf4WGK7vyA.cspx

Because I’m a hippy and eat hippy food, but I’m also sorta cheap… I’m very excited to have the store in my town. Every time I visit a city that has one, I have to go buy something. Anything. Last month when I took the train to Boston, I went to Trader Joe’s in Cambridge for food to eat on the long train ride home.

Why do I talk about this on my BLOG? Well, branding.

Trader Joe’s has figured out branding. I’ve never even lived in a town with Trader Joe’s, but I’ve always wanted to. YEARS before I was able to actually set foot in a store, I wanted to.

That is amazing. How does a company build a brand so strong and focused that it permeates markets that it isn’t even marketing to? One phrase… word of mouth. And not in the ‘Alec Baldwin talks about his Mom liking Wegmans’ sort of a way… but regular people talking about the super simple part of their lives: groceries.

I’m in a particularly competitive market myself and am always brainstorming ways to stay ahead of the competition, and I think Wegmans press release said it best:

“Wegmans does not normally comment on competitors.  However, I can tell you that when  new competition moves into any of our market areas, we have a plan… to continue focusing on what we feel we do best…”

This is important, and actually what myself and a bunch of Photographers were discussing last night at our October Greater Rochester Professional Photographers meeting… how to define exactly what I do and who my client is, and then run with it. Staying true to my brand and the clients I want to attract is hard work, but what will allow both Trader Joe’s and Wegmans to thrive in the same plaza. They are very different grocery stores and they have different business models, products, customer service, ambiance, etc. I’ll use them both and love it.

Megan, Mike and Emma met me near sunset at the University of Rochester, since it has special meaning for them. I always want my locations to have meaning. Especially since Megan & Mike are moving to Michigan right after their wedding… So, we hit up the UofR and then crossed the Ford St. bridge and ended up at Corn Hill Landing, right near their house.

The sunset over the Ford St. Bridge wasn’t as strong as I hoped it would be. Sometimes the light just fills up the Rochester skyline with a bright warm glow. I think it was too late in the season for the stark sunset I was wanting. However, using the warm lights that illuminate the Genesee River Trail down at Corn Hill Landing, I was able to recreate the sunset feel and show a few trees that have changed their color. Shockingly, I was able to grab a few images of Mike and Megan being romantic too…

While we were photographing, I met a super nice couple who was taking a stroll along the river. They were nice enough to sit on this bench and let me test my settings on them. Turns out they are fellow Irishmen. Such a nice couple, and have been together for 31 years!

We had so much fun together that we headed over to the Tap and Mallet for a post engagement session beer. When I walked in, I ran into Melissa & Dave (July wedding)! Super cool running into them! There were some other friends there too and I hung out with them after my drinks with Megan & Mike. When I go to the Tap & Mallet, I feel like Norm from Cheers. Is that a good thing or a bad thing??

OK, OK, so this super awesome and hip German couple spent their month vacation in Rochester because they used to live here. Kerstin & Philipp moved away about two years ago and now have a new baby boy! The whole time they were planning their trip, Kerstin kept making sure I’d be able to fit them into my schedule while they were here.

With the entire month to work with, it wasn’t hard to find some days that worked. We lucked out with the day we chose though. The morning was PERFECT for Lake Ontario beach photos, then we hit up the George Eastman House (and their old apartment on East Ave.) in the afternoon for some cloud cover…. Their little 9 month old baby did a great job with the family portraits and he gave me exactly the images I wanted!

Kerstin is hilarious. Her command of the English language is amazing. She is so funny. I can’t imagine even being able to fluently speak another language, much less understand the nuances well enough to be funny. Philipp is fun too. And interesting. He is Dr. Urban and works on improving printed images that even I don’t understand fully. We can geek out and Kerstin tolerates us, which is nice.

What an honor to photograph this German family! I only hope I can plan a trip to Germany next Spring and set up some portrait sessions over there. It turns out that they live about 40 minutes away from my friend, Tess, that was just here a few months ago. I’ll have to learn a few more German words though….

Tim and Tom have been together for 7 years, and the peace and love they quietly display is evident from the first few seconds of meeting them. As members of Artisan Works and avid amateur photographers, I was delighted to be the chosen Photographer for their event. It was fun capturing AW for a couple who is familiar with the art and big fans of the space. The gallery has changed a lot over the years and we explored the new additions together.

