Tony and Rachelle: nothing could go wrong

(This is how I got 12 pictures of the first kiss, and 22 of the second...)

The moment has arrived: Tony and Rachelle have made their vows in front of a garden full of witnesses, the minister has declared them husband and wife, and it is time for him to give his bride their first kiss. And, like every other non-incompetent photographer, I start with a few zoomed-in shots, then pull back and get some wider shots of the crowd standing and cheering.

Seconds go by, I'm clicking away...Tony and Rachelle keep kissing. They spin 180 degrees, still in each others' arms. I get a few more shots. They keep kissing.

I get bored. They keep kissing. I switch from my long lens back to the short...they're still kissing. I move to a different location, and they're still kissing. I pull out my phone, check my e-mail, check the Cubs score (they lost), update my Facebook status ("OMG, this is the longest first kiss ever! Go Tony go!"), pick the camera up and get some shots of them FINALLY coming up for air.

And that was not even the coolest moment of the ceremony.

The coolest moment came two seconds before Rachelle's entrance. The sun was going down, and the garden's entrance was west of the seating, meaning all the guests were looking straight into the sun as the wedding party walked in. Everyone not wearing sunglasses was covering their eyes and squinting.

I loved it — I was set up behind the entrance, getting pictures of the party's shadows as they walked through the gable, which I thought looked really cool.

But, when Rachelle and her father were about to walk in, I put my camera back up to my eye, and everything was dark, and they were casting no shadows.

Two seconds before the bride walked in, a giant cloud floated in front of the sun. All the guests had a perfect view as the radiant beauty entered.

And that's all you really need to know about this wedding — the difficulties are just funny memories now. Sure, it was 92 degrees and near-100 humidity all day...big deal.

Yeah, so the skies opened and the flash flood forced the outdoor ceremony indoors. Then the rain disappeared as suddenly as it showed up, and the crew rushed out to dry off the seats and move the ceremony back outside. So the band had to play unplugged — they still sounded great.

None of that mattered when these two started to kiss.