Hi Mac.

Thank you for being here.

Hey, I'm

excited.

Yes.

This is awesome.

So I had like a last

minute, like cancellation.

and I was like reaching out and you

have a lot of experience doing wedding

photography and you've got some stories.

So I was like, this will be fun.

Let's mix things up.

And it's always fun to have like wedding

vendors on because they know the industry.

Yeah, yeah.

And I'm

sure you've seen it all.

But before we get to all that, can you

just introduce yourself, who you are,

what you do, and all that good stuff?

Yeah.

I'm McKenna, but my business

name and what I go by is Mac.

It's Mac's photography.

I've been doing photography for

about three years for the public.

It's been my full-time job for about a

year while I'm going through college.

I'm a social work and psychology major.

and yeah, I've just got millions of

stories, not even just from weddings,

just from general sessions of things going

wrong and weather and just all the things.

Oh my gosh.

So you are a, you said a psychology major.

Yeah.

social work and psychology.

Social work and psychology.

Yeah.

Wow, okay.

So is that a double major then?

So you, yeah,

so I'm from Tennessee, so we have

like, I don't know if they do it

in other states, but like I'm at

a, we call it a community college.

So for the first two years

I get my associates there

and it's practically free.

Mm. So that's

where I'm at right now.

And then I've got one more semester

there and I'll transfer to university.

Okay.

There you go.

Yeah, I don't know if

it's like that everywhere.

if you do like, community college,

it's a lot more affordable.

Mm-hmm.

I live, I don't know about free, but

it's a lot more affordable for sure.

Yeah.

And I feel like it's like undervalued

might be the wrong word, like

it's not talked about as much.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I feel like there's all this

pressure to go to a four year

university right away mm-hmm.

From high school so many people don't

know what they wanna do right away.

Yeah.

And then they spend the first couple years

at a four year university where they're

paying so much money and then there's

just kind of like are, you know, bopping

around trying to figure it out, which no

hate to be able to do that either, but

I'm just I think it's so smart sometimes

just going to community college and just

figuring it out the first couple years.

Yeah.

Well, when I first graduated, I went to

a different community college and changed

my major, completely transferred to

another community college closer to me.

And it was just nice that I figured that

out before I was paying a lot of money

Yes.

To then

pay extra, you know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

Oh, for sure.

I mean, I saw it all the

time when I was in college.

Like people just did not know.

And you switch majors?

I switched.

Not too drastically.

'cause I went in thinking I was

gonna be an English teacher,

a high school English teacher.

That was always what I wanted to do.

And it wasn't until I think like freshman

or so, no, I think it was sophomore year

that I was like, I don't wanna go back

to high school and I don't wanna teach.

Yeah.

You know, teachers are amazing and

I have so much respect for them.

Mm-hmm.

But I just could not see myself wanting

to go back to high school and teaching.

Yeah.

so I just switched over to

like English publishing.

So it essentially like the

same department, but like

later on I just went a

different,

different

way.

Well, that's good too.

'cause you have your books now,

so that kind of helped you,

I'm sure that made your change.

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Yeah.

I always liked the English and the writing

part of it, that definitely helped.

But I, to be completely

frank, I forgot a lot.

It's just like, it's wild.

and I feel like a lot of people

too, it's like whatever you graduate

in, you don't always go get a

job in that area, like mm-hmm.

you might end up like, 'cause how long

have you been doing photography now?

for three years.

For

three years?

Yeah.

your business, really taking

off, you really enjoy it.

You might end up mm-hmm.

I'm just wanna be a photographer.

Yeah.

And that's amazing.

You work for yourself, but you

just never really know what

direction your life will take you.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

I have a lot of, my clients and stuff,

they'll be like, are you gonna do this?

Like when you graduate college?

I was like, I've never stepped it away.

I'm always gonna do it.

It'll always hold a

special place in my heart.

I love that.

Yeah.

Like even when we did my daughter's

like newborn photos, it was funny

because we just found someone

like, I'm like postpartum.

And I just remember like googling

someone and she lived close by and it

turns out she's a therapist nearby.

And so I'm like, she's like a full-time,

therapist has like four kids and then

she also does newborn photography.

And I was like, you go girl.

Like, she's like, I got all my things.

so yeah, I think that's a fun thing.

good friend of ours too, he

is a firefighter and he does

photography on this side.

Mm-hmm.

I love that.

Finding the arts is

like, I think really fun.

Yeah.

how did you get into it and like, did you

start with smaller portrait, photography

and then get into weddings or what was

your Well, so I live on a family farm.

It's like, I think we're like the

fourth generation to have the farm.

So when I was a kid I always just

loved like the scenery of it and stuff.

So I remember like when I was a kid

getting my grandma's little like cannon

camera and just going around and like

taking pictures of random places.

And then for my birthday, my birthday's

in December, it's a week before Christmas.

my mom gave me, it was a little

cannon, like EOS something, some

kind of little like DSLR camera.

And I remember I was like, Ooh, like this

is something I've always liked and stuff.

So I started doing like little

free sessions to like my

cousins or my friends or things.

And then I was like, I

think I wanna do this like.

to the public for like services.

So I'd say it was around the end of

January, I think it was January 21st.

I like had my first session

that I'd done and I made an

Instagram and I made a Facebook.

And then ever since then it's kind of

just grown bigger and bigger and bigger.

That's amazing.

Yeah.

I think it's great too when you're

a part of a small community.

'cause like word of mouth

is your biggest like market.

Mm-hmm.

Like tactic I guess.

taking care of one family and

then they just tell other people.

Yeah.

Like that's bigger than

anything because people Oh yeah.

Word of mouth.

I know I do, I trust word of mouth

so much more than anything else.

It's just that intimate

connection with somebody too.

Yes.

so I'm from a very, very small

town, like my high school, there's

one high school, one elementary

and one middle school in my town.

Wow.

And we didn't have a football team.

We were so small.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

So like it's been very nice because

I was doing photography when I was

a senior in high school and like I

took a bunch of the people, like my

classmates senior pictures and stuff.

And it was just special because

I've like, I've known them

since preschool pretty much.

'cause we've all went to school together.

And then I was taking their senior

pictures of their capping gown

pictures and it was just very special.

I love that.

So you got in at like the right time.

Mm-hmm.

You got the camera and

you're like, let's do this.

And so another probably like the

known photographer in your area.

Yeah.

There's a few other ones and stuff,

but like, I love the photography

industry 'cause there's no jealousy.

we help each other out.

I don't have bad blood with any of them.

Like one of my best friends from

high school just started the business

and like, we're always texting each

other and asking for tips or like

sharing location spots and stuff.

It's like I just love 'em all.

I love that we need more of that because

I feel like in the big, realm of like,

I business owners, things you see,

women are always taught to be like in

competition of others, and there is so

much room at the table that we should be

lifting up other women, especially other

women business owners to like, help them,

like follow their passions, like mm-hmm.

