"You know man, in high school, I was intimidated by you," I said. "When we started hanging out, I thought you were super rich or something. I mean, we didn't hang out much, but still."
Kristopher laughed and commented on how we had both grown and changed since those days. I could see it. We had not talked since high school, so I was eager to see if things had. He told me he wanted no one else to shoot his wedding because it was a unique situation: 2-days in Sonoma at the Moon Mountain Retreat. He was flying a chef from Frasca and a bartender from Brasserie Ten-Ten, both great restaurants in Boulder, up for the event to cater the wedding. The guests would be only a handful of family, friends, and myself. I daydreamed a minute, picturing vines hanging from racks and sprawling as far as I could see (which funnily enough is only like an inch from my nose, when I don't have glasses on).
Was this situation unique? Or did he mean amazing? I was stoked.
Our business discussion happened back in Colorado at Radda Trattoria. Apparently this was a frequent spot for Kristopher and Kathryn Chavez and it was also one of my ex-girlfriends ex-jobs. I devoured a gluten-free pasta cooked with sausage and toasted them to what I imagined being an amazing first wedding of 2012 and my second destination wedding. When we talked, earlier in 2011, I was still living in Colorado, and I missed having local access to the wedding by about two weeks while still in San Francisco. I had to buddy-pass it back to SFO from LAX, rent a car and cruise into the Somona wine country.
When Liz and I arrived in Los Angeles we crashed at the Motel 6 in Inglewood, next to LAX. My sister met us nearby to unload her U-Haul into storage. I was excited to see her. It was as if another vagabond soldier had joined our party, and there's always strength in numbers right? More people actively searching for work or places as a whole sounded ideal now and having one extra person around I could trust was priceless.
I had to fly into San Francisco two days before the actual ceremony. It was 10 p.m. I was tired from travel and drove to a San Rafael Motel 6, which was decently priced. I was already familiar with the accommodations at this point. I parked in the crowded lot, squeezing narrowly between two SUVs and hauled two bags to my room on the second level. One bag contained clothes and the other was camera gear. The door opened to another dingy, strangely smelling room, suitable for my $60 price-tag for the evening, I figured. I dropped the bags on the bed. I adjusted the temperature from no air to front-panel-break-off. My neighbors behind a thin-wall mumbled, "What the hell was that?" as a 4-foot panel slammed onto the room floor. Their inquiry was abruptly interrupted by a man banging on the door nearby yelling, "Let me back in. Damnit. Let me in. I'm not drunk."
I wished I was.
I bristled paste along my teeth, rinsed, and passed out on the comforter. I advised myself against being the conduit for anything potentially living beneath the covers. It was hot enough anyway.
Next morning I was on to paradise by comparison. Kathryn had booked me a room at Four Points by Sheraton. Aside from its professional demeanor at the front desk, the rest of the place was nicely furnished and made me extremely relieved inside. Even though I was up in Sonoma for work it hardly felt like it. I arrived at my room unpacked my laptop onto a large polished desk and opened the curtains look out upon sun-bathers at the pool. I went down to the restaurant to relax. I ordered a shot of Maker's on the rocks and a white-fish covered in butter. It was the first couple of hours I felt some internal peace and quiet. Before long the sun went down and I had to prep for the next day, it was the Chavez rehearsal dinner. I hadn't seen them since Radda and I was anxious to get started shooting. I plugged my batteries in, cleaned my lenses, and fell asleep, this time on a comfortable mattress, under covers.
The drive into Sonoma was straight forward until it got deeper into the vineyards. My iPhone app took me on an alternate route and confused me on a turn, which delayed me, but didn't make me late. I scaled a long, winding road to the top of Moon Mountain Retreat in my rental. Uncertain where to park, I pulled up to the driveway and behind another car. The sun was finding its way down the sky slowly and the only sounds of civilization was the handful of voices coming from the front of a white house with an expansive patio wrapping half its exterior. Right below it a long, rectangular table, seating somewhere around 20 people on either side was being decorated and off behind the house, in a makeshift tented kitchen, a Frasca chef prepared a feast. I was greeted by Tre Grebtiz, bartender from Brasserie Ten-Ten, and I told him about how I regularly visited their happy hour. I had my second helping of escargot there, among many fine French delicacies - this back when I was gluten-(what's the opposite of free here, enslaved?). I snapped several hundred photos that evening made myself acquainted with both sides of the family and settled my nerves for the following day. It was go-time.
On their day, I drove up the same route but picked up Tre and Anthony, one of Kristopher's actor friends living in Los Angeles. I told myself it was more likely I'd meet people outside of Los Angeles who live there than it would be of Denver. Perhaps that could be promising for future business ventures or making friends. Somehow it reassured me the decision to move was necessary in the exploration of this world. As I've come to realize about this world, there's not much to be said for right or wrong, these being subjective, but more so in a validation of existence as a whole. We exist to experience, not to judge.
I spent the next 8 hours experiencing the Chavez wedding: rye whiskey cocktails with original maraschino cherries, wine from Moon Mountain vineyards, mounds of rock crab claws, oysters, and mussels, excellent company and a smorgasbord of Frasca-inspired cuisine. If someone told me two years ago I could be with people I knew, on the most important day of their life, with the closest people to them, enjoying fine drinks and food, plus getting a paycheck, I would've shook my head in disbelief.
The sun set and reality started to filter back in. The buzz from Tre's cocktails faded and we wrapped up. I thanked the Chavez family immensely for having me and welcoming me into their world for a few days.
During the two day event I took over 2,000 photos, narrowing that down appropriately for any mis-fired, badly composed, or unflattering pictures. I was hard on myself, as usual, after the delivery. Like I said, it was my first wedding of the year, and without a proper warm-up, I was nervous. I loved many of the shots but would they? I wanted to break out of the way I shot in 2011, even though it was only 5 weddings.
I suddenly had the chest-crushing weight of moving across country, making a business from a passionate hobby, and uncertainty about what to do next.
Later, Kristopher wrote this about the experience:
"We had the extreme good fortune to be able to schedule Mr. Hildreth to photograph our intimate wedding last May. We were married in Sonoma CA, and it was important to my wife Kathryn and I that the wedding maintain an elegant and relaxed tone. We looked at numerous photographers and when we met with Mr. Hildreth we immediately were amazed by his work, but also his professionalism. We cannot be more happy with our choice.
We were fortunate that he had exactly 3 days free between other engagements to allow him to fly out and capture our rehearsal dinner event as well as our ceremony and reception. The photographs and editing accurately recorded for us the vibrancy of the wedding and key moments when we didn't even know he was snapping photos. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. We are looking for excuses to hire him again.
If you have a chance to get on Mr. Hildreth's calendar. Take it. It's your life, and there is no one better to record your special moments than he. I promise you."
To view the Kristopher & Katheryn Chavez wedding, click HERE.
