This post is hard for me. Mike and Shruthi’s wedding day was one of the hardest weddings I’ve ever photographed. To the point that I almost broke down many times during the day. I’m not proud to say that. Mike and Shruthi put so much into their wedding day, but sadly the venue (which shall not be named)…did not have a great rain plan. The outdoor wedding in the mountains turned out to be a wedding entirely in a dully-lit reception room. The first look for the two of them happened in a dark restaurant lobby as they ran away from the rain. After the first look, every photo was taken in the reception room with workers in the background. It killed me. They deserved better.
And when I say it rained on their wedding day, I mean hurricane-like rain that basically was coming from every direction. Umbrellas laughed that day and roads became flooded beyond driving. And all that rain poured from 12:00-4:30pm. The exact time of their wedding. I was crushed.
And every time I saw a cute detail laid out in their reception room it felt like another punch to the gut. I had no idea how to save it, magically transform the dark, basic reception room filled with people and workers into something they deserved. I felt like I had to get them out of the reception room. My second shooter and I talked with staff members (and got blank stares with no help), ran through the rain to try to find at least one spot that was covered (no luck)…and even tried to look for a room that was at least empty (every room was booked).
I managed to photograph the day to the best of my ability…but it hurt me to see all of their hard work cast aside because we were limited by the venue. I’ve spend time going over the day in my head trying to figure out how I could have done it differently. I don’t think it will ever leave me.
As soon as I got home that night and put my wet shoes and equipment up to dry, I knew I had to do something. My gut wouldn’t stop turning. So I emailed a few vendors from that day asked them if they would be interested in a re-do shoot. I wanted to give them the wedding they deserved – an outdoor wedding in the mountains free of rain.
A few weeks later we met on a hiking trail and spent time laughing, dancing and jumping from rock-to-rock for photos. I brought with me everything that reminded me of their wedding; books, birdcages, and lanterns. I even had a blast creating a ribbon backdrop and hanging it in the trees. So in the end, even though their wedding day was rained out…at least they can remember the fun afternoon we spent cracking jokes and taking photos.
Flowers: LoriAnn from Wisteria Grove
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I had a few people suggest for me to try and pretend that the wedding day went perfectly and just work in the day-after photos…but I just couldn’t. I have to keep it real.
<3
Candice
Your so awesome Candice! Way to turn a bad situation into something wonderful, your couple is lucky to have had you as their photographer!!
you are such a great person! and photographer :). it is so great that you made this re-do happen for them because it sounds just horrible that the venue wasn’t prepared for rain.
I can only imagine how awful the bride must have felt! She’s so lucky to have picked you! Reading about what you did put a huge smile on my face because it’s so obvious that you really care about your clients. You are so freaking amazing!
Oh my goodness! That is so amazing of you! I’m so glad that you did that for them. I can only imagine how hard it would be to have your wedding day plans go that wrong! This shoot turned out amazing! I’m very happy they got it!
And that is why you are one of the best. Thank you for sharing.
So I actually looked at the photos before I read the spread about their wedding day. While going through the photos I pointed out to my friend that this couple actually seemed very much in love with eachother. They exude warmth and loving-kindness toward eachother… so, although the wedding day might not have been “perfectly ideal” what they seem to have will weather all the storms they may face together in their future.
Candice, congratulations on cleaning up and being the rockstar that you are! The photos will make these two kiss everytime they see them.
Cheers…
Dee
Awww! What a nice thing of you to do that for them! They were so lucky to have booked you as their photographer. <3
These are stunning! So rain or not, heading out into the mountainside was a great call!
[…] Earrings by, and image via, Maria Elena Headpieces / 9 Candice Benjamin Photography (with more images of Shruthi in her Pronovias gown with custom strap on our blog) 10 Claudia McDade […]