A Double-Header, a Header, and a Bag of Organic Spinach

I can’t think of the last time I’ve fallen down. Ignoring sporting-related spills, I’m going to have to go with my senior of high school when Mark Beneshek took me out with his car. And I’m not sure that even counts. Falling as a kid is an every day thing. Falling as an adult is an event. Falling into the middle of a grand reception for all the world to see carrying $6k in gear is near-catastrophe I wish to block out. But, I won’t, so I mind as well make fun of it.

This was my first two-wedding weekend. I was sooo excited about it. The first was a truly DC wedding, with a big church, monument and even a tour bus. The second was held at one of my recent faves, the Woodend Mansion in MD. I even bought a 70-200 for the occasion. But man.. two weddings in two days can take a toll.

Saturday was amazing. The weather was perfect, the couple was lovely and the entire wedding party was just very good natured and a lot of fun. The kids were also cute enough to take little bites of. The reception was held at the DAR (Daughters of the Revolution) which is just off the Mall. It’s a gorgeous building with all of the period architecture in place and in pristine condition. It has vaulted ceilings, intricate moldings, huge windows, and marbled floors and pillars. It also has a teeny tiny step between the dining hall and the exterior patio. It’s this detail that I might remember most when anyone ever mentions the DAR again.

I had just finished shooting inside the beautiful dining hall when I looked out the giant doors. There is a grand 3-story rotunda soaring over you as you step out. Beyond it is a massive marbled patio with a lovely view of gardens and the Washington Monument. There was also an armed guard roaming about, and he was the last thing I made note of as I felt the ground give way, my ankle roll over, and witnessed my cameras slinging across my body into the marbled floor. I distinctly remember thinking I’d sacrifice my head to catch just one of them, but I wasn’t successful. The clattering of plastic lens hoods was carried quite efficiently by the marble and rotunda. All of the groomsmen who’d I’d bonded with earlier and the videographer who I’d been tiffing with, as well as the bride’s father, were suddenly over me. “Anything broken?”

“I don’t know yet”. I sat there and collected my gear and turned everything over.. it all looked okay, which really made no sense.

“No, YOU. Did you break anything?”

“Oh. I don’t know yet.” I haven’t had many sudden injuries, but they usually go “accident, brief pain, no pain, wait an hour, then throw up and pass out before sudden onset of pain”.

My ankle hurt. They offered to help me up, but I declined, just wanting to sit for a minute hoping the pain would pass. It really didn’t help I was still in the middle of the reception area with a hundred people looking on and all I wanted was a tiny black hole to open up in the marbled floor and take me away. But, after a minute, the pain went away. They helped me up. I told them only my ego had been bruised, which at the time was true. It wasn’t until the last dance hours later that I went to put my foot firmly down that a sharp pain hit me. I waited to throw up, but my desire to retain my weekly cake intake prevailed.

The best way to take the fun out of something you love is to do it again the next day on three and half hours of sleep and in pain. Fortunately when I got up the pain really had subsided, meaning I could put weight on it without getting sick. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been. MK was wonderful and had bought an ankle brace for me before we met up in Bethesda for the Sunday wedding. It helped a bunch. But, the rest of my body was just turned into a wreck as the day went on, which was something I hadn’t thought about. Ankle-injuries aside, it’s a lot of weight to carry around for 10 hours, let alone two days in a row. There were muscles in my back screaming that I didn’t know I had. Doing it all on one leg made it particularly unhappy.

But, all ickiness aside, it’s all about the people getting married. I think no matter how many times I end up shooting weddings in my lifetime, I’ll always be struck by the importance of that day to the individuals and families involved. Or if I do forget, it’s time for me to get out, because it’s really an amazing thing and is what makes it so much fun. It was a beautiful day, the couple was amazing and the family and friends were just straight up some of the best people I’ve encountered. The cupcakes were also awesome.