I'll have friends of mine text me and be

like, how did you get into social media?

Like, how do you post?

And I'm just like, here's my tips.

This is what I did.

Here's what you should do.

mm-hmm.

I'm not gonna be like, I

don't know, figure it out.

I just feel like we

should help each other.

Like why not?

Yeah.

there's so much like hate in the world.

Like why can't we just

like help each other?

I, yeah.

That's like my thing too.

It's like me and my boyfriend and stuff,

we've gotten pictures done by be by

other photographers before and it's

like I could have somebody take it with

my camera, but I don't wanna do that.

I wanna support other

photographers and things like that.

I don't know, I just really like it.

I feel like there's no bad blood in it.

Yeah, I love that.

And also too, it's like you never

know if like maybe one of them will

get hired for a wedding and then

last minute they like can't make it.

Mm-hmm.

So they're gonna think of you

first and be like, Hey Mac, can

you take over for this wedding?

'cause I'm sick.

Mm-hmm.

You know, whatever.

Yeah.

And you can help each other out

because I feel like I see that

a lot in the wedding industry.

Like even when I got married,

like my makeup artist had a couple

backups just in case like mm-hmm.

Something were to happen.

or if like one's pregnant and then

like she has her baby early, you know?

Yeah.

She'll have like someone kind of replace.

So I feel like that industry, you have

to have someone ready just in case.

Mm-hmm.

Anything can happen.

Right.

Yeah, especially like when busy

season is, I consider busy season

from like September to about January.

'cause it's like the leaves are changing.

It's very pretty outside.

People want family photos and

that's a busy time for weddings

and just things like that.

But then it's also like flu time,

sickness time, allergies, all that things.

So I was actually a maid of

honor in a wedding for one

of my friends, in September.

And that same weekend I had a photographer

message me and she's like, can you

second shoot for me this Saturday?

Like, my second shooter has gotten sick.

Oh.

And I was like, I'm in a wedding.

Like, believe it or not, like I'm sorry.

It's just, yeah.

I feel like we all lean

on each other a lot.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I feel like you definitely need to.

So you've been a maid of honor.

Have you been in any

other, other weddings?

Mm-hmm.

Well, obviously like taking

pictures, like the photographer

of a wedding, but I've only ever

been in one, but it was very fun.

Oh, cool.

Well, you're still young, so I feel like

you're probably about to be at the age

where more, friends start getting married.

I remember like.

my first wedding.

I was a maid of honor and I think I

was probably before any of my friends,

because I was for my older sister.

But then I feel like there was a few years

in there where I was like, just nonstop.

'cause that would, that's when

people start getting married

and you're just like, okay.

Can everyone slow?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I just remember there was one year my

husband and I went to five weddings and

I was like, that's where I'm capped at.

that's, yeah.

That's how I'm starting to feel.

Like my boyfriend, he's a year older than

me, so like a lot of his friends and like

fam, like his cousin just got married

and he was the best man in October.

And then I was a the maid

of honor in September.

So it was like back to back.

We were both in two weddings and we were

always like kind of talking about like

at the end of the nights and stuff, like

what we were doing for each wedding.

Like I was writing my speech

and then a month later he was

writing his speech, you know?

Oh my gosh.

And it's like, you don't think

about like all the different

events that go on mm-hmm.

While planning a wedding.

Like there's a bridal shower if

there's a bachelorette bachelor party.

Mm-hmm.

There's like, you know, if it's

a more DIY type wedding, all

the things I have to attend.

And I just think about all those years.

Yeah.

Like being a part of weddings

where it was just like every

weekend there'd be something.

Plus I have a habit, and I don't know

if this is how you are too, but I

have a habit of just like reaching

out to the bride and being like.

What are you doing?

Do you need help with wedding stuff?

Yes, because I just like love helping and

I love like doing like the crafty stuff.

Mm-hmm.

Which I get is not everyone's cup of tea.

So I just am like, Hey, if you

need extra help, I'm there.

Like, let me know what I can do.

Yeah.

Well that wedding that I was just in

like after the rehearsal dinner that

night, we all made our own bouquet,

so they would all be different and

have like our little touch to 'em.

Oh, I love that.

Yeah.

That's a really good idea.

I love hearing all these new like

trends and ideas for weddings.

Mm-hmm.

I feel like it keeps kind of evolving.

Like when I got married it was a very,

like, I've been at weddings where everyone

wears the same dress color and style.

And then I like, there's more

individuality with dresses now.

Like my wedding, I was like,

pick your own style and then

just in this family of colors.

Yeah.

And now it's like, pick your own color.

Pick your own dress style.

And I'm like, I love that.

Yeah.

I'm not great at like.

The visuals, but I love when I

see it, I'm like, it looks great.

Well that was my friend.

She was like, I like this

color off of birdie gray.

But she said, just get

it from Birdie Gray.

Get it this color.

But whatever style you like that looks on

your body will compliment you the best.

She's like, I don't care.

she was like, just bring it to rehearsal

dinner and make sure it matches.

I love that.

I did birdie gray too.

Birdie gray was so easy.

Yes.

Like awesome.

I tell everybody that.

I'm like, I was into weddings

where we wore birdie gray and then

my own wedding was birdie gray.

Yeah.

And it just saves the stress

of like going to a bridal shop.

'cause I did that for a lot of weddings.

And when the bride doesn't know

exactly what they want, you're all

coming out with different dresses

that you like for your body type.

And then it's a game of

like voting, like, yeah.

Do you like this better?

Do you like this better?

I like that color.

And like, I've literally been

to ones where like the bride had

no clue, like didn't know what

color or style, which is fine.

But then you're shopping a long day.

Yeah.

But it's exhausting.

Yeah.

Oh.

So when you think back to some of the

weddings you've been a part of or sessions

like, are there any like wild stories

or funny stories that come to mind?

well the first one that I always

think of, and I've told people this

before, I was like a baby photographer.

I had maybe been doing it six months

and my friend, she was like, here,

you can use some of my gear and you

can get used to it and stuff and you

can help me second shoot the sweat.

I was like, yes, that's perfect.

So we, it was like, gosh, maybe

an eight hour day or something.

I was like, my biggest day I had done yet.

And at the end of the

day she had went home.

like, we went our separate ways

and she got home and her card had

corrupted, like her memory card.

Oh no.

So all the pictures she had

was like, from my angle, so.

it was good that she had

my pictures like that.

She had had a second shooter and

stuff, but I just felt so bad.

And then obviously the bride

and groom were not too happy.

Yeah.

I mean they at least

still had some pictures.

Right.

How does that happen?

Like a card getting corrupted?

I really

don't know.

Like I've heard of it happening before and

stuff, and I've researched a little bit,

so it wouldn't happen to me, but like,

I really don't, I'm sure there is a way

to avoid it happening, but I think it's

just sometimes, like, I know I've heard

before, like filling up the memory card,

and then letting some of the pictures

sit in there for a while can cause it.