I forgot how nice smaller weddings are, both as a participant and as the Photographer. I really just focused on capturing the essence of the space and the essence of the event. Tim made me laugh so hard during the cake cutting that I thought I couldn’t contain myself. Seriously, the funniest comments about that tradition that I’ve ever heard. I have a feeling I’m the only one that heard them…. and after 9 years of photographing weddings, I’m surprised no one has made those jokes before.

Tom & Tim, thank you so much for having me document your wedding day. It was a lot of fun and also a pleasure. I appreciate you being my first official same-sex wedding couple too! Being fellow photographers, it was nice to see how comfortable you were in front of my lens! Congratulations again!

The weather cleared just in time for the ceremony, giving us a perfect blue sky and whispy white clouds just like I dreamt of the night before. Everything went like clockwork and was on schedule, including the things I mentally prepared Katie & Ben to skip…. like the ‘first look’ and romantic sunset photos during dinner.

Katie and Ben are some of those people that I should have already known. They live a few blocks from me and frequent all the same watering holes. Ben is one of my new favorite people and Katie, as it turns out, handles her booze just like me… getting super duper LOVEY when passed a certain point. Ah, to be on the other side of the drunken love fest was amusing. Yes, Katie, I’ll be your new best friend!

* After 10 years, a first…. the Bride’s Dad asked me for a dance!

* Having a golf cart to get around the 200 acre farm was really efficient

* Ben told me on multiple occasions that they were all there at my command… He dumped hay bales all over the property for little benches for photo ops, for example. I felt like a movie director on a movie set or Norman Rockwell…

* Ben is so cool that he made all of the benches for the ceremony AND he made the spiced blueberry jam for favors!

* Ben’s brother shuttled guests from the parking area to the ceremony via a hayride. He made a mad dash into the woods to change just before the ceremony and when he came out, dressed in a suit, he reminded me of Superman!

* The families and friends were all ridiculously friendly. Katie and Ben invited me to stay and enjoy the end of the reception as a guest and I sat around the campfire meeting people. Awesome.

* The band, Auld Lang Syne & Walri, was just too fun and kept people hopping all night long.

* This wedding had ME written all over it. Seriously, if I ever get married and don’t get married at Hurd Orchards, this is exactly what I’d want my wedding to be. Not to devalue anyone else’s wedding… especially the awesome weddings I have photographed… there is a wedding to fit every personality and this one just happens to fit mine. Anyone who’s known me for years knows that rustic weddings are totally me. I’ve been photographing them for 8 years and never tire of their charm.

* Unfortunately, Katie now has something new that is also blue…. a CAST! She broke her finger on the dance floor very late in the evening. At least she has a sense of humor about it and also a great story…

What an honor to be the Photographer for this wedding and to have so many new friends. Special thanks to Pat Luke for again being my second Photographer and lighting genius! I loved seeing Ben high five you at the end of the ceremony aisle!

Haley & Lianna had a nice, simple and emotional wedding on the beach of Camp Bournedale, near Plymouth Mass…

I had heard a lot about Haley & Lianna, so getting to meet a bunch of Grace’s friends was a treat. Couple that with the fact that same-sex marriage in NY was finally legalized, I had to go. One to show my support, and two to capture a few images for these awesome chicks. They did have a good wedding photographer already, but I’m hoping that my photojournalism added something to the coverage.

My focus for the day was just to simply observe. Without any formals to take, organizing to do, time line to worry about… my homework was to simply capture the love. Love between Haley & Lianna and love of their family and friends. Capturing the love was easy. Haley & Lianna were oooozing with love. And so were their families!

With minimal gear and taking only the few images I wanted to take, it was nice to step back and just do my thing. That, and shoot a little film!

Hopefully the images below show the love like we felt while there.

Oh, my gosh… I nearly forgot to tell you…. the back of their program was a “how we met” MAD LIB! So awesome!

Railroad iron is a magician’s rod, in its power to evoke the sleeping energies of land and water. — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

Over Labor Day weekend, I grabbed my old 1950′s Ansco Titan Rangefinder (medium format film camera) and my new Nikon D300 digital camera (leaving my beloved Fuji S5) and hit the road… or the tracks. I haven’t taken the train since a trip around Europe in 1996 and wanted an eco-friendlier way to get to Boston. Besides, the drive to Boston from Rochester is probably the worst drive on the planet. Don’t you agree?

