I'm Back!

Wow! That was a fantastic experience! My first day was the only day I had to myself, but I took full advantage...checked out my room, lay on the beach reading, swam in the ocean, walked around the island, bought the kids' gifts, talked to anyone who would listen (that poor front desk staff, I really am not used to having no one to talk to for a whole day!), had a nice dinner, took photos, then to bed early since I'd been up since 4:30am! The bride & groom and all their guests were staying at a different resort from me since theirs was a "couples only" resort and they didn't want to pay for 2 people for just me so I was actually half an hour away from them!

The next day I had a bit of time after breakfast for a quick walk along the beach with NO ONE on it at that hour! Then off to shoot the wedding rehearsal at a really sweet old Greek Orthodox Church...in the Bahamas! Who knew there was such a large Greek population in the Bahamas...apparently they came over during the depression and made a killing in the sponge business...this information I got from talking the poor priest's ear off while waiting for the wedding party to arrive.

Later we went to a private beach for an engagement shoot with just the couple. We scoped out a bunch of places since their resort wasn't going to allow a photographer on the premises...they apparently have their own photographer whom they insist you hire.

Back at my hotel, I had a nice dinner again, used their gym (all alone with my music...so nice!), swam in the lit pool in the dark (all alone again!), then went to the lounge for some strawberry daquiris and entertainment (yes, alone).

Saturday was the wedding and it ended up being a 13 hour shoot! I snuck onto their resort a couple of times posing as a guest at their wedding and bringing only small portions of my gear. The whole wedding (30 people) had been instructed to treat me as a guest and call me Dana, never "the photographer"...it was the best reception I've ever been to! I was so included! The groom's father insisted I do shots of his moonshine, the guests all hammed it up for the camera, I was almost tempted to get up and deliver a speech! I really can't complain about my terribly blistered feet since the blisters are from shooting in wet and sandy locations...everything was beautiful, including the people.

Then today it was up early and off to the airport...for some reason the shuttle bus takes you to the airport 4 hours before your flight even though it's only a 45 minute drive...maybe so that you don't keep eating all that all-inclusive food!

So, if anyone ever gets the chance to shoot a wedding in the Bahamas, I highly recommend it!