This past weekend, I crammed three weddings into 1 weekend. This may not seem like a huge feat, if you don’t work in the wedding industry…but believe me…it is like the Superbowl! While I truly believe I have the BEST job in the world, it is not the easiest job. I don’t just stand up, put my camera in auto mode and shoot away. The job of wedding photographer is VERY demanding. We work long hours, mostly on our feet. We take no breaks, so that we don’t miss something. We carry heavy equipment, sometimes for long stretches of time. We solve problems all day long…from little things like, which necklace looks best, to big ones like trying to beat fast-moving rain storms, finding missing clothing or family members, lacing dresses, and dodging Uncle Bob’s, who step on our feet, so they don’t miss a shot with their iPhone’s. We are constantly trying to keep everyone calm and happy and we have to finish everything that needs to be done in a specific time, or we will ruin everything! There are a LOT of moving parts during a wedding day, and your Photographer is constantly making sure that they are all moving seamlessly.
So I was NERVOUS about triple wedding weekend. Would I have enough energy to be as effective on day 3 as on day 1? Would my body cooperate? Could I keep up with the demand? The whole week before I started, I woke up at 1:30a.m. and had wedding nightmares. I forgot my camera in one, in another I got stuck in the tunnel and didn’t make it to the Ceremony on time. So I didn’t sleep well all week. Then I caught a terrible cold. One that made me dizzy when I would stand up too long. I got more and more nervous about how I would survive 3 weddings much less 1! When we were driving to our first wedding of the weekend, I was so nervous! I am always nervous before weddings, so that wasn’t too abnormal…but this was like panic attack nervous. We took a quick detour, got some cough drops to open up my nose, and after a few deep breaths…I was ready to tackle the day. And it was perfect!! Day two and three were perfect too! In fact, on day three Megan and I wobbled harder than we have EVER wobbled at a wedding!! So I conquered triple wedding weekend! And I ROCKED it! I can’t WAIT to share the images from these amazing couples beautiful weddings. But First, I must thank some of my behind the scenes people who truly made this possible!
First, my truly amazing Husband Jay! You are the BEST! From feeding me waters all day long, to having sandwiches at the ready, to carrying a heavier load so that I didn’t, to getting me cough drops last-minute, to cooking me steak dinner and cleaning up the house….and EVERYTHING you do! I LOVE you! And honestly, I am only as good as I am because of YOU!! Thank you!!
To Megan Coleman, you are such an awesome shooter/assistant!! To lacing Bride’s dresses, to wobbling HARD with me, to telling me to shut up when I need it, you are essential to Leigh Skaggs Photography and when I don’t work with you, I don’t laugh as hard, or make our faces, and I miss you! A LOT!! Thank you for being amazing!
To Alisz Hatch, you are a wonderful addition to our team! I love that you can drive fast, you work so hard, you love to learn new things, and my favorite is when you come a little more out of your shell and we have so much fun!! You are essential to me too, and I absolutely appreciate everything you have done this year with us! Thank You!!
To my Mom and Step-Dad, Bob. Who take care of my kids and Wilbur, especially 3 days in a row….especially when I add a soccer tournament into the mix! Thank you for being so reliable that I know I can go the whole wedding without checking my phone at all. I don’t think I can truly express how much it means to me to know that my Family is so well taken care of. I know that Truman will be on time to his game…with Mohawk at the ready, Morgan will have everything she needs, and Wilbur will be well-loved. It is a true load off my mind that I don’t have to worry about them at all. I could not be as effective as I am if I were worried about my Family. So Thank You! What you do for me is priceless!! And I LOVE you!!
And speaking of taking care of Wilbur…thank you Debbie and Kayla for pitching in to get Wilbur out and playing. He loves his time with you two, and it means so much to me to know that he is not stuck inside all day! I HEART you two!! Send me the bill for the flip-flop! 🙂
And lastly, to Morgan and Truman. Thank YOU for not ever making me feel bad when I miss soccer games, or am not home on the weekend, and always understanding that this is my job. Thank you for helping me in all the ways you do! It makes my job so much easier that you don’t give me guilt about missing things and that you always ask how things went and that you understand that this is our Family business. It helps to feed us and pay for a roof over our heads. I love that you both are so willing to do your part! Thank you!! I LOVE YOU!!!!
I will leave you with some photos of Megan and I tearing up the wobble!! Please disregard my pants…that place was dusty! 🙂 Happy Monday Everyone!!
