Swiftwater Cellars Wedding | Suncadia Resort, Seattle | Nathan + Lisa

Nathan & Lisa | Swiftwater Cellars wedding in Cle Elum, Washington

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During most wedding consultations, couples will have the common question, “What happens if you can’t show up due to being ill or some awful ungodly act?” (knock on wood am I right?)

This is definitely something, as a vendor, we need to take seriously. What if something DOES happen? How do we ensure that our clients are taken care of IF an unfortunate event were to take place? Each couple has the right to know. Obviously. And we need to be honest and tell them. We MUST have a plan, or you SHOW. UP.

But now, when I get that question, I just laugh. Yes. Laugh. Because no sickness will keep me away from showing up at your wedding, and this wedding is an account of this being true. Last year, I shot several weddings with a herniated L4 and THIS YEAR, I did a double header weekend with a severe double ear infection.

YEP. Go ahead, wince it pain…hold your ears. They are no joke. And the week that I began feeling like something wasn’t right - my first and instant thought was “My weddings!” No way, Jose was this going to affect me doing my job and doing my job right. I had just spent the last year and a half being a part of Nathan and Lisa’s journey and there was no way I was going to let this define how the weekend would go. YES, I went to the doctor, and even though I KNEW what was happening - he didn’t believe me and told me to wait a few more days to catch a fever before he prescribed me antibiotics. Can you believe it? I still can’t…

I’ll be honest, this was probably some of the worst pain I’d ever been in. I couldn’t hear out of my right ear at all. And because I had a crappy doctor, it spread into my throat and jaw line. Why am I going on about this story? Because it’s important and can attest to the trueness of how much I care about my work and my clients.

Did I mention I had to drive through the pass, where EVERYONE KNOWS that your ears begin to pop when you reach certain elevations. Oh yeah girl and boyfrans. Imagine that for a hot second. Half way through the drive, I didn’t know if I was going to make it. My ears were ringing, my whole face was on fire. My heart raced because I couldn’t let my clients down. Tears were streaming down my hot cheeks because I was so terribly afraid of failing my couple. I couldn’t let myself down. I couldn’t let them down.

I pulled over, gathered myself and took a deep breath. I’ve learned in the past, from having some other serious injuries, pain is mental. Rather then spend the limited amount of energy you had on the pain, transition the focus to something sweeter. I thought of Nathan and Lisa. I thought of them, sitting there, getting ready, happy and lovely - so excited to have a day that would 100% be captured for them to look back at. They. Were. Counting. On. ME.

I mustered up ALL that love, kindness and energy and exhaled. I showed up to the Thramer wedding, at the beautiful Swiftwater Cellars, with my head held high and mind focused on the day.

I told my pain, “No way are you ruining any part of this day. I WILL get through this.” And with the help of my lovely second shooter - we kicked ass. Granted, the moment I got back to my hotel I downed a shit ton of Mucinex and some sleeping pills. (The next day I was FINALLY approved for antibiotics…HOW LOVELY) Was this all meant to be a test? I sometimes wonder ;)

And honestly, I was so proud. So proud of me. So proud of how wonderful my clients were knowing the situation, so proud at what I captured. SO PROUD that I took my emotions and fueled them into all the positive things I could - to ensure the best experience for the two loveliest people. My heart is still SO full from this day. I can’t even remember the pain I was in. I was surrounded by so much good that it overwhelmed everything else.

So, with that said, huge thank you to Nathan and Lisa for being amazing and so considerate and trusting. I couldn’t have done it without you both being so wonderful, and I’m so thankful for you and your beautiful families.

XO (sorry for the late blog post, muah)