And there's a few other, like

just your camera in your car

not mixing and stuff like that.

I feel like technology things has

to be like some of the scariest.

Yeah.

Like, do you ever just like hold your

breath after like a wedding, like plug it

in, just like hope everything goes okay.

Because yes, I feel like.

I've talked about it before, but

like to me, photography was like the

most important vendor at my wedding.

Mm-hmm.

Because I feel like you just

look back on those, like

they're just all your memories.

The day goes so fast.

Mm-hmm.

You don't see everything.

And like, I love personally looking back

at cocktail hour because I wasn't there.

Right.

Like, my husband and I

were taking photos mm-hmm.

Get our moments together.

And so I love seeing the cocktail

hour photos of like our family and

friends, like interacting and hanging

out and looking at the details.

And then we had our videographer

take some videos too then.

And I loved that because

couldn't be there.

Right.

And so I feel like it allows

you to feel like you're at

two places at once in a way.

So I feel like that would be kind of

stressful to be like, okay, let's triple

check, make sure everything's okay.

and then something's just happened.

You can't stop

everything from having Oh yeah.

Well, I just done an engagement.

Mm. It was back during the summer,

I feel like maybe May or June.

And, it was at a pretty popular

state park not far from where I live.

And it downpour just became a downpour.

Like all friends and family were there,

they're all in dresses and their hair's

done for pictures and stuff, and downpour.

But like, I feel like that made

it special at the same time.

'cause it's like, you'll always

look back on that, remember?

And I don't know you've ever heard

the saying, but like, wet knots are

harder to untie than, dried knots.

And I kept telling 'em that

day and stuff, and I, I think

it turned out pretty special.

So while the wedding was going on down

port or down, like, were they getting

married inside and it was, it was a

surprise engagement.

Oh, it was a surprising engagement.

Yeah.

So I was there with her family and

they were coming from like where

they live and they were supposed

to be there at a certain time.

And then about a like 15 minutes

maybe before they got there.

Downpour, just a monsoon.

So we're all like hiding in

like my vehicle 'cause she

wouldn't recognize it and stuff.

And we're spraying like that.

It'll settle down for a minute.

But the pictures turned out so good.

Oh, I love that.

I've been seeing that too, more and more.

Like there was this one wedding, I don't

know where it was, where it started

raining and it was not in the forecast,

but they still had like some umbrellas

to kinda like cover some people but

it rained like on the bride and groom.

Mm-hmm.

And they just like owned it.

They just like went into it and it

looked so like romantic because it

was like her hair was wet and like

at the end of the day you can fix

up hair after just blow drying.

I mean maybe on someone that just doesn't

care as much about like hair and stuff.

But the pictures looked fantastic.

Yeah.

They had this full backdrop

and even though it was raining,

it just looked so romantic.

I think of like a nineties romcom where

they kiss in the rain or something.

And I was like, I love that.

I thought it looked so beautiful.

And I'm sure it's like stressful

at first, seeing the rain.

I think if you just kinda like,

don't stress about it or let it just

like roll off your back, I think

everything can kind of turn out pretty.

Yeah.

Well that's what I was telling her.

I was like, you'll look back at

this in 20 years and laugh about it.

Mm-hmm.

Like about how it rained and stuff.

I said, y'all will always remember this.

Yeah, no, for sure.

I think people will remember it too

as like a fun, like, whoa, like, you

know, all these weddings kind of like

bunch together being very similar, but

you'll be like, no, I remember that one.

cause this is how we handled it and

the pictures were amazing and Yeah.

No, I love that.

okay.

That was cool.

Okay, so I wanna do this little segment

kind of from like your point of view.

Okay.

These are different like scenarios

and rate them on a scale of one

to 10, one being not important

and 10 being very important.

Okay.

Feel free to add context

if you'd like as well.

Okay.

So on a scale of one to 10, how

important is capturing candid natural

moments compared to posed shots?

Ooh.

My perspective, I think you

said tens like you need it.

Mm-hmm.

I would say like probably

an eight or nine.

I love the candid photos though.

I think it shows like very true emotion

to it instead of, instead of like your

post ones, like everybody does post

ones, you know, but candid ones not.

Like everybody has candid moments, but

everybody's candid moments are different.

Mm-hmm.

So

I really like capturing those like, for

weddings like cake cutting or surprise

proposals, like your moment of when.

He's asking you to marry him.

Like, I just think that moment

is different for everybody.

Yeah, no, I totally agree.

I was saying this recently when I got

my wedding photos back, I, the post ones

were okay, like, I mean, I like 'em.

They're good.

this is nothing against the photographer.

She did a great job, but the candid

ones were just the ones where

I was like, wow, I love that.

Yeah, because you could see like

emotion, you could see connection.

whereas sometimes I feel awkward or

stiff like posing and it was so great

seeing the candid ones, like I said,

like the happy hour of people just

like interacting and people laughing.

Like one of my favorite photos, my

husband and I, out of all the pose

ones, it's when my, I think it was

our maid of honor was giving a speech

at the time and we're laughing and

we're just sitting at the head table

laughing and I think it's so cute.

yeah, I love the candid ones.

They're just very real.

How confident are you in

matching your photography style

to the couple's overall vision?

I would say about an eight.

Again, that's like, I pride myself in

that is I can do light and airy if you

want to, or I can do like dark and moody.

Mm-hmm.

It just really depends on what you want.

Like my editing is just

not a base of something.

Like I can switch it

up if you'd like me to.

I love that.

Did you hear about the, I'm trying

to think of where I saw this.

It might have been a TikTok drama where

the photographer, sent the photos and

the girl knew exactly what the style was

gonna be, and then complained about the

style and kept asking for raw photos.

And she was like, well, raw, I don't

typically give my clients raw photos.

And it turned to be this

like whole like TikTok drama.

Like what was your, did you see that?

I'm, I

did, I'm pretty sure I know

which one you're talking about.

Like it was like their wedding

thing was like kinda like

that Carnival circusy thing.

Yeah.

Yes.

Okay.

Yes, yes, yes.

And she

tried making the photographer look bad and

I was like, these photos are beautiful.

Like Yeah.

When they actually look at the

whole album that became public.

Yeah.

It looked beautiful.

Like this photographer did

a great job and mm-hmm.

It was so terrible of them to

pull out a few blurry ones and

be like, this is what we got.

And I was like, wait, why

are you trying to trash this

photographer?

Yeah.

I remember vaguely seeing those

pictures and I don't even think

like it was a blurred effect.

It was that girl's editing style and

I know like she added like a haste to

it, or I've even seen, I've never done

this before, but like people will take

like the cream colored pantyhose and put

over their lens and make it like that.

And that's what it looked like to me.

It didn't even look like a

focus problem or anything.

Right.

It was just the editing style.

I remember that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That was crazy.

Yeah, I know.

And it's like, I always wonder about when

people come on the internet to say stuff.

I'm like, do they not realize

that the one, the vendor's gonna

see it and two, they're gonna

give their side of the story?

