Rob’s mother contacted me late last year hoping to find a local photographer for her son’s wedding celebration. Sheena & Rob were already married in Hong Kong during the Covid-19 pandemic, which limited who could attend the wedding. Rob’s mom, Monica, was having none of that. She had arranged a celebration at The Powelton Club, a historic golf club in Newburgh, NY. Lucky for me, Monica found me, and even equally lucky, my front door is a solid 7-iron from the 9th tee, so it’s a quick commute to the clubhouse.
Even though I’ve been doing this wedding photography thing for a while, I still get nervous before I start pushing the shutter button. When I arrive, I usually know at most two people, and sometimes none. Monica, Rob’s mother, hired me over the phone, and we’d never met in person, so I was going in knowing exactly nobody. I had nothing to worry about though - as I walked in, Rob spotted me and made a beeline my way to introduce himself, “Hey, you must be Mike! I’m Rob, the groom, it’s great to finally meet you!” and then stuck his hand out for a firm handshake. Sheena came over, I got my first hug of the night, followed by Monica and several more family members. Rather than showing up feeling like a complete stranger, I felt like a welcome friend, and my nerves melted away.
The rest of the night went exactly the same. I say this a lot in these blog posts, but it’s really true — I’m super lucky to have the best goshdarn clients I could ever hope for. I challenge anyone to find better people to work with. From the opening portraits through till the end, anyone around who had a spare hand offered to help with carrying or moving things. As everyone settled into their meals, I was given the … no, I was commanded to rest and have dinner.
Anyone who attended Rob & Sheena’s wedding celebration already knew, but I learned that night they are surrounded by friends and family who will always be there for them, and who will be there to lend a hand whenever they may need it. OH! And we got some stellar photos along the way as well!