My breath stopped in my chest this time last year when I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed and I came across one of Julie Paisley’s cherry blossom images. I froze. You see, I have followed Julie’s work for quite some time and I’ve watched her grow and learn and fine-tune her skills. And all I knew is that I fell in love with her work every time I saw it. I wanted to shoot like that. I wanted to edit like that. And this image of a bride in a floral-like blush pink wedding gown surrounded by soft pink cherry blossoms sealed the deal for me. For a solid year I stalked her Facebook page and website for any inkling of a nod towards DC or an announcement that she would be traveling to our area again.
A few months ago I saw that announcement hit her page. Unfortunately, it also fell on the same night my daughter was sick. It sold out in minutes. I’m not kidding.
Minutes.
I was so disappointed that I missed it, but I knew that I was needed somewhere else at the time and taking care of my daughter was much more important to me. I didn’t think she’d be opening up another date for the same week! So, the next day I was scrolling through Facebook again (as you do when you’re cuddling sick babies in bed) and there it was again!! Another announcement. This time I had the means to be quick, so I clicked through and snatched up seat. Now…all I had to do was wait.
And wait, we did.
And stalk the blooming schedule, we did.
And freak out, we did.
Nothing seemed to be running on our time…apparently Mother Nature had her own agenda to stick to! And she seemed to be sticking her tongue out at us and laughing. Most of us were not happy campers. Dates were tossed around, backup plans were made, and then unmade. We couldn’t really change our plans and we were determined to figure out a way to make it work. We were going to be in DC so I knew even if we didn’t have blossoms, we would still have beautiful architecture and historical locations to choose from.
And we waited some more.
The weather got a touch warmer, the buds popped out. And almost overnight we had blossoms!! Julie, being the sweetheart she is, drove all around DC the day before location scouting and keeping the weather and tourists in mind. She worked out the logistics and found a wonderful place for us to go. You see…these kinds of workshops are a serious challenge sometimes and I know that it takes lots of work and sometimes unexpected things can happen. First, the blooms seemed to be way more delayed than we’ve ever seen them. Second, the police had several roadways blocked off and it was a serious challenge getting almost 20 people from the rented studio space to the single cherry blossom tree Julie found in bloom. DC traffic can make the locals want to yank their hair out…so imagine how it would make Indiana, North Carolina, Canada, and Tennessee natives feel!!
Julie joked that afternoon (after we all located everyone and had arrived safely) that if this wasn’t a true representation of a real wedding day, she didn’t know what was. And I have to agree with her!! Wedding days can sometimes be unpredictable beasts where everything seems to go off-schedule and you have to be ready to adjust your next move to prepare for something else that may or may not happen. (I’ll never forget the day I got pulled over and ticketed for speeding because I was rushing from the ceremony location to the reception location during one of my weddings years ago. That’s proof that ANYTHING can happen.)
At the end of the day some of the girls headed out to Georgetown Cupcake, others jumped in cars and headed back to their hotel rooms. I hopped into my car and sent a text to my husband to let him know I was on my way home. I had three full rolls of Fuji 400H, and a full CF card ready to be unloaded when I got home. My heart was full, the images were gorgeous, the experience had exhausted me but I had to laugh about it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…one of my most favorite things about doing these little mini workshops/shoot-outs is the people. Surrounding myself with like-minded people who are transparent and have families and care about the success of their businesses always reminds me that I’m not alone in this. It’s so refreshing!!
And now, a few film scans from that evening:
Vendors:
Shot at the Julie Paisley Photography Click and Chat
Hair and MU by Lavender & Lipstick
Dress from Gossamer
Custom hair adornment from All About Romance
