27 Dresses was a movie I saw in 2008 (seems like so long ago!) about a wedding planner who had gone through 27 dresses due to all the weddings she had been a bridesmaid at. Back then I wondered, "wow those are some fancy dresses, thank god I don't have to worry about that!" And now I DO have to worry about them. 27 Dresses is an apt summary of the whole wedding planning process, a rite of way that encompasses picking out excessively gaudy items out of other gaudy and spectacular things. Going wedding dress shopping is similar, having to go through so many different dresses and have an opinion on each one that sounds unique even though I have no idea what I'm talking about, like "that looks more urban," or "that looks more sleek," or "you're very classy in that," even though real experts probably have the exact opposite opinion. Ultimately, the dresses were designed to look good on most people, so they're generally going to look good, IMO. Unfortunately unlike Katherine Heigl in the movie we can't keep all 27 dresses, so just picking one out of those that looks passable is probably an accomplishment in itself. (Same with picking out linen colors, shoes, ties, menu decisions, hors d'oeuvres, etc.) In general they're going to be nice anyway, chances are we're gonna get a pretty nice one. (is my uneducated, wholly un-artsy amateur opinion).
Due to the lavishness and general nature of the upcoming wedding, I've been levelheaded about wedding planning: not unabashedly excited, but not filled with dread and misery neither. Weddings are complicated affairs with many minute details and ever-escalating costs memorialized by someone informing you (politely, the wedding industry wouldn't want to put a damper on the leeching/ bloddletting event that is the wedding) "that'll be extra." I've been OK about the costs despite normally being a Scroogey, tightfisted guy who doesn't like spending money (also known in today's society as "cheap") by justifying the costs as necessary, once-in-a-lifetime, and comforted knowing that my friends and family will be attending and it's one of the only times you can get everyone together for an epic celebration. I'm reminded sometimes, though, that it IS a fun process, and wedding photography is one of them.
The engagement shoot has all the thrills of a wedding (getting dressed up, getting in front of great scenery) but none of the stress of meeting guests at a wedding, having to come up with clever things to say, dealing with wedding dresses, etc. An engagement shoot is just a nice stroll in the park, it seems, with your photographer, whose only job is to capture us in the best light possible and make us look good, and if any click doesn't yield those results, he/she can just dispose of them. It's really a no-lose process, and done at the right time, can be very joyous. We chose Sunday afternoon at Walt Disney Hall in downtown Los Angeles, and the heavens really burst upon us with a soothing cool breeze, an excellent sunset, and all the typical colors of a summer day in Los Angeles. I can imagine how tedious it could be if it was any other type of weather, but we did not sweat at all, our photographer made sure to position us generally under the shade, and as we were posing we could enjoy the natural scenery and just being outside in the wonderful Los Angeles daytime. In other words, I would have been out there anyway even if given a choice as to how the afternoon would go.
I have trouble smiling. Many times I forget to smile (violating my own "laugh twice a day" rule), or my smile seems forced, or I don't like opening my mouth to smile, or I have resting "mean" face. Whatever the reason, I've never been told, "you smile a lot" or "I like your smile" (except on a dating website where a lady was probably really desperate or just sending out generic messages to everyone to get a response, I wasn't even really smiling in my online dating profile), so I was worried about having to smile for 2 straight hours and holding it. Seemed like a bit of a chore. Turns out, I like smiling! And every time I looked into MJ's face, I found something to smile about, whether it was the way she was smiling back at me, the wind blowing her hair aside to make it just a little messy but still cute, or just the sheer amount of makeup that she had put on (done professionally) to look nice that day. I was able to find something to smile about each time I looked over and was asked to smile. And really, my dreams really came true to find a beautiful person to be with, living in one of the best cities in the world, taking photos in one of the best photogenic locations in that city, with fountains rising up behind us (yup, we timed it so that even fountains were flowing today, that's how serendipitous today was) for a photoshoot that we can enjoy the fruits of (that would be the pictures) for years to come, and really, the rest of our lives. There was certainly enough to smile about, and I hope my happiness shone through in the pictures. We got introduced to these different poses called the "walk as you look at the floor, the "almost-kiss" where you get super close to kissing without actually kissing, and having my hand in my pocket but only a thumb exposed. Really important poses for the camera, I'm sure.
Made me wonder if it was easy being a model and just enjoying the view, doing different poses, etc. And then I realize models have to always be a certain weight (starve themselves), go much longer than a wedding shoot does, be forced to smile and do other facial expressions, and aren't always in the most comfortable places (dank, stuffy warehouses, etc.) and I think I'll pass. And they have to actually look good, which, with my problems of smiling, probably isn't best suited for me.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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