Hurricane Irene caused some ruckus as the area around Albany was highly damaged. The day I was to set out was the first day the trains were running again. Between the cargo trains and Amtrak, everything was slow going and delayed getting out of Rochester… all the way through to Albany. So, the train isn’t really an efficient way to travel. But there is something to be said for the feel of the train wobbling along and for the interesting characters you see (I saw the best mullet ever).

While waiting the 3 hours in Rochester for the train to arrive, I played around with my Nikon D300, capturing the rusty old train platform with a view of Kodak’s offices in the background. Both bygone eras….

As I walked up and down the platform, getting the only exercise for the day, I met this really friendly gentleman. Henry was taking the train to visit is daughter and her family in Massachusetts and he gave me the low-down on what to expect from the train ride. What a nice man. We ended up keeping each other company all the way to Albany and the time just flew by. He had a lot of opinions on weddings, wedding photography, wedding albums and most importantly, that I needed to have some kids. Seriously though, Henry will end up being featured on my blog all by himself one day… stay tuned…

Even with the delays, I managed to arrive at the same time as my baby sister, Grace. Gracie flew into Boston from Austin and we were able to house sit for some good friends of mine. Thankfully, I’d been there many times before, otherwise I don’t know how I would have found their house in the dark. They live in this nice house in Cambridge that feels like it is tucked back inside an English garden. Serene for big city living.

The train was a great way to travel, aside from the delay and the extremely bad food choices in the cafe car. I love that there are power outlets and tables… I was able to get some work done on the trip. Also, it was really interesting to have a front row view to the destruction caused by the hurricane. Along the Erie Canal and Hudson river, we were able to see a lot of damaged buildings and debris filling the waterways.  I also liked being able to walk around a bit on the journey. On my way home from Boston, with gorgeous early morning light, I saw some kayakers heading through a marsh and a lot of the trees had changing leaves already. Beautiful.

What is your favorite way to travel?

Everything was top notch on this day. Arena’s created stunning floral arrangements with my favorite color: orange. I absolutely loved the wine theme… wine guestbook bottles (to be opened on 1st, 5th, 10th & 20th anniversaries!), wine cork name cards and wine bottle table numbers. Not to mention the extremely nice bottle of wine that Jill & Bryan shared during dinner.

Bryan had a custom suit made and he looked like he just walked off of a GQ cover spread. Jill also looked stunning and was yet another one of my super laid back Brides. So laid back that she ditched the veil as soon as the ceremony was over. And her shoes. Really, everyone was so fun and happy and relaxed and that was a treat because there wasn’t much time for anything formal… like squeezing in a quick trip to Pittsford for Bridal Party pictures. Thankfully, we were in and out and back to the cocktail hour right on time. Major shout out to Brian, our limo driver!!

OK, here is what is neat about this couple: their siblings are married to each other! A very unique way to meet… don’t you think? The closeness of the families really showed too.

Well, Jill and Bryan, have a great time on your West coast honeymoon! And thanks for making me hang out afterward for a few drinks. It was so awesome to be a part of your day and to enjoy your party! We’ll have to keep our new friendship up over video chatting…

Vendors:

Wedding Photographer – Heather McKay

Rochester Florist – Arena’s

Wedding Cakes – Cheesy Eddie’s

Ceremony & Reception Location – Locust Hill Country Club

Jill’s Shoes – Kate Spade

Limo Service – Brian, Prestige Limos

DJ – Steve, Turner Music Productions

Hotel & Make up – Del Monte Spa & Hotel

10 years ago, I was working at a job that I knew would be ending eventually. With people I did not like. I felt like I was wasting my degree in Photography on a dead end retail job. At the time, I was a regional trainer for retail photo labs and was supposed to drive to Buffalo to visit one employee I really disliked.

The attacks were a wake up call for me, as they were for a lot of people. What am I doing with my life? Is this the best use of my time on earth? Who is most important to me? Do I make a difference in people’s lives?

Another thought running through my mind all day was that on July 4, 2001, I was on top of the World Trade Center with my family. My Dad had biked with the Houston Police Department Bike Relay Team as part of their 20th Anniversary celebration. They rode bicycles from Houston to LA to NYC to raise money for the Leukemia Society. To think that I had just been there. Standing in that spot. On July 4th of all days…

Seeing my Dad doing something so amazing, coupled with the giant wake up call that was the terrorist attacks, really started gears turning inside my head. This laid the groundwork for the motivation to stop holding myself back. It laid the groundwork for my realization that I can have a better life.

