Painted Shoes – Arrogance – and my Bucket List

You know the saying “A Day Late and a Dollar Short?” What if I am a day EARLY with this blog post – will someone give me a dollar? hmmmm…. ANYWAY…. on to the ‘ole blog…

Have you ever gotten and idea in your head about something that you want to do, or a place you want to go? I don’t mean like ‘hey one day I want to ______’ (fill in the blank) but I mean something that you REALLY REALLY want to do –  something that you can actually SEE yourself doing it in your mind BEFORE it happens?  No? bummer. But if you answered YES – you will TOTALLY feel me on this post!

Mid last year I was scheduled to do a family session and they wanted ‘cool architecture’ as their setting. I had an idea in mind and we were all set up to go there, but then I saw an image of an INCREDIBLE building and I asked “WHERE THE HECK IS THAT?!?!” and they told me “The Mission Inn.” I called up my clients and asked them if they were game and they said YES! My plan was to get there about a  1/2 hour prior to the session to scope out locations – buuuut- they had the same idea! LOL! So we explored the are together. LORD HAVE MERCY! You should have seen us! LOL! EVERY corner we turned I would suck my breath in like a kid with a blank check at Toys R Us! EVERY corner I turned around we even more awesome then the one before it! WHAT A DREAM!  We spent a lot longer than ‘normal’ there taking pictures and told myself: ONE DAY – I WILL SHOOT A WEDDING HERE.

Fast forward about 4 weeks and I am now scheduled to be at a vendors event at a local winery. (I KNOW – tough gig right?). I was shooting a session earlier in the day so I went early to set up my half of the table I was sharing with another vendor. I didn’t know who I’d be sharing with but it really didn’t matter. – So I THOUGHT… After my session, I come strolling into the event and I meet my table mate – Holla Watson. She has the cutest canvas shoes that she hand-painted on display (Check out Favola Bella Shoes here). We get to chit-chattin’ and she says how much she likes my work and how she wishes she had known me before so I could have taken photos of her little girl Lilly when she was a baby. Of course I told her. “It’s never too late!”

Then somehow we got talking about her up coming wedding and I asked her where she was getting married. She tells me….. WAIT FOR IT…. THE MISSION INN!!! ahhhh!!! I THROW my arms around her neck (yes – I did JUST meet her about an hour ago – but WHO CARES?!?! She’s getting married at THE MISSION INN!!!!) and I scream ‘Shooting a wedding there is on my Bucket List!!!” At this point I am arrogant enough to think she is going hire me right there and then to shoot her wedding – because – come on – she already said she LIKED my work! LOL! So I’m thinkin’ DONE DEAL!’  Holla was all smiles and she was jumping up and down with me, then – the look on her face changed.  She had this disappointed, yet caring look on her face as she told me they had already booked a photographer. DANG IT! I was THAT (insert sound of snapping fingers here) CLOSE to shoot a wedding at my dream location. Oh well – I had a blast hanging out with her and I made a new friend – in real life and on facebook.

ENTER FATE – About three weeks go by and I get a panicked Facebook message from Holla asking how much I would charge for covering her wedding. I was shocked! “HUH? I thought you already had a photographer.” She told me that he never showed up for their engagement session and she didn’t trust him to show up on their wedding. TA-DA!!!

We worked out the details and I got to photograph her wedding – at….. THE MISSION INN!

Here are just a few images from a day we were BOTH dreaming about! Enjoy! oh yeah and I put a check mark on the ‘ole bucket list!

I am SUCH A GIRL! When Holla’s Grandma gave her a ring that is a family heirloom, she wasn’t the only one who got teary eyed.

Bryan and Holla’s little girl – Lilly admiring her beautiful Mama.

How cool are these cuff links? (My assistant photographer, Anna got this shot)

THIS is the door that I originally saw that MADE me want to go to the Mission in the first place!

Fierce!

THANK YOU BRYAN AND HOLLA for asking me to be a part of your day – you two are PERFECT for each other and Holla – you make a beautiful bride and table-mate! XOXO – Nicki