I was going through some of my work from last year, and came across this little shoot from last September. I was commissioned at the last minute as a second shooter for this wedding for the groom's preparations portion of the day, and let me tell you, it was a little crazy! Picture downtown Portland in all its glory - tourists doing their thing all over the place, the smell of the ocean riding on a gentle breeze, the warm sun shining down on all of the activity and business of the town. And then the parking. Oh, the parking. If you know anything about the Old Port on a Saturday smack dab in the afternoon, you know that parking is an absolute disaster. And this day was no exception, and it led me on quite the panic-stricken adventure.
Despite having left half an hour early in anticipation of the parking situation, I found myself parked about 3 city blocks away from the hotel where I was to be shooting this amazing groom and his guys getting ready. Fine, I thought - I don't mind walking. I'll be a little sweaty, but I'll be fine. So I try to parallel park......FAIL. I tried again.....FAIL. At this point in my life, I couldn't parallel park to save my life (I am getting better, I promise!). So, after having horrified some pedestrians, and frustrated some people in their cars behind me, I FINALLY parked in the ultra-tight spot. PHEW! Then, I go to the meter. It's a coin only meter. I. DON'T. HAVE. QUARTERS. We were still pretty new to the area, and my very sweet husband had me convinced that there would be a meter somewhere that didn't require them. Apparently not that day! So after all my hard work of parallel parking, my assistant and I got back in to the car to find a parking garage. AND the lot across the street was COMPLETELY FULL due to a concert happening later that day. OF course! So, there I was, in a panic to find SOMETHING nearby that didn't need quarters, and finally found Hub Furniture in the Old Port (if you haven't been there - you HAVE to go! It is the COOLEST place, and apparently is the place where chewing gum was invented!). I pulled in to the only spot in their lot, and started to thank my lucky stars as I pulled out my credit card to pay. Then the words just rolled out of the attendant's lips like white hot pokers, "we only take cash." I had no CASH. No cash, no coins, no luck! So I left my assistant with the attended, tracked down an ATM nearby, paid the dang clerk and was FINALLY on my way (running!) to the shoot. We BARELY made it in time, and I was sweating bullets! I took the much needed breather in the elevator, and played it cool as I captured some fun shots of these guys for their day. And they had no clue of the misadventure that had just taken place! I definitely learned a lot that day, and won't ever forget the lessons! I hope you enjoy these highlight photos of my time there, as well as the story behind them!
If you like the images you see and would like something similar to remember your special day (minus the parking problem saga!), I would love to chat: 207-808-2151 or weddings@207weddings.com
- Brittany