Yeah.

So I don't know why.

that girl even like put the photographer's

name out there, like bashing her.

Yeah.

And I felt so bad for the

photographer, but now I think like

everyone was able to see the truth

of like, nope, she did a great job.

Like, she even offered on the phone

be like, I'll give you the raw photos.

but typically that's not.

Included in a photography package?

Well, yeah, that's like in my contract

I have like a bunch of stuff listed, but

one of them is I will not give raw photos

because it's not that I'm not proud of my

work unedited, it's just I don't want like

for you to post the raw photos and tag me,

and then everybody thinks, oh, she just

takes the pictures and gives it to 'em.

Like, yes.

I always say that pictures or are

half of it like taking the pictures.

Editing is a whole like.

Most of my weddings have about

a four to six week turnover.

Just because like editing is a lot of it.

I don't think people realize that.

Yeah.

And like anyone can pick up

a camera and press a button.

Right.

But it's the art behind it.

Like how you angle yourself.

The lighting, the editing

and all that stuff.

Like it is an art.

And I hate when people come on the

internet and act like, it's like,

oh, I could have done a better job.

I'm like, no, you probably couldn't have,

well, one of, she's actually

took my pictures before.

we've talked about it before and it's, she

was talking about like, anybody can pick

up a camera and take pictures and post 'em

and then be like, I'm offering services.

But it's like, you

gotta build yourself up.

And I'm not bashing anybody that's gonna

like start a business or something.

It's just, you gotta build yourself up.

'cause I'm self-taught.

Mm-hmm.

You know, I've never

took classes or anything.

I've had, friends help me out with

advice and stuff, but I also think that

there's building stones before you start

charging people, if doesn't make sense.

No.

Totally.

Yeah.

I feel like you definitely start with

like, you know, family and friends.

Mm-hmm.

And then as you kind of keep growing,

you can like charge a little bit more

and then you charge a little bit more

and then you're like, okay, I've been

doing this for 10 years, so I can

charge this, you know, whatever it is.

Yeah.

yeah, for sure.

I think it's a, about like building

up your portfolio and mm-hmm.

Like I knew a lot of friends that

started off that way, like doing like

baby showers or birthday parties.

Yeah.

Just to like get used to the camera

and like playing around with it.

Mm-hmm.

but yeah, it's like people don't

realize, like, they think, oh,

I'm just paying them to come to

the wedding and take snap photos.

It's like, no, there's

so much more behind it.

Yeah.

I'm not a photographer

and I can see all that.

Yeah.

Okay.

How important is storytelling in the

way you photograph on a wedding day?

Ooh.

That's probably like a 10 for me.

I'm given all these such high

scores like that you need them.

But I don't know, it's just like what

I've said earlier, you look back on these

photos for years and years and years, and

you want it to tell your love story, Anna.

Mm-hmm.

Like I've

had, uh, clients before, like you

would like walk in to where their

ceremony would be and they would have

pictures from their relationship.

Like they had been dating for

golly, like 10 years or something.

So there's pictures of them,

literally like in middle school

to up to when they got married.

And I just, want that

to show in your wedding.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

No, I love that.

I love that.

Like adding the personality

to their wedding.

Mm-hmm.

especially as a photographer,

I'm sure you see so many weddings

that like repeat the same themes

or colors, which is totally fine.

It's totally gonna happen.

But then adding those

little hinges of like.

Personality and like family tradition

or whatever that looks like for

them, I think is, really awesome.

That's what's gonna make them

like stand out a little bit.

let's see.

how important is it for you to

build a relationship with the

couple before the wedding day?

Ooh, that's very important too.

would also probably say like an

eight or nine, which with my wedding

packages, I offer like a very discounted

engagement sessions before then, and

also about a week, well, within a

month to a week before the wedding,

I get on a Zoom call with them.

We make a schedule or we're communicating

like we, I haven't always got on a Zoom

call, but we also communicate and we

make a schedule before then, because

I've always had a schedule at weddings

that I do, but I've known photographers

not to, and they're like, I don't

know why I never made a schedule.

So I always like to communicate with them

for obviously the engagement session, I

meet them and then making that schedule.

I feel like I build a

relationship with them also.

And also I tell them like, free of

charge, message me, ask like vendors

that I recommend or this or that.

So, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

I think it's very important.

Yeah.

No, I love that.

I agree.

I was just saying to someone

about like, anytime you pick a

vendor, it should go both ways.

They should make sure you're a

good fit for them and mm-hmm.

You should make sure you

are a good fit for them.

Did I say that the same way twice?

But you know what I mean, like,

like I know what you mean.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like I've had calls with brides 'cause I

do weddings very rarely now when I have

calls with brides, it's to make sure

like, Hey, am I gonna fit all your needs?

or do you need someone that's gonna do

A, B and C and I only do A and b, you

know, whatever, whatever that looks like.

' cause it wouldn't be honest or good of

me to be like, oh, I can do that when

it's something I've never done before.

Or it's something that

I don't typically do.

and, you know, vice versa.

Like, I want her to look at

me and be like, oh, like she

can do this, but I really need

someone to do this whole thing.

You know, whatever.

yeah, I think that's, really important.

Building that relationship.

Like that was our photographer built

out our whole day of timeline too.

And it was so great.

Like we'd only met her via Zoom before

the actual, Wedding day, but because

of how attentive she was in emails and

the Zoom calls, and we had like a two

hour call with her kind of going over

the day timeline, which I had never

had anyone do before at any wedding.

Like a photographer at least.

And I was like, that, was so nice.

And she even like, encouraged

me to eat during the day.

'cause like when you're busy doing

stuff, you kind of forget to eat.

And she was like, Krista, go eat.

This is your time.

Don't forget.

Yeah.

And I'm like, okay.

So, yeah, that's so important,

building that relationship

with your client for sure.

all right.

And so we were just kind of

talking about this, this last one

talks about building timelines.

So you are pretty involved with building

your couple's timeline for their wedding.

I like to have like, even just like

general sessions, I always like, if

it's like a family session and it's

like a big family, like grandparents,

grandkids, they're like a big family.

I even like to be like,

okay, we're gonna start with.

Full family shots and then this family,

this family, the grandkids will get one.

Like, I don't know, I guess in some

aspects of my life I'm very Type A,

but in other aspects I'm very type

B. But when it comes to photography,

I feel like I'm definitely type A,

like making sure all my batteries are

charged before sessions and all kinds

of stuff, which I'm kind of going away

from the question, but yes, I like a

schedule with really any of my sessions.

Yeah, no, that's so important.

especially I feel like wedding vendors

need to be like that, that shows good

organization, but it also shows that you

care about the couple and you want them

to have a good experience, or the family,

you want them to have a good experience.

'cause I feel like so many times, like.

we hear these horror stories.

Maybe it's a vendor, maybe it's

who know whoever it's on and it's

like they just didn't care enough.

they're like, I'm gonna do things my

way when it's like, it should be a mix.

