Every now and then when I’m meeting with a new bride, she will timidly say… “I hope you don’t think this is rude, but what if you get sick the day of my wedding.”

It’s funny because I can always “feel” when the question is about to be asked and I can see the hesitation on their faces.  Almost like it’s rude of them to even mention it.  I’ll share with you what I say to them and save you the “embarrassment” of having to ask the question yourself.

First off, it’s a great question.  Seriously, this is your one and only wedding day, so knowing what your photographer or any other wedding vendor will do if they get sick is something you HAVE to ask about.  If you ever talk with a vendor who says anything like “Don’t’ worry about it, I never get sick. Things will be fine.”  You may want to start looking for someone else.  People unwilling to talk about backup plans, typically don’t have a back up plan.

So, without further a due, here is my What If I Get Violently Ill The Day Of Your Wedding Plan.

Phase One:  Call My Father In Law
My Father In Law is not really a great photographer, but he is a great doctor. :)  If at anytime leading up to your wedding, things start to go downhill for me, it’s nice to know that I have an on-call family practice doctor who can prescribe crazy doses of medication. :)

Phase Two:  Shoot Sick
If I’m not feeling well, that does not necessarily mean that I’m too sick to shoot a wedding.  I have shot about 5 or so weddings when I was “sick” and I never mention it and you past brides out there didn’t know it was happening. :)  I would never show up and get you sick, but shooting when I’m a bit under the weather is not a big deal.

Phase Three:  Call A Professional Wedding Photographer
I literally am friends with about 20 wedding photographers in the East Texas area.  These folks all shoot a very similar style to me and are people I know would do a great job documenting your day.  I would cover for them at the drop of a hat and I know they would do the same for me.  I have a list with their names and numbers printed out and it sits in the top drawer of my desk.  Danielle knows that if for any reason I am unable to make it, she can pull it out and start calling down the list.  These folks would show up, shoot, and deliver amazing images to you.  The only thing you would miss is my witty and charming personality. :)

The good news is that in over 5 years of shooting I have never missed a wedding for any reason.  The better news is that if for some reason anything were to happen, I have a plan in place.

Also, I thought It would be fun to show a little video of me about 30 minutes after I had my wisdom teeth removed last year. :)  Hydrocodone was my friend. :)

It’s been a little while since I have done a Same Day Edit!  Those only happen when a couple is so radical they FORCE me to stop everything else I am working on and get their WHOLE session edited and blogged only hours after I have finished shooting.  I had a hunch Jessica & Rob where going to become a SDE! the moment they got out of the car and they did not disappoint.

Here are a few with “Sarge”.  I love how he just leads Jessica where ever he wants to go.

I love this shot.

So typically I only do lots of detail shots at weddings, but Jessica & Rob had amazing details at their engagement session and I just had to shoot them.

Rob also does some Mixed Martial Arts training at Lone Star MMA Gym in Tyler.  He could basically beat me up with his left calf.

Jessica has a few moves of her own.

Here is a short little video of them talking about their engagement session.

And finally, click the slideshow below to view their whole session.

Thank you guys for an fun morning.

I’m sure most of you watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition this past Sunday.  But for those for you who missed it, here is a little re-cap.  The Carrs live in Mineola, TX.  They had a small house.  Now they have a big house. :)  I did post a little while back, but now that the show has aired, and the house has been shown, I wanted to post a few more photos.  Before I get to those, I wanted to give a big thanks to both my print lab and album company.  Pounds Labs and Kiss Books helped me donate over $3,000 worth of photography/prints/albums for the house.  Not bad right. :)

Here are some of the shots from the family session I was able to do for the Carrs.  The crazy things about this session was that I had a total of 5 minutes with the family to photograph them.  I was also not given any “prep” as to where the location would be or what time of day it would happen.  They would pull a kid or the parents for us at random times of the day and say, “You have a few minutes.”  Then right before lunch time they said “Here is the family.”  It was by far the toughest shooting environment I have ever been in and it makes those “rushed” formals I shoot at weddings seem like a breeze. In fact, when they look for who the photographer will be to shoot the family on each show, they typically choose a wedding photographer over a family photographer because they know we tend to be able to work very, very fast. :) I did have the help of Tammy Williams of Clarity Photography and could not have done it without her.  (Many, many thanks, Tammy.)

I also wanted to share a few behind the scenes photos.  These are to show you just how crowded and on the fly one of these shows is while being filmed.  This first one is one of my favorites.  As they were about to knock on the door, someone mention the tree was kinda in the way of a shot.  30 seconds later this guy runs in, saws it down and runs out.

In the middle of the crowd is the Carr family.

This is a wide crowd shot on the day they came back.

A few shots of the house.

One more big giant congrats and thank you to Bayless Custom Homes for their part in making this whole thing come about.  If you need a home built in about 1 week.  They are the best in the area.

Also, in case you missed the episode, you can watch the whole thing online below.

Courtney & Jonathan brought their A-Game to the engagement session.  These two were nervous and said they “didn’t know what to do” but the photos are proof that they are totally engagement session photography pros. :)

I also shot a little video of them talking about their engagement session. Enjoy.

See you guys at Elmwood Gardens in August!

I can’t believe I have not posted this earlier, but April 5 was the 4th anniversary of Snake Attack Day at our house.  What is Snake Attack Day you ask?  Only the greatest holiday known to man. :)  Here is a little background for you uninformed.

One day Danielle pulled up from grocery shopping and as she was unloading she let out a scary scream.  My wife is not a screamer so it really caught my attention.  I asked “what’s going on?” and she said there was a snake.  Right next to me on the desk was a video camera so I picked it up and headed outside.  The following footage is what happened.

Two more things before we roll the footage.
1.  If you are at work, just go ahead and gather everyone around now.  (It will save  you time from having to start and stop the video as your co-workers hear the screaming/laughing.)

2.  Leave nice comments about my wife.  (I have seen many of you brides freak out over a missing boutineer so don’t even make fun of her for thinking a snake might eat her children.)