One of our summer plans included a trip to Vermillion, SD to witness the wedding of the eldest son of one of my husbands dear friends.  As usual I had my camera bag with me but it was a just my travel stuff: only one camera and two lenses, no tripod, just one flash unit and no lights or reflectors. It was a bare bones bag!

After arriving in Vermillion my husband called his friend, who came by our hotel to chat and catch up.  Nearing the end of the conversation I asked our friend, Rand, if he had a photographer for the wedding and his response was words to the effect of "yes, well I think it just a cousin or something..." I then offered my services if he and the bride & groom were interested.  He made a few calls and said "YES!"  Being wary of stepping on someones toes I wanted to double and triple check to be sure that both my camera and I were welcome at the same time at the same place and was assured by the brides mother (via text) that I was a welcome addition and that the person taking photos would welcome the help.

Hmmm...that made me think, IS there a person who is photographing this wedding and am I truly welcome?  Well I was assured and reassured so many times that even I thought I was being a bit overly concerned.  So I showed up at the assigned place at the assigned time and gently entered the room where the bride was readying herself and was greeted with the biggest brightest most genuine smiles I have seen in a very long time! The bride and her mom welcomed me into the room.  There was one person with a point-and-shoot camera just a snappin' away but I didn't think too much about it, after all everyone from the grooms parents to the bride (via her mom) had said I was more than welcome to photograph the wedding.  And yet something seemed amiss...

Well the long and the short of it is that there WAS someone who was going to photograph the wedding and I am guessing that he either didn't know that I was coming or wasn't happy that I was coming.  As I set up shot after shot I noticed he was not happy so I backed off, I was not there to make anyone unhappy for any reason.  At one point I did notice some beautiful light coming in from a window in the sanctuary and I just couldn't help myself and I pulled the bride aside then the groom joined in on what turned out to be the most spectacular shot of the day (at least for me).

The long and the short of it is that I am so glad we drove to South Dakota to see our friends and witness the marriage of their wonderful son Nash to the equally as wonderful Sarah (and I am sorry to have stepped on anyone's toes).

Congratulations Nash & Sarah!