Skip forward to today. I can’t believe that I am near my 10 year anniversary of photographing people’s weddings. More honestly, I can’t believe that I still love my job. I woke up this morning feeling blessed that not only do I love my job and the people I get to work with, but they seem to really appreciate me as well. I feel honored that I get to create heirlooms for new families being created and that I get to make new friends in the process. To be a full time Photographer is a blessing and a dream.

I am no hero like brave Fire Fighters and Police Officers, however hopefully my time spent on this earth will bring some small joy to other’s lives in one way or another. To wake up each day and choose to be a better person. To be happy.

My thoughts today are with all of the people who didn’t have the positive reaction that I ended up having. To all the families who lost a loved one and have such an event define their lives… I can’t even comprehend the toll this has taken on so many people all over the world….

I had a chance to stop by on the first day of the expo with a friend, camera in hand. My hair stylist and favorite wedding make up artist, Andrea DiProjetto, invited me along. It felt weird being in the Hyatt and not for a wedding…

It was a fun night full of color and design and art… and quite a few friends in attendance!

Here is a recap from Heron Hill (they mention me – woot woot)

The wind whipped through the tent at Heron Hill Winery, but it held steady. The crowds braved the volatile weather and I met some of the nicest people in years. Actually, I haven’t participated in a wedding show in about 5 years, and I was never a fan of them. This one was wonderful though. Small enough to be able to spend quality time with each couple as they moved through and there were NO annoying/loud/nutty fashion shows.

We got there early and were able to make my little 6 foot table into a small mock of my living room (not very fancy, but it worked). People entered my space, had a seat and relaxed while looking at my albums and canvases. A select few couples had a one-on-one meeting with me to discuss their exact needs. This was WONDERFUL.

Steve and I had a ton of fun, stamping people’s hands as they entered my booth (like a night club). I even took a few pictures with my vintage Ansco Titan Camera…. and many people were excited to see a film camera representing!

* The number one thing I heard at the show was “I’m looking for a photographer who doesn’t just take pictures, but knows how to create them”

* A favorite moment for me was looking around the show and seeing a potential Groom that looked like he should be one of my clients. Later, he walks into my booth with his Bride who had booked me the week prior!

Thank you to all who came to see my wares and who filled out the entry for the raffle prize!! It was great to meet you all and I appreciated you taking the time to get to know me.

Meagan Rice is the winner of the two wedding planning books that were raffled off! Congratulations, Meagan!! It was great talking to you about your Belhurst wedding next year!

You know who else it was great to meet? These people: The Walker Cake, Co. from Corning! In talking with them, I found out they are engaged!

Anyway, thank you to ALL of the couples who stopped by to say hello. I hope that you found some helpful information for your wedding planning needs and got a good idea of what quality photographers are in the area! There were at least SIX Photographers at this event and I thank the ones who hired me or will be hiring me!

Lastly, a special thank you to Kara and the folks at Heron Hill for putting on a quality show!

Your wedding day is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life.  It’s generally all but impossible to derail the smiles, congratulatory pats on the back, hugs from hardly-seen relatives, and universal exuberance as you get ready to say “I do.”

Generally.  My wedding day went a little bit differently.

But before I get into that, allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Eddie Hilton, and my wife and I had Heather McKay photograph our wedding in June of 2010.  You can still find our wedding photos in her archives (wedding and engagement posts here).  Heather has asked me to write a few blog entries focusing on the groom’s experience, and I was more than happy to oblige.  Because, you know, I was a groom and all, and I’m pretty nifty with the keyboard (or at least, I thought I was.  Until this took me 47 attempts to complete, that is).

