I am going to have the honor of photographing the wedding of Lindsey Brown and Kenneth Hightower on August 6th. The wedding site is not on Keaton Beach itself, but at a quaint and very secluded inlet nearby. Everything about it speaks of romance. A desolate pier, large full shade trees rustling in the breeze, the wide expanse of the gulf sunset. It takes my breath away.
Last night Hannah and I went to the site to meet Lindsey and take some practice shots and plan. Our trip began with excitement… a ROAD TRIP!! All my gear packed – check, favorite CD’s – check, swing through Chic-Fil-A on the way – double check. 
So about an hour into the trip we’re cruisin’ down I-10, belting out our favorite songs and I’m realizing that it’s taking longer than I remembered to get there. So I’m like… no problem… no worries… as long as we get there in time for me to set up my lights and gear before the sun sets we’re cool. …. then we get lost. It wasn’t like totally lost… just a tinsy lost. But that sun is sinking unusually fast and I’m letting the peace that passes all understanding to sink with the sun! Lindsey and I are texting back and forth. She meets up with us, gets us back on track and we follow her into the home stretch! As soon as we pull up the sun is hitting the horizon. I’m jumping out of the car, grabbing my gear out of the trunk, barking orders at Hannah and hugging Lindsey’s neck all at break-neck speed. Everybody grabs some equipment and starts running for the end of the pier where I want to set up. The wind is trying to blow my soft boxes into the gulf… Hannah’s screaming about all the crabs and the pier having loose boards… and Lindsey is just a little freaked that Hannah has a snake in her pocket!!! We all just had to laugh! It would have made for a good facebook video.
This little episode reminded me of my trip to Mt. Rainer. We got there and couldn’t see the mountain for three days due to cloud cover. Is there really a mountain here??? I’ll never forget hearing one of the maids at the lodge yell, “There’s the mountain!” I ran to the window and the clouds were parting to reveal this masssively majestic, beyond gorgeous mountain. You just had to suck in your breath…
Last night as the dust settled from all our gyrations of setting up, the sky bursts with colors and clouds right before our eyes. We were surrounded by beauty at the end of that pier. Wow….
Check back in a few weeks to view the images from Kenny and Lindsey’s wedding. I am so excited….