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  How do you film a bride covered in poison oak and still make her look stunning?

A week before our December wedding, my soon-to-be husband decided to clear-cut the backyard, a wish I'd had for awhile...what I did not anticipate, is that he would not detect the difference in the winter brush from regular ole oak, and madrone, and POISON OAK.

The unknowing bride to be, came home and camped out by the fire, while lovely fiance kept the bonfire ripping. And the next day realized her worst nightmare had come true...just days before I'd been whining about a little burn I'd gotten from the woodstove, and how it would show up in the "ring" pictures, only to wake up with literally poison oak covering every inch of my body (unspeakables included). God forsake me, and let my face escape the damage of the nasty oozing rash, but my neck, arms, hands - all the things that would be exposed by the gown, and the thighs, legs, feet (so much for the garter pics) were covered.

Let me back up to say, that when I first started contacting photographers, it was only 8 sweet weeks before our wedding date. and when I stumbled upon Jenny's website, I instantly knew she was the best I'd seen. From the photos on her Delightful Eye website I could tell her eye for capturing the photojournalistic moments was untouchable in the Eureka area. I had my doubts that she'd had availability.

From the first time we spoke, I knew that she just "got it." I wanted to walk away from our wedding reliving the moments, and having gorgeous wall art. Traditional shots were not in my vocabulary, and she completely understood that. While I had no doubt that she was the very best for our special day, I had NO idea what her eyes would see, and her lens would capture on our magical day.

Jenny contacted me a few weeks before the wedding and asked permission to view the locale, I appreciated her tenacity in knowing the potential pitfalls and benefits of our wedding away.

When I began officially planning our day, my soon-to-be husband expressed his love of winter and how neat it would be if we could tie it into our theme. When I had envisioned the dreamy fairytale wedding at his parent's vacation home in Shelter Cove, I initially had pictured a perfectly clear day looking out over the ocean, followed by the happily ever after. But, I knew that there was a very real possibility of blustering winter disaster for a December wedding in the "Lost Coast."

During many trips to the weekend hide-away I'd shared dreams and quaint wedding day thoughts, with my then boyfriend, and gone so far as to count how many chairs would fit on the patio deck. But Shelter Cove is unpredictable, and our vacation trips highlighted the most stunning sunsets I'd ever seen, and also days of gale force winds and rain.

Knowing this, I opted for a "Chronicles of Narnia" meets "Dr. Suess" whimsical ice blue-themed wedding, complete with ice sculptures for center pieces and umbrella's as favors for the guests.

The night before our wedding, Jenny showed up to meet the people involved, and even got to see a gorgeous sunset on the deck, overlooking the ocean. She went through the practice motions for the big day with us, and her bubbly personality made me feel incredibly comfortable.

I showed Jenny my evil poison oak, and expressed my fear of looking like a gremlin in the photos, and missing out on a lot of the "dressing/primping" pics because of it. I also told her I was afraid of any pictures using my hands because of the rash...she assured me everything would be okay.

In light of the fact that my right shoulder was oozing poison oak juices, we opted to "switch" sides for the ceremony, with me being to the officiant's left...and my husband to the right... this would shield me slightly. All of these things might make a photographer flinch with fear, but not Jenny.

Wedding day arrived and it was every bride's - and photographers - worst nightmare – socked in and raining. But not mine - I REJOICED in the dreary day, knowing it would be the perfect addition to the theme I’d selected. When I first started planning the ice-wedding, there was no sunset involved... and having a background in modeling, I had already sent Jenny some shots I'd found on the web involving weddings with rain and umbrellas - just in case...

She showed up with her partner in crime -her husband Scott, and they immediately went to work. She managed to capture stunning moments between myself, my mother, my Matron of Honour and my flower gal… even though the trek back from the Garberville hair salon had us running about 30 minutes behind.

Her saint-esq hubby, was not only funny, but just doted on her, while they worked seamlessly together, you could tell their passion for love and marriage extended into their photography business. Which made them the perfect team for a wedding day.

I had told her I’d love a couple of shots of the rings on ice, and she took it far beyond my wildest imagination. She captured every detail of my “perfectly” planned day, something any bride hopes for…all those dreams in one amazing album to look back on.

As for the “wall” photo, we not only got one, but about ten, magazine-esq bridal images…it will be hard for me to choose only one. And, I should mention that my husband isn’t exactly happy-go-lucky when it comes to photography, especially when it requires him missing out on food and drinks while standing in the rain perched on the cliff of the ocean…Check out some of our wedding day shots here.


I had to beg her and Scott to get some food, as they were so busy “not missing moments” that I didn’t see them break all day…unlike the band, who I had to pull away from the food and tell “hey, you guys were hired to play for my guests, not mingle with them.” Laughing in hindsight, I would have ditched the band and gone with a DJ, who just as easily could have played the right tunes…but hey- it looked great in the photos – thanks to Jenny.

In closing, in a world where anyone can purchase a digital camera, and call themselves a photographer, Jennifer Wilson is the diamond in the rough. She’s a true professional who has the ability to make a day clouded with potential setbacks look just stunning on film. My hubby, bless his heart did the most he could to make me comfortable following a day of wearing a designer gown weighing on the poison oak rash, and kicked off our honeymoon with a lovely oatmeal bath... I definitely picked the best man in the world to be my life partner!

Her vision is absolutely outstanding and "delightful eye" barely begins to describe Jennifer Wilson's talents. All photos copyright Jennifer Wilson, Delightful Eye Photography, 2010


 
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