Hi everyone, and thank you for taking the time to take a read of yet another one of my blogs. This one, I feel is a little more special, why you ask? Since starting my photography, I have always looked up to them that get to shoot in some of the most beautiful locations this world has to offer.
From weddings that happen in Africa, all the way to the ones that happen in the Alps. The images always look amazing, I'm sure you have seen the images. And when I started out over seven years ago, I made it a goal of mine to shoot another wedding in a different country. I will be honest, I didn't really care where at the time, as I knew that trying to get a wedding booked in a different country was going to take a lot of hard work.
That being said, I was not going to let it stop me from pushing forward and working towards that goal. After a few bumps in the road, and from a few couples that did get in touch, but obviously wanted someone with more experience I finally got the message that I had been waiting for. I can remember it like it was yesterday, and I honestly don't think it will be a message that I will forget anytime soon. It was a wet Saturday night and as most people do on the weekend, I had taken a trip out to go and get a pizza from Dominos with my partner and while looking over Facebook I got a random message pop up on WhatsApp. "Hi Jordan, we are looking at getting married at Lake Como in Italy and was wondering were you free?"
One thing I can remember is I dropped my phone in shock, but I was worried that my hopes were going to be dropped again. However, after a few messages I soon realised that this wasn't a joke, but in actual fact I had captured a family friends wedding and they were serious about having me. I had finally done it, I had got a wedding out in Italy of all places, and let me tell you, it was STUNNING!!!
When taking the booking for Italy, I knew that there were going to be a lot of hard work well before the wedding itself, but if I'm being honest, I was not prepared. I went in blind, I can't even lie, but the way I look at things, everyday is a school day and within the business I'm forever learning and looking at ways to improve and this was 100% a learning curve.
I have had the chance to go to many stunning places this world has to offer, but i've always gone with someone. This trip, was going to be my first on my own and i was nervous. It's one thing missing a flight or forgetting something if your just going on your holidays, it doesn't really matter does it, but add in the fact that YOU are responsible from capturing the most important day of someone's life and them stress levels hit a new time hight. I cant even start to tell you how many times i checked to make sure i was at the right gate and that i had everything i needed. It wasn't until i was finally on the plane that i started to relax a little, but then it dawned on me that i had a whole new set of problems once that plane landed. I now had to find trains, and in another country, i mean what's the worst that can happen right? I am really glad you asked.
Finding the train was the easy part, and as it turns out so is getting the ticket. The hard part was knowing when to get off and trying to fight the fact that you have been up for well over 15 hours and trying to stay awake so you don't miss where you're supposed to be getting off. Rest assured, i didn't miss my stop and once i finally got to Lake Como it was definitely worth the trip. Fast forward a few days and the wedding has been a huge success and I am now waiting for the train to take me back to the airport. I get my tickets, and wait for the train. It pulls up and i get on a load my bags above me.
This is when things start to get a little interesting. So what i haven't told you all, is in Italy once you have got your ticket for the train, you are supposed to validate them with the little yellow boxes that are at the end of the platforms for the train you are on. Can you see where this is going? So the train that i had got on this particular morning in my rush and thinking about the airport, I had not validated my ticket. I didn't know this was going to be a problem until the guy a few seats in front of me had also not validated his ticket. It turns out that if you don't do this, you can get slapped with a big fine. It now became apparent to me, that i had to play dead. I'm not even kidding, for the whole trip i made out that i was asleep and lucky for me, the other passenger was kicking off that much that he didn't end up looking over my ticket.
If you have read this far, then thank you. You will no doubt want to have a look at some of this images from Lake Como. If you can take anything away from this blog let it be this. Do go to Lake Como!!! Its stunning and the locals couldn't do enough for you. If you're looking for a photographer, then i would love to hear from you. I will travel all over the world, if it means capturing some truly amazing moments for you. Check my special offers below.
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