Like, yes, this is what I do typically

as a vendor, but okay, this is what

you're looking for on your day.

Okay, let's kind of mm-hmm.

Interweave them or whatever.

Yeah.

That's what a lot with like some

of my wedding couples before, which

I've done a lot more elopements

than I have weddings, I will say.

But like still, I'm like, okay, these

are the pictures that we're going to get.

You make 'em into a timeline,

send it to me, and then I'll make

whatever edits I feel like I need

to make and we'll both approve it.

Yeah, I love that.

So with elopements, do you ever

like hear of like family drama

or people getting mad about

them?

No, not really.

So my elopements, I guess.

I guess mine are more considered

like a micro wedding, but my

elopements is up to 25 guests.

Okay.

So like I have had elopements before

where it's just like the couple and then

whoever is marrying them and that's it.

But I think I've only had one of those,

but most of my elopements it's like

immediate family like mom, dad, and

siblings are there for both sides.

Oh, that's cool.

are they like overseas

or do you fly to any

or, well, what helps me out is with

my location is I'm probably an hour's

drive between like six state parks.

So like a lot of my, like on my Instagram

and Facebook, I'll tag that location and

a lot of people find me through that or

I'll put the hashtag of the location and

a lot of people find me through that.

Okay.

That's cool that you can have all

these like beautiful different

like settings and mm-hmm.

Be really aware of like what's near you.

Yeah.

Like engagement photo shoots as well.

That's awesome.

Yeah, I was just asking because like

I hear of like different stories where

families get like they wanna be a part of

it, but like maybe the couple just wants

to like run off and get engage and not

include, not, I shouldn't say not include

anyone, but they just want it to be them.

So I was just curious if like you're

ever brought into that drama or anything?

Yeah.

Oh, I've always said too, like when

I get married one day I wanna do a

small wedding, like immediate family.

Like I don't wanna have a big thing

and that's just my personal preference.

There's nothing wrong with a big

wedding, but I've always said that too.

Like I just want

something small.

Yes.

Yeah.

I think it's so important to know

like what you want and like get

on that same page as your partner.

'cause I feel like so many

people can come in and be like,

no, you need that big wedding.

Mm-hmm.

What if you regret it?

And it's like, but I'll regret more

doing what you want and not what I want.

Yeah.

Because I feel like that's what

I see the most is like brides

that regret are typically because

someone else came in and took over

or told 'em they had to do it away.

They didn't want.

Yeah, well one of my really good

childhood friends, she just got

married this, past summer and what

she done is it was called an I do BBQ.

So like a month before they got married,

they had this big, they had rented

out a venue, but it was like a big

barbecue and it was just all their

loved ones, their friends, their family.

And then about a month later,

they got married in like a

small, tiny micro wedding.

Mm. I love that.

Yeah.

That's like what my cousin did.

She, I'm trying to think of the order.

Yeah.

So she did a big party, I wanna say

it was like at a public park ' cause

she worked for it at the time.

Public park had like food

trucks and all that stuff.

Mm-hmm.

All our family like flew in from all over.

And then like a month later, maybe her

and her husband got married in Ireland.

Mm. And all they, they brought

her mom and then my uncle who

married them and did the ceremony.

Um, so.

I thought that was a really cool way

of like, still involving everyone

in the wedding, but then they gotta

do what they wanted, in Ireland.

and I didn't feel like,

I missed out on it.

Yeah.

Because it was most beautiful photos.

She had the most amazing setup

and, yeah, it was cool to see.

Okay.

Let's get into this week's

wedding story submission.

I'm excited.

There we go.

I never really know what

we're gonna get here.

Okay.

I was very lucky that in the lead up

to my wedding, there wasn't much drama,

but of course there's always something.

On the morning of the wedding,

the forecast called for warm,

sunny, beautiful weather.

perfect for an outdoor ceremony.

When I arrived at the salon for

hair and makeup, it looked exactly

like the ideal day we'd hoped for.

About halfway through getting my hair

done, we suddenly heard a loud bang.

We looked outside to see

torrential downpour, sheets of

rain and thunder and lightning.

It was like what we're just talking about.

I can picture it.

My weather app still claimed

it was sunny and clear.

That's the worst when it's like the

weather has not caught up on the

apps and you're like, I'm looking.

It's not matching.

Until it didn't.

What was supposed to be a perfect

day, instantly turned into a flash

flooding and a massive thunderstorm.

Trying to get from the salon

to the car was a disaster.

Our umbrella flipped inside out,

soaking me and my sister and my

four bridesmaids from head to toe

right after getting their hair done.

I would be distraught.

Nobody talk to me for an hour.

Give me some time to just cope.

Yes, I know.

That's the thing too.

It's like we were talking about

earlier, like I'm, seeing all

these weddings where it rains.

I'm like, oh, it's so romantic,

but I'd be lying if I didn't say.

First it would take me a little bit to Oh,

me too, me too.

Especially a bit like snuck up,

like how it did on her like perfect

forecast that morning and then

just flash flooding happened.

I would be like, everybody

just gimme 30 minutes.

Leave me in this room.

I need time to decompress, maybe pray.

Yes.

You know, just gimme

a second.

I know like weather is one of those

things you can just never predict.

You never know what it's gonna be like.

And if this tells you anything

about like my, I shouldn't say

fear of like weather changing.

the venue that I got married at had an

outdoor area and indoor and so it was

like, I knew I always had a backup plan.

Yeah.

We got married in March, so we were

like pretty sure it's gonna be indoor.

And even like the front area

was where the bridal suite was.

So we got our hair and makeup done.

So I never had to even like

step foot outside because I was

just like, you just never know.

And we had every single weather that day.

Like when I woke up, it was sunny

and kind of chilly, like forties.

Then it ended up, I think it rained

a little before the ceremony.

Then it ended up snowing

later on at night.

So like we had every kind of weather.

So I was like, okay, well as long

as we don't have to go outside.

But my

parents, they got married in March

too, and they said like the day

of their wedding, it was just

like a little bit of everything.

Cold, hot, windy.

I think it might've like sprinkled too.

And now like every year

on their anniversary.

Like, you never know if we're gonna

have snow, if we're gonna have rain,

if it's gonna be in the seventies.

Like we just don't know.

Yeah, I know.

It's so wild.

Yeah, because our, one year anniversary,

my daughter was born a little

before our one year anniversary,

so I'll never forget that week.

it was like three feet of snow

outside when the day before it was

like raining in like 50 degrees.

So

that happened.

They went to the Great Smoky

Mountains National Park.

I don't know if you know where that's at.

Yes.

for their anniversary one year.

And they said like, they got down

there and it was nice and warm.

It was like 60 seventies maybe.

They went to bed that night at the hotel.

Woke up the next morning and it

was like half a foot of snow.

And they were just like, I think

they may have planned to go hiking

that day or something, but they

were like, we're kind of stuck.

