One of the worst feelings a photographer can have, well this photographer anyway, is letting down clients on the most important day of their lives.

I don't photograph too many weddings. I don't advertise myself as a wedding photographer by any means, but I have photographed quite a few over the years, and I always look forward to capturing them for friends or clients when the opportunity presents itself, so when Bill, my friend and long-time coworker asked if I would be interested in photographing their wedding in Connecticut a few months ago- I was pretty pumped!

I've known Bill for close to a decade now, working and hanging together over the years on Nantucket, and when he met Jess last summer, everyone could tell it was an instant connection. Jess is a beautiful woman, through and through, I was really looking forward to celebrating the beginning of their new life together, and honored that they would ask me to capture it all!

Mother Nature had different thoughts though.

Three days of monitoring Hurricane Jose leading up to the day of the wedding had me in a constant panic. Living on Nantucket creates a whole list of logistical travel nightmares when the weather doesn't cooperate. The only way on or off this island is by boat or plane, and if the wind reaches 25mph, the boats stop running, and if the wind speed increases much beyond that then the planes are grounded as well. 

Turns out Jose decided to linger off our coast for just a little too long! I had planned ahead to leave the island early in the morning the day before the wedding, to be safe in case a random storm came through and delayed transportation. I bought ferry and plane tickets to the Cape to cover my bases, but to no avail. Every boat and plane at every scheduled departure time throughout the day on the day before and on the day of the wedding were cancelled. Well, there was one plane that left the morning of the wedding with its twelve passengers as I sat there and watched them leave, hopeful that I would be on the next one out in twenty minutes. Unfortunately that one flight was a bit too dangerous according to the pilot and the rest were cancelled for the day.

I know that not being there to capture the ceremony wasn't my fault. I still felt like crap though. Both Bill and Jess completely understood as well and a back-up plan with another local photographer worked out for them last minute, so I was able to ease my anxiety a bit knowing that something other than camera phones in the hands of guests would be capturing those important moments for them!

Thankfully, miraculously, I was able to get on a running ferry again the following day, and I was able to make it to the big post-wedding party at Jess's childhood home!  I wanted to be able to take some photos at the party, but also didn't want to intrude on the other photographer that replaced me. It worked out though, I got an opportunity to hang out with some good friends I haven't seen in quite awhile, and after the other photographer left, I whipped my camera out and started taking some candids of the party! I also was able to steal Bill and Jess for about ten minutes just to go for a walk and get a few portraits of the two of them as the sun was setting!

All in all, even though I missed the ceremony, everything worked out, (I hope- I haven't seen their ceremony photos yet!) It was great to see Bill and Jess again and as I sat here editing these photos, I could literally see the love oozing out of them shot after shot!