About a year ago, on a long, rainy drive out to western MA for one of the many weddings I photographed at Bucksteep Manor, I got a call from Wendy.
Wendy is a good friend of Lorena, who is a good friend of my wife (and hopefully, by extension, me!). Wendy called to ask if I was available for her wedding in May of 2012. Luckily, I was, so we chatted for a little while about what she was looking for, how I could be of assistance, etc. We ended up talking for over 30 minutes. After the call ended, I felt so positive about things. I just KNEW this would be an amazing wedding.
From that moment until their wedding last weekend, Wendy and I chatted from time to time to discuss details of the wedding weekend, to plan and shoot the engagement photos, and sometimes our conversations turned to how my pregnant wife was doing or how she was handing the sometimes overwhelming demands of planning a wedding. We were getting to know each other pretty well. This familiarity and semi-friendship really helps a wedding day go so smoothly.
Fast forward to their wedding, which was last weekend.
It was on Sunday in Newport, RI at Oceancliff. They had planned a rehearsal and a rehearsal lunch on Saturday (at Flo’s Clam Shack, right across from the beach!), so I asked to attend. I’ve never photographed at Oceancliff (or at Flo’s), so I wanted to check out the venue, and to find some great shooting locations there and in the surrounding area. Also, thanks to the kindness of Matt Grazier at Grazier Photography, and Agnieszka Wormus, two fantastic photographers who shared their experiences about shooting a wedding there, I was as prepared as ever!
It was at the rehearsal lunch where things changed. There was a moment, maybe insignificant to everyone involved except me, that really struck me. Everyone had been there for a little while, just chatting and mingling, and I was busy trying to blend into the background and photographing what what going on. Then, Frank (the groom) and Wendy waved me over. Frank’s parents were there, and I assumed he just wanted to introduce the hired help. This was only partially true. He nodded in my direction and said “this is our friend Patrick.” Then there was a pause. Not an uncomfortable one, just a moment of reflection. Then, as an afterthought he said “oh, he’s our photographer, too.”
Wow. Really?!! Sure, as usual, I try to connect with the couple during the planning process and certainly during our engagement shoot, but they considered me their friend?! That just felt amazing!
This was just the beginning of Wendy and Frank’s (referred to friends and family as Frendy, ala Brangelina) amazing kindness and what I hope to be a growing friendship. They actually had a place card for myself and my second shooter Ben Bocko to sit at one of the tables during dinner (that’s only happened once before). And at one point, I was busy photographing guests during the reception, when Wendy called me over to their head table just to make sure I had dinner.
On top of all of this, and despite Wendy planning a wedding (in greater attention to detail than I have ever seen before), selling a house, moving to a friend’s house temporarily, looking for a job in California, and making plans to establish a new life with Frank out in California, a few days after the wedding, my wife and 18 day old son and I got a package in the mail. Not too surprising, as friends and family have been sending us gifts for the little guy in the past few weeks. So we opened it, thinking it might be another present from an elated grandma (Carrie’s mom has been over the moon with excitement), or a gift from a friend of mine in Olympia, WA, but no, we were wrong. It was a super cuddly blanket/rattle with a giraffe’s head attached and a note that read: “Dear Rogers family, Congrats on the new bundle of joy. Mr. Reid is very lucky to have great parents. Live, Love, and Laugh! Sincerely, Frendy” I’m getting all emotional again as I transcribe this! These two have grown to be dear friends!
I may have said this before. This was a gorgeous wedding with an amazing couple! But, I know I’ve never said this before. It was an honor to photograph my friends’ wedding!