Oh my gosh.

I hate that.

So hard to plan for that.

okay, so she says, so she got soaked

head to toe, her bridesmaids and her

sister on the drive to the venue.

We passed similar cars, stuck in flood

water, and the roads completely closed

because the rivers had overflowed.

So this is like a storm.

Storm.

This is bad.

Ah, really bad.

I wonder where this was.

We got to the venue later than planned

only to learn that my soon-to-be

husband and groomsmen weren't there yet.

I went straight to the bridal suite to try

to fix my hair and makeup when the, oh,

she had already had her makeup done too.

While my maid of honor called

to find out where they were.

They were still in the hotel and

had no idea about the weather.

They tried calling for a taxi, but it took

20 minutes before one finally showed up.

They made it to the venue only

about five minutes before the

ceremony was supposed to begin.

Oh my gosh.

That's.

Oh my gosh.

I would be, I would

be, that's one of those

times it's like, do you just

push your timeline back an hour?

Because you gotta think if they're running

late, all their guests, you're probably

running late and then that's messing

with your caterer, your photographer.

you as a bride or groom, it's,

Ooh, that's a messy situation.

Yeah, I know.

It's like one of those like

quick calls of like, okay, can

we push this back a little bit?

And yeah.

Because I feel like, yeah, if the

groomsmen who are like important in the

wedding, the groom aren't there, maybe

we can like push it back just slightly.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Surprisingly, the ceremony only

started five minutes late, but even

then things didn't go smoothly.

The officiant accidentally said,

my maid-of-honor's name instead

of my partner's during the vows.

I always cringe when I hear

stories like this, like that.

They say like the wrong name.

Yeah.

Or they pronounce it wrong.

I feel like it's a officiants

job to triple check names

and how to pronounce them.

Mm-hmm.

And this sounds to me like maybe

the officiant didn't know them

personally or meet with them before.

Yeah,

because like we met our officiant,

like at least on Zoom multiple times

before I spoke to her on the phone.

she knew our names.

Yeah, yeah.

But oh my gosh.

And while signing the marriage license,

my brother-in-law signed the wrong spot.

Thankfully, someone caught it or our

certificate would've been a void.

Oh my gosh.

After the ceremony, the storm

finally passed, so we were

able to take photos outside.

This actually turned out to be a

blessing because the post storm sky

and the slightly damp surroundings

created the most beautiful backdrop.

I love that.

Yeah.

The dress did get a little muddy,

but nothing major dinner, dancing and

the reception were going perfectly,

aside from my brother and one of the

bridesmaids accidentally eating my

dinner when I was busy greening guests,

still I was having the time of my life.

How do you accidentally eat someone

else at dinner?

Yeah, that's like when I'm a

photographer or when I was in that

wedding, in September, I'm always

like, make the bride and groom a plate.

Set it at their chair, like put

a napkin over it or something

so nobody will touch it.

Yeah, because they need to eat.

I mean, they've been probably

stressed out all day.

They need to eat something.

I know the amount of weddings I

heard where people were like, I was

too stressed or like running around.

I never ate.

And I'm like, what?

Like

you need to eat in my camera bag.

I keep little granola bars and I think

I maybe have like some gummy packs

or something because if I do shoot a

wedding or something, or like even if

I travel somewhere to take pictures,

I like to have little snacks for me

or people I'm taking pictures of.

Yeah.

Have you ever had, sorry,

this is like a side question.

Have you ever had a, like a wedding that

you've been to where they like don't set

aside time for you to eat dinner as well?

I almost all of them set

aside a time for me to eat.

'cause it's in my contract that

I have like 30 minutes to eat.

But usually the wedding gets so crazy that

my 30 minutes turns into like 10 minutes.

Right.

Just because like there's so many moments

that like, even though literally just

30 minutes I have set aside to eat,

there's stuff going on during that.

So usually I just make a plate,

scarf it down real fast, and

then I'm back to taking pictures.

So even though in my contract it's

30 minutes, it's usually I take about

10 just to eat something real fast.

Yeah.

It's hard to like sit and

allow yourself to like sit when

other things are like Yeah.

Going on around you.

no, I totally get that.

I heard like horror stories from vendors.

I was actually, when I was a day

of coordinator at a wedding not too

long ago, I was sitting at the table

with a photographer and videographer

and dj, and the one photographer was

talking about this wedding she went

to where they treated her like scum.

They were like, I was not allowed

to be sat in the same room

as the guests and the bride.

They shoved me in a room, no chairs,

no tables, and had me sit on the

floor and I got like a leftover plate.

You said that was the photographer?

The photographer was telling

me this and she's like, I got

treated horribly at this wedding.

I couldn't wait to go home.

I was like, that's awful.

And I've heard this like drama on

social media where it's like, I

don't know if it was another vendor

talking about it, but she was like,

I was at a wedding once where they

did not wanna pay for me to eat.

And I said, if you don't like allow

me to sit down and get like a little

tiny break, I'm gonna have to leave.

They're like, well, you can leave

and get something and come back.

so they were like.

I don't know.

I don't get that of like, yeah,

well even your fir, like you said

that photographer was telling you

like they put her in a back room.

It's not even like that.

She was gonna mess up the

aesthetic of the pictures 'cause

she's literally the photographer.

Like, exactly.

That makes no sense to me.

That is crazy.

I

know, and like my photographer

had I typically, 'cause I had a

buffet at my wedding and she's

like, I'll go up, know, with the

other vendors like right after you.

she's like, 'cause you don't want

photos of you eating anyways.

And I'm like, yeah.

so like I'll eat while you eat

and then when you're done by that

point it'll be speeches and I'll be

like ready to take pictures again.

I was like, that makes perfect sense.

Yeah.

And I literally kept telling her,

I was like, and take your time.

I'm not gonna be like on you or

crazy like, oh you're eating more.

Like please eat.

yeah, that's what it's here for.

And like I wanted my

vendors to feel as like.

A part of the day as like anyone

else, like when we had breakfast

delivered in the morning, I was like,

here, grab coffee, grab a sandwich.

Like whatever you want, because

they're there to make your day.

Beautiful.

Why treat them like they're like

horrible people or Yeah, like scum.

Like I don't, yeah,

well like even some weddings that

I've done, like if I know the

caterers, I've worked with 'em before.

I'm like, can y'all make me a

plate and just set it to the side?

Or like, I've done some weddings like

where I've known like the family and

like the bridesmaids and the groomsmen.

Like my whole life actually I've done

that this summer, is my cousin was one

of the bridesmaids and I was like, can

you make me a plate when you go up there

and just set it to the side somewhere?

And she's like, yeah, I'll like you one.

Yeah.

I love that.

Okay, so this says, so we're back at,

dinner, dancing and reception went

perfectly until they ate her food, right?

Still I was having the

best time of my life.

As the sun began to set, our photographers

took us outside for sunset photos.

We also planned to take sparkler photos

once it got dark, but right as we

set up, the wind picked up sharply.

