January 1st, 2021

I had decided after our 3000 mile road trip a couple weeks ago that I was done traveling for awhile. But here it is, 10:00 pm on the first day of 2021, and I’m alone in a hotel room in Dublin, GA. I ate Kentucky Fried Chicken right out of the box for supper, and now I’m snugged in one of the beds ready to go to sleep. Two hours from home, but it might as well be a million miles.

I have a small wedding tomorrow, and the original plan was to be up and on the road early enough to arrive by 9:30 am. However, things change, plans go awry, and schedules have to adjust. The weather here has been horrendous-rain, rain, and more rain-and the sweet little outdoor ceremony that was planned has to be shifted indoors. No big deal, I’ve done many indoor weddings. I planned to arrive a little bit earlier to figure out the lighting issues.

Last night I received word from the bride that the officiant’s wife just tested positive for Covid, and the officiant was now in quarantine. He was irreplaceable to the bride and groom, so the plan shifted a little more to allow him to be there via a Zoom setup. Interesting, but still I could work out all I needed by arriving early Saturday morning.

And then I awoke this morning to a weather forecast for this area Saturday of 100% thunderstorms in the afternoon. Not only would my low light location be even darker, but the entire wedding start to finish would happen in one small building-bridal preparations, formal portraits, ceremony, reception. I’m responsible for the photography every step of the way, and I realized I needed to better prepare myself than what I could do by arriving early Saturday morning.

I drove down today and spent the afternoon at the venue with the bride going over every part of the wedding, working out how when & where to shift guests, figuring out where to put lights. Three solid hours of planning—three hours I wouldn’t have had tomorrow. I‘m sorry to be away from home, but I’m happy I can focus on the important part of tomorrow’s wedding-the emotion of it—now that the technicals have been worked out.