So while there are multiple angles to approach this from, I think the most important thing is start off by relaying my own wedding day story this time around.  Everyone has a funny little story about their wedding day, like the aunt who got drunk and fell through a chair or the cousin who sneezed a drink out all over the table.  And everyone has a mini-horror story about their wedding – the DJ played the wrong song for everyone’s entrance, your divorced parents got into a fight, or your cake topper was put on top of the cake in the wrong direction TWICE, even after you fixed it (that one happened to us).  It is rare, however, to have a funny/sad/terrifying/humiliating story that qualifies as slightly more than those aforementioned “little” ones.  Like, you know, forgetting the wedding ring.  I wonder who would have done that? (avoiding looking in the mirror …)

My wedding day was going along just swimmingly for the first few hours.  I slept in as best I could (so like 7:00am), had a nice breakfast (dry toast most likely, for the nerves), relaxed a little bit (sweat like a pig in heat), had a nice workout (lifted weights until I accidentally smashed my thumb between two weight plates), then relaxed a bit more (whined about my thumb).  I made sure I had a card written to my bride-to-be, went to get her a single long-stem rose, and also picked up a bottle of wine for after the reception just in case she forgot to bring the one we bought the night before – I was on top EVERYTHING.  Then I showered and changed into gym shorts and a t-shirt for the 70-minute drive from my house to our Bristol Harbor ceremony and reception.  Before leaving, I gave myself plenty of time to go over my checklist of stuff to bring.  I packed an overnight bag, checked my tuxedo bag and noticed that I was missing socks, so I brought socks for me and seven extra pairs in case another groomsmen didn’t have a pair either.  Like I said, I was on top of EVERYTHING.  Finally, my cousin, who was in the wedding arrived, and he and I drove up together, stopping along the way to pick up my wife’s brother, also in the wedding party.  Casual, wedding-related conversation ensued for the next 70 minutes … never touching on things like “the ring.”

When we arrived, I started unpacking my trunk, and asked my cousin to walk my card and rose over to my wife’s room, where she was getting her hair and makeup done like she was about to step out in front of the cameras.  He came back two minutes later with a card, a candy bar, and an odd-shaped box which, sadly, left me confounded.  So I asked what it was, and he replied, “Your ring.”
…
…
It was here that I realized that among my wine, flowers, tuxedos, and eight total pairs of socks, I had forgotten to pack my wife’s wedding band.  120 minutes before the wedding started, it sat in my bedroom, 70 minutes away.  And I said – and this is a direct quote, “$%^@!!!  Holy $%^*!  I forgot the $^$&^$* ring!  Run to the room!”  And we ran.  Why did we run?  What else do you do?  You can’t calmly walk after realizing that.  You’re not going to take a meandering path to your hotel room to ruminate on this new development.  You’re going to run like the wind and hope lightening strikes a ring down in front of you on your way.  And of course, it won’t, and it didn’t.

In the hotel room, my parents, several groomsmen, and I all feverishly tried to figure out what to do.  Logistically, it was going to be impossible to get someone there and back in time without several road laws being broken.  However, road laws be damned, I needed to get married and I needed to put THAT band on my wife’s finger.  So I sent two of my groomsmen back to Rochester, to make a 140-minute round trip, change into tuxedos, and get to the altar all in 120 minutes.  This sounds like the set-up for an awful movie, but this legitimately happened.  And I did my best to slow them down (forget my tux in the car so they have to turn around ten minutes in?  Check.  Leave them with only half a tank of gas so they have to stop and fill up?  Check.  Have the ring in the middle of a shelf on a bookcase in my closet so it takes forever to find?  Check.  Text or call every three minutes?  Check and mate.)

By the time they got back, the wedding had been delayed three times before my wife finally found out why, the entire crowd started to wonder whether one of us decided to call it off, and I had paced roughly the length of the Boston Marathon in my hotel room.  Through it all, I’d like to think I maintained a good sense of humor about it (I bit your head off like a pit bull if you dared to talk to me) and kept a calm demeanor (I punched and threw inanimate objects at random intervals).  Those two and a half hours were, without a doubt, the most nerve-wracking, harrowing two and a half hours of my life.

We did end up meeting at the altar, only half an hour late, and it was the best day of my life.  Luckily she still said yes.  And there were congratulatory hugs and pats on the back, and exuberance all around.  And, everyone had a great story to tell.

Wow!

Renee and Luke had an elegant and Rustic Tent wedding reception near Rochester NY after their Livonia wedding ceremony with mixed cultures. It was a beautiful mixture between Indian Wedding traditions and American Church Weddings. This was a gorgeous and romantic day with all the perfect wedding elements. The girls got ready at the Charlton Farm Bed and Breakfast and we returned there for the outdoor tent wedding reception. There was a Bollywood style dance off and I’m still not sure who won!