The sky turned green and

the downpour returned.

Oh,

like when the inside stuff's happening,

we're gonna have great weather.

I know.

And if you just

don't wanna go outside, it's just

like, no, don't come outside.

But I was like, at first I was

like, Ooh, the sky turned green.

That could be, yeah.

I was like,

maybe that'll look good.

Yeah.

Later we found out that a

tornado had touched down less

than a kilometer from the venue.

People say, rain on your

wedding day is good luck.

But what does a tornado mean?

To this day, we joke about the terrible

storms that they're our favorite

part because they remind us of our

wedding like we were talking about.

And the chaos didn't end there.

After the wedding, we learned

that one of the groomsmen.

Got two of the three

underage guests drunk.

My 90-year-old grandfather

took a wrong turn and ended up

driving across the venues lawn.

Oh no.

Why is the 90-year-old grandfather

driving after the wedding?

Yeah.

That

he needs a caretaker.

Somebody the least driving.

Yes.

let's take care of

Grandpa.

and several guests who had been cut

off by the bartender decided to go

upstairs and crash another wedding.

Oh.

So there's multiple weddings

going on at this venue?

I

have never heard that.

Like multiple weddings at the

same day, at the same venue.

I've never heard that.

I'm trying to think.

I've been to one, really big one in

the city in Chicago and I wanna say

it was, oh yeah, it was connected

to a hotel and they had like two

or three weddings at the same time.

But it was huge.

So you didn't even know

the other one was going on.

but.

To where it's like easily accessible.

Yeah.

I go to go upstairs

and crash their wedding.

Like it's like are y'all

mingling on accident?

Like it makes me think too, like

is there multiple bathrooms?

Is there a bathroom on each floor?

Are y'all having to go

up and down the steps?

Yeah.

I have never heard of that though.

Yeah.

Learn something new every day.

Yeah.

Oh my gosh.

Despite everything, we're still happily

married and about to celebrate our

eight year anniversary with two kids.

You can't control the weather

or the random drama but it sure

makes for an unforgettable story.

I love that.

I know too.

No, that was a really good story.

I feel like for especially having you as a

photographer come on and like react to it.

'cause it has to do with

like photos and stuff.

Like what do you think you

would do in that situation if

it just started down pouring?

Uh,

I know like most venues

that I've like shot at.

Done weddings or like even like

content days or anything, have

some type of like, either it's just

like almost like a garage type.

It's just got a roof on it.

That way you can still let the nitro

lighting in or we can even go inside

to like the groom suite or the

bride suite and we can make it good.

I've got the external flash

on my camera and stuff.

you are gonna have good pictures

is what I'm trying to get at.

It might not go exactly how you

planned, but I mean, does any wedding

have no drama and nothing happened?

I feel like No, exactly.

I know.

I was just saying, I'm like.

Someone told me before I got married,

they're like, something's gonna go wrong.

It might be big, it might be

small, but something will go wrong.

And you just have to like deal with it.

Like at least I think someone

said like, three little things

will go wrong, whatever.

Mm-hmm.

So I went into the day being

like, something's gonna go wrong.

It is what it is.

And someone like little things

happen, which I can't even, I'm

sure if I really thought about it,

I could think of something, but

like there was nothing so major that

I was like, oh, it ruined my day.

Yeah.

And I think it allows you to also

be like, you know what, nothing

is a hundred percent perfect.

It's not gonna be like,

sunshine and rainbows all day.

There are some things that are

gonna be like, oh, that was, that

sucks that happened, but whatever.

So I think her attitude says everything.

she was like, you know what?

It is what it is.

I'm gonna fix up my hair and makeup.

I'm still marrying the love of my life.

Yeah.

We're gonna have a beautiful day.

And now they look back on it

and they're like, that's pretty

funny that that happened.

Yeah.

And we're gonna have these funny photos

of like, maybe our hair was a mess.

Maybe there was some tears shed

that she didn't talk about.

But at the end of the day.

It was an awesome day.

Yeah.

Well, bouncing off like what you

said, I feel like you want your

weight, obviously to go as good as

it can go and like how you wanted it.

But like you said, it's about you and

your groom and the love that y'all

share and that you're continuing it.

Like if it rains, if this happens, if

that happens, it's about y'all too.

You know what I mean?

Yeah,

I feel like a lot of these stories, like

people get hung up this is not saying

like the big drama with like family.

I get that's, that's a lot to deal

with and it's very complicated.

But some of the drama that I read

about people get hung up on little

things in Let it ruin their day.

And it's like, it really does

come down to like your attitude.

Like focus on what's the goal of the day?

Are you surrounded by family and

friends that you love, that love you

and support you and your partner?

Are you, happy that someone was

able to fly and like focus on

the things that you are like.

Happy about in the day.

Mm-hmm.

And then the little things, won't

matter if you're like a little behind in

schedule or maybe someone couldn't make

it to the rehearsal or, whatever it is.

It's like, it really does come

down to like, some of that

stuff just doesn't matter.

Like of course, if there's someone

being disruptive and being rude

and trying to ruin your day, then

like, yeah, let's deal with that.

Yeah.

But for the most part, little things

I think we can like just let it brush

off and focus on what's important.

I agree.

I loved that story.

Okay.

I always like to end these

with confessions that

people send me on Instagram.

So this is for DIY weddings edition.

Have you been a part of any DIY weddings?

I'd say the one that I was kind of, or

I was the maid of honor was kind of DIY.

Like she bought a lot of her

stuff at like, I guess like.

I don't know what you would call 'em.

Like she got a lot of her flowers and

things from like Ollie's and Hobby

Lobby and she found a lot of stuff

at like TJ Maxx and things like that.

a lot of her decor and

stuff she done on her own.

I love that.

So I would say yes.

I mean, not all of it,

but yes, some of it.

Yeah.

And I was just saying this too,

like I feel like if you enjoy doing

that, by all means you should do it.

cause like I made a lot of my own

signs 'cause I love that stuff.

Yeah.

Like, I love, like using cricket, I

remember like handwriting, like our

table assignments, you know, and that

was like fun for me to be able to see.

And then I like painted the

backs of 'em, but I feel like

some people do it to save money.

And then ultimately the time that's spent,

and then it's something they don't enjoy.

It just becomes like a stressor.

Yeah.

So I feel like it's good to like,

know yourself in those moments

of being like, do I enjoy this?

Yeah.

Is it actually gonna save me money?

Is it gonna make me more stressed?

Do I have to pull in all family members

and bridesmaids and groomsmen to help me?

Or can I do a lot of it

myself or with another person?

cause I've been a part of those

too, where they just then expect

all family and friends to come in.

it's a big ask.

so you would just hope you

have like supportive family and

friends that also enjoy doing it.

Yeah.

Okay.

So this says, made all the food

the day before, 19 days after my

c-section, only for most people

not to turn up to the reception.

you have a, child, right?

