A couple weeks ago, I spent 4 days driving around the Southeast doing portrait sessions for my April brides. I decided with gas prices so high and my X-terra having lots of miles on it to rent a car. It was so crazy driving a little Toyota Corolla. First, I went to Atlanta for Heather’s bridal gown fitting. Even though she had told the bridal shop that it was her final fitting and the day before her bridal portrait, we arrived to an unfinished dress. It was not a good thing, but they ended up having the semestress fix it in a short time. All was well in the end but Heather was upset and the dress was in pieces in the front, so we didn’t do as many shots as I normally would have. I ended up coming home that night, because I had so much going on. The next morning, I drove back to Chateau Elan about an hour north of Atlanta to do her bridal portrait. See this post below. I wish I could show you her portraits because they totally rock!
On Saturday morning, I left my house around 7:30 a.m. to drive to Wilmington to do Tina’s bridal portrait. It’s a solid 7 hour drive for me, but I was really excited about her portraits. I got about 2 hours into the trip and found out that she was stranded in the airport in NYC due to a snow storm and her flight had been cancelled again. So, I called my Sunday appointment in Charleston and asked if they could move up to Saturday in hopes of going on to Wilmington on Sunday.
Apryll and David were super cool and we met at Battery Park in Charleston for their engagement portraits. David had actually proposed on the steps of the gazebo there and at the time, Apryll was in a cast and on crutches. We did some fun shots and then some with the water in the background with the sailboats. Next, we went to Waterfront Park and did shots with the fountain there and out onto the pier with the battleship in the background. I saw a nice archway with flowers blooming and they did a few portraits there, just a relaxed session getting to know the couple. To my absolute horror, when I got home, the last memory card that I had used was corrupted and we lost about 100 images. This is the first time I have had any time of problems with shooting digital. I bought software and called technical support to no avail. I was devastated and had to break the bad news. I found out that I could have spent a lot of money (quoted $500 – $1,000), sent the card off to a recovery center and they might have gotten the images. If it had been their wedding, I would have definitely sent it out. While we have awesome shots from the first place, it’s the worst that the last shots were lost. All new memory cards ordered!!!! I debated about whether I should share this story, but I totally believe in being honest and upfront. Card recovery software wouldn’t exist if I was the only person that had ever had this happen, right? They still have great photos and I will more than make it up to them for the lost shots on the wedding day.
Click here to see Apryll and David’s engagement slideshow.
After we got finished, I called and checked in with Tina’s friend, Megan, and still no flights out of NYC. It was a big debate about whether I should go to my hotel and hang out or if I should come on home. We figured she would be exhausted if she did get a flight and that wasn’t guaranteed. It would have been an extra 4 hours of driving, too. So, I took some fun for me shots in Charleston and came on home. I drove about 12 hours that day in that little tiny car. I ended up putting 1,200 miles on it in 3 days! I do have to say that I spent less than half as much as I would have in my vehicle.
To be continued…..