The Photographer

So basically I have found that my role in the wedding is to defer to Mel for most every situation. Where are you having the reception? Ask Mel. What kind of flower arrangements are you guys gonna have? Ask Mel. What's gonna be the theme? Ask M--wait a sec...there's a theme?

A week or so ago the question of a photographer came up. I have a friend that I've known for years who I thought might cut us a deal for pics. Mel saw his website and immediately said it was far too plain. "The photographer is seriously the most important part of the whole thing. It's what we'll have to show our kids and their kids." Once again, I deferred; moreover, I agreed. In this situation, like so many others, she will have final say.

This past Friday I got home and immediately got a text from my fiance..."we're meeting a photographer on Tuesday at 7." Awesome. I love giving up my evenings to talk Adobe Photoshop. I was PSYCHED.

That Tuesday evening she and I both rushed home to have a quick dinner and head out. A few minutes before we had to leave, Mel asked what I planned on wearing. I looked down at my red jogging pants and navy Titans sweatshirt and then looked back up at her. Her glance quickly said, "uh-uh."

"This guy is gonna be taking pictures of us at our wedding. I want us to be presentable; I don't want to look like I don't care about my appearance when we show up." I threw a pair of slacks, a button down and sweater. She wore a cute skirt and sweater with high heel boots. We both looked very professional, but more than that...we looked good. We set off and were both very excited to have another baby step out of the way on the marathon to our wedding.

We got to the guy's office right at 7, and I mean on the button. We had been afraid of getting there late and giving a poor impression (we=Mel). Seriously, at this point I felt like we were going on a job interview and there was a chance he might look at us and say we "weren't right for the kind of photography his company is looking for."

We walked to his office door on the second floor of the building and saw this god-awful engagement picture. The two of us looked supercute and these two might have been the least attractive people in the history of Nashville. And they were on his office door. The evening was looking up.

We knocked. Nothing. We knocked again. Nothing. We walked around the building, came back, and knocked ten minutes later. nothing. At 7:10 pm on Tuesday, February 24th, we officially gave up. I was pissed; we got all dressed up and now this guy can't even keep his appointment? What a douchebag! Always the voice of reason, Mel said, "Well, maybe he has a reason. We'll see if he contacts me and go from there."

We got home and looked up other photographers. This is seriously the only guy in Nashville that has prices like his. Everyone else wants us to pay $1 - 2000 for the privilege of them showing up at our wedding. For those of you who are unaware, getting married is seriously expensive.

That night the guy doesn't email, doesn't call, nothing.

The next day Mel emailed him just to find out what the situation was:

Hi Derek,

My fiance and I showed up at your office last night at 7pm as we had discussed. We waited for 10 minutes, but no one answered the door or showed up. It's really frustrating because we rushed our evening to make sure we were there on time for no reason.

Melanie

Dereck, being a classy guy, wanted to respond quickly and make sure that Mel knew he completely understood the gravity of the situation:

Personally, I'd be beyond frustrasted.

You did rush for no reason as my &%$#@ daughter wrote you down for Tuesday March 3rd.

If it is any consolation, I've left her two, beyond ass-ripping voicemails.

I am more than sorry about putting you out like that.

Derek

Y'know, D, I think a simple "My bad. I put you down for the wrong day, can we reschedule?" would have worked out just fine. Classy, man. Classy.

The Church

Jake and I went church shopping today, and it was very successful! We are getting married at St. Patrick's in Nashville on Satuday July 24, 2010. It can seat 200 people comfortably, which is perfect for us. The rehearsal is even booked for Friday July 23, 2010 at 6:30pm. Father Dave has known Jake and his mom for many years, and he will be able to marry us. The church is small and intimate, which is perfect for what we have in mind.

The church was originally built in 1890, and the inside was painted about four years ago. It's only a few blocks from downtown, so it'll be really easy for everyone to get to the reception (wherever that is, haha). The pews have carved crosses along the aisles, which are so beautiful. Over the altar it says "Sanctus" three times (it means holy), and inbetween each is a fleur de lis! I love that so much.

Father Dave gave us a booklet that describes the ceremony. We get to pick which opening prayer we like, if we want any readings (a great way for people who aren't in the wedding party to be a part of the ceremony), and how we want the vows presented (as a question and we just say "I do" or we can repeat each phrase after him). It's very exciting, and I can't believe we've started planning the wedding already!

Engaged

Jake and I got engaged on Feb. 12, 2009. Jake had to work late, so we made plans to go to Starbucks when he got home, which was where we first met. He was going to propose in the middle of the store, but I was wearing sweats and had wet hair so he thought better of it. The entire drive home I complained about how I knew he was going to propose soon, I just didn't know when and I wanted him to do it already so I could go back to being normal. Jake just laughed the entire time. When we pulled into the driveway at home and stopped the car, he pulled out the ring! I couldn't believe he still wanted to marry me after my crazyness, but I guess I just got lucky.