I feel like you might be able to answer

this better because like 19 days,

like you're still, you're postpartum

that's literally what you are.

And to do all that and

then nobody show up.

one of my really good friends will

actually, the one I was talking about

earlier that just got into photography,

she had a baby and she had a C-section.

And like, I remember going and

seeing her like 19 days after

and I just couldn't imagine like

getting up and cooking just food.

Like I could not imagine it.

No.

And c-section is, the recovery

is so much harder I didn't have a

c-section, but I had friends that

had C-sections and you are I wanna

say six weeks is your full recovery.

they're cutting like you have a

dinner plate sized cut in you.

And so you're not supposed

to be up and down, you're not

supposed to be lifting stuff.

And so the fact that she

made all the food before.

That's just wild.

She's like superwoman.

Literally.

Literally.

It makes me want Or two.

Like who said they were coming

and then just didn't show up?

Is this Yeah,

I'm obviously, I'm sure if she's cooking

and she's, was it, 16 days postpartum?

19. 19. Like I'm sure it wasn't her

wedding, but like as the bride, I would

probably be mad too if they RSVP'd and

I bought all this food and then somebody

that I'm very close with cooked all

of it and then you just don't show up.

Yeah.

I don't know.

You bring up a good point.

'cause I read it as she was, the

bride, but you're probably right.

She might have just been

a bridesmaid or been Yeah.

part of the wedding in some way.

Mm-hmm.

And I'm like, who's asking a postpartum

mom that just had a C-section?

Unless she offered, I

guess that's different.

one of my friends had

a C-section and like.

I needed something done.

I don't think I would ask them or

I'd be like, don't worry about it.

Yeah.

Like, we're not gonna have

you up and cooking for this.

Yeah.

this one says, distant friends

started treating my family who

were helping set up as workers.

Ooh.

I feel like I'd have to say

something to that friend and just

be like, Hey, like just chill out.

just go with the flow,

it's gonna go how it goes.

Like if you need their help, ask,

but don't be bossing them around.

Yeah.

I've seen this happen at a wedding

and it's really disappointing

because the people that offer to

help do to other kindness of their

hearts, they don't have to be there.

It's not their kids' wedding.

And then when they're not properly

like thanked or like treated like

family or like treated like guests,

that's hard because they're like,

why did I go outta my way to help

when I'm not actually gonna be like.

Respected.

I don't know.

Or like Yeah, highly treated.

It's that like wait staff thing,

like if someone treats wait staff

poorly because they're a server.

Mm-hmm.

That's like a big red flag in my book.

Like, doesn't matter anyone's

job or position you treat Yeah.

'em with kindness.

that was my first job, was a waitress.

And it was just crazy the way

that people would treat me.

And I was like, I'm literally like, I

would never do anything, but I'm handling

your food and you're treating me like

I'm nobody like, you know what I mean?

It was just crazy.

Oh yeah.

My first job ever, I was a hostess

and since then, I mean I done,

serving cocktail server and

bartender, but the hostess, oh my

gosh, people were so mean to me.

I was 16 years old.

And I had people like, come

get into my face and tell me.

I was like, purposely not

seating them like we were.

I worked at a busy Irish pub

and people would get into my

face, they would scream at me.

And I was like, I have a busy restaurant.

I don't know.

and servers too would yell at me.

They'd be like, you didn't

seat someone in my section?

I'm like,

I'm trying to go through the rotation.

Yeah.

Well, like I would have like

50-year-old men and women like

chew me out and I'm like, I'm 16.

Like, I'm sorry, just cut me some slack.

Please.

Yes.

I always like to let people know,

if I go to a restaurant, like I'm

not one that's gonna yell at you.

Like, my husband and I have both

worked in the restaurant industry

and if something takes long and they

come up, they're like, I'm so sorry.

I'm like, you are good.

You take your time.

You don't ever have to apologize to me.

I get it.

Or if at a coffee shop I've

had them be like, I'm sorry.

I'll get you in a minute.

You take your time.

Like seriously, we're not on fire.

We're not gonna decom bust

if you don't come to us soon.

You're safe here.

Yeah.

all right, we'll do one more.

My mom made her own dress.

The colors and the pattern were hideous.

I almost made her change.

Ooh, it's very DIY.

Yeah.

That's your mom and like, oh my.

Oh, I don't know what I would do.

I guess I would have to know the

relationship that you had with your mom

because like my relationship with my

mom, I'd just be blunt and be like, you

gotta change the pattern or something.

But like, I can see some people

just being like, oh, it's okay.

But yeah.

I don't know.

I feel like if you didn't see

it until the day of, there's

like not a whole lot you can do.

Yeah.

If she showed you before, like,

this is the pattern I'm gonna use,

and you're like, oh, maybe let's

try finding a pattern together.

Like you could really watch her,

but if she just comes out on the

day and like, I made this and you

didn't realize, kind of stuck.

Yeah, that is true.

Oh, I don't know what I would do, Dan.

And if, and if she's someone too that

like has her own style and makes her

own clothing, it's kind of one of those

things and you have a good relationship.

It's kinda those things.

I'd be like, you can look back on

photos and be like, that's my mom.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, like, I just read a story where

it was like the grandparents, like were

motorcycle riders and they came directly

from their motorcycle trip to the wedding

covered in denim and like leather.

And they're like, they didn't

bring clothes to change into.

I was kind of like.

That's your grandma grandpa style?

Yeah.

You just gotta let them own it.

I mean, yeah, it might suck for

some photos, but that's their vibe.

I have aunts and uncles that

like wear tie dye and I'm like,

that was always their vibe.

And I'm just like, I don't think

I would be like, go change.

Yeah.

I don't know.

Teach their own.

All right.

Well thank you so much for coming on you.

It was so great meeting you and I know it

was kinda like a last minute thing, but

I feel like I need to do stuff like this

more often because this was like so fun.

Yeah,

so I'm not much of a music listener.

I love podcasts and yours is one

of mine that's in my rotation.

Oh, yay.

I love that.

Yeah.

And I, so

I was so excited 'cause

like my boyfriend, like.

my phone always connects to his CarPlay

in his truck, and I'm listening to

your podcast sometimes, and I was

like, do you know this podcast?

I like, I'm going on it.

I love it.

Yay.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

No, I'm so glad this worked out.

And like I said too, having like a

photographer on, you're like, well in

the industry and so it's cool just to

like hear your perspective as well.

Yeah.

so no, this was awesome.

I'm glad it, glad it worked out.

And where, can everyone follow you?

What's your business name

and all that good stuff?

So my business name's Max Photography.

my Instagram is underscore

underscore max photography.

And then my Facebook is

just max photography.

Awesome.

And then I don't have

a TikTok or anything.

I have a personal one.

I need, I probably need to get on that.

Yes.

You gotta start making some TikTok

content for your photography.

'cause Yes, I need to showcase your

portfolio and I feel like that's the

best spot to go viral and all that stuff.

Yeah.

So much for.