Show Stealer

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We attended  a friend's wedding over the weekend and the star, for me, was completely unexpected.  Monique and Chris put on a very classy, elegant wedding and we had a great time.  The one person I couldn't stop staring at during the ceremony, however, was the flower girl.

I always bring my camera along with me just in case something interesting demands my attention.  When you're not the photographer charged with documenting the event, you get to observe things you might not otherwise consider because you're running not around doing your best to ensure the bride won't be chastising you at a later date for missing the "moment", whatever that might be.   In this case, I was seated in a position where I wouldn't be able to capture the big picture stuff, but I was near the aisle, which turned out to be my gold mine.

The older flower girl passed down the aisle briskly, dutifully dropping flowers as she strolled along.  She was precocious with her smile and curls, the perfect character for this type of work.  Behind her, the younger girl was much more deliberate and seemed to be thinking deeply about the placement of each flower.   She was placing each flower delicately near each previously dropped petal from the other girl rather than simply dropping them.   She stopped within arms reach of me for at least a minute without moving, considering the pattern of flowers on the floor before making another artistic brush stroke with her next flower.   She was in her own time and space dimension despite the 200 eyes fixated on her every move and the fact that the bridal procession music started and Monique appeared at the rear doors.  Ignorance is bliss was never a more appropriate phrase.   The older girl rocketed down that aisle, bent down, and whispered loudly "hurry up", which drew a nice response from those assembled.  The smile on her face let me know this little actress had pulled the right strings for the audience. The two girls quickly went to their spots and sat down to watch Monique make her entrance.

I turned my attention back to Monique and she looked spectacular.  Brides seem to glow on their wedding day, it's not just a cliche.  She made her procession up the aisle from my left to right and the natural movement of my head took my eyes right to the girl who was about to put on the show.

Sprawled out as if she were in her own bedroom, the older girl was clearly contemplating something.  Of course we were in a church so it might have been god, or it may have been some child's whimsy, or a shiny object.  If only her internal narrative could have been output into an audio channel for me to witness.  But then again, it couldn't possibly be as funny as not knowing her thoughts and speculating on the content, right?  As the ceremony continued, she had tea with her sister, satisfied a biological impulse (no deep thought necessary on that one), got tired and then....wait, no she didn't!  Not sure, but she seems a bit surprised.

Following the ceremony we went to the reception and had a great meal and caught up with a few of Nikki's work friends.  Once the music started, Robert treated us to our second show of the day. He's not shy when it comes to dancing.  Among the many gyrations you will see in a given dance session,  the jacknife is always the crowd pleaser.  While I wasn't able to capture that particular feat of athleticism, I did capture some of his best of the night.  Hey Robert, "It's getting hot in here".  No joke, that song was playing while he did the open vest movement.  You go with your gut instincts I guess.

 I'm glad Monique and Chris invited us and we got to see them start their lives together.  All in all, it was great theater and I enjoyed both performers immensely. I've seen Robert's moves several times, so perhaps that's why the little girl left more of an impression on me.  Considering the circumstances and the timing, I have to give performance of the day to the little show stopper.