Julie and Adam's wedding story featured on Huffpost Weddings: http://tinyurl.com/gqn5o7o
Lead Photographer: Aaron Rahman
Second Photographer: Fahad Malik
Lead Videographer: Sasha De Silva
Second Videographer: Saad Rahman
Hair and Makeup Artist: Sidney Marie Vargas (https://www.instagram.com/sidneythehairstylist/)
DJ: Rob Mantegazza
We met Julie and Adam for their engagement shoot a few months prior to their wedding, and they were an absolute blast to work with. Think marinas, boats, laughter, and margaritas, which were exceptionally hand-made by Adam himself. This is exactly how we love our engagement shoots to work out. It was a casual and fun affair, and we all got comfortable with each other very quickly.
Little did we know that as comfortable as we were for their e-session, we would be just as uncomfortable for their wedding. It’s not that they did anything differently. They were both as insanely likable as they always were with us. But, Adam and Julie are all about the beach - self-proclaimed “Long Island Beach Bums.” A beach wedding meant that the weather could be a huge factor, and boy was it ever.
As ceremony time approached, the sky was getting darker and darker. The storm was approaching. I conferred with Adam many times before the ceremony started. We agreed that if it got too bad, we would relocate the ceremony to the reception venue just a few minutes away. We prepared for the rain by having some plastic garbage bags to wrap around our cameras. While we do use professionally “weather sealed” Canon bodies, “weather sealed” certainly does not mean “weather proof.”
Right before the ceremony started we could see the storm clouds in some of the portraits we took of Julie, Adam, and especially the bridal party. It was pretty surreal. The winds were gusting at least 30 mph. One of our umbrellas for our lights literally blew away, and we had to adjust as best we could. I looked over at Adam, waiting for him to let me know if we were still going ahead as planned. He gave me the go-ahead, and we began shooting.
Ask any professional wedding photographer, and they will tell you how hectic a wedding day can get. Add a storm into the mix, and all hell can break loose, and it did. Torrential rain started falling down on the entire wedding party, and in the midst of the chaos, we weren’t able to grab our plastic bags in time. The ceremony was live, and we had to shoot it. After trying to make it through the entire ceremony, it just became too much for anyone to handle. We all ran for reception venue to relocate, and we were all soaking wet.
The rain had a devastating impact on us, as I quickly found out how much punishment our camera bodies could take. The unthinkable started to happen. Our cameras were soaking wet, and they wouldn’t be fully functional until much later. We had six cameras on hand and at some points only two or three were fully working. The reason we had so many is because we were shooting both photos and video, and we always have extra backup cameras on hand for emergencies. This certainly was an emergency, and I’m so glad that we had backups of just about everything. We weren’t the only vendors affected, as the DJ lost power for some time, and the photo booth crew’s equipment were damaged as well.
Some of my colleagues like to joke with me about me bringing everything I own to a wedding. I pretty much do, and I’m glad I did this day. We needed pretty much everything we had to be able to shoot the rest of the wedding, and I needed the support of every member of my team, who I am extremely thankful for. My team members consist of my girlfriend, my brother, and my best friend, so it certainly helps to have the people you trust the most in the most dire of situations.
Just by looking at the images, you might not be able to tell exactly how chaotic it got for the wedding party or for us. We care so deeply about our couples, and I did get pretty emotional at one point thinking how much distress the weather would cause Julie and Adam. But, those fears were unfounded. By the end of the night, everyone forgot about the rain, and danced the night away. Every single time I saw Julie smile and laugh, I felt a sense of relief - for us and for them.
Even if we shoot a thousand more weddings, Julie and Adam's wedding will be an experience that will easily still sit at the top of the "Most Memorable" list. Mother Nature had her way with all of us on this day. The storm forced our entire team to make some incredibly difficult decisions, but it couldn't stop us from celebrating this awesome couple.
