RJKphoto wrote:
Made it there and back, but the majority of guests did not. In fact the MOB said the pastor of the church called her and said that the parking lot and hill leading up to the church may not be clear by the time the ceremony was scheduled to take place. The parking lot was clear, but the county road to the church was not. Unfortunately, the couple had NO interest in trying to go outside, even on the church steps, to include the storm into their images. Since so few people showed up, the family sent me home with enough food to feed a small army...or the Donner Party.
I am still reeling from the tone of the posts here. I am not about to buy a gas guzzling 4WD monster to do the very rare winter wedding. I am from central NY. I have driven in many many many blizzards, and snow is a way of life from December to March there. I asked for suggestions , perhaps I wasn't clear about what I wanted to know so I'll take some of the blame for that. I never considered not going, I have never missed a wedding in all the years I have been doing this. My fear was driving down there, and having THEM cancel! Or getting in an accident on the way. There were many helpful posts, but as usual in this quagmire called Fred Miranda Wedding forum, there's too many unhelpful ones as well.
I may be one of the unhelpful ones, but it is still great to hear that you made it out and back safely.
Huge bummer on them not wanting to get some storm shots. They may regret that down the road when, hopefully, the storm changes from a sad story to a funny/happy one.
RJKphoto wrote:
Made it there and back, but the majority of guests did not. In fact the MOB said the pastor of the church called her and said that the parking lot and hill leading up to the church may not be clear by the time the ceremony was scheduled to take place. The parking lot was clear, but the county road to the church was not. Unfortunately, the couple had NO interest in trying to go outside, even on the church steps, to include the storm into their images. Since so few people showed up, the family sent me home with enough food to feed a small army...or the Donner Party.
I am still reeling from the tone of the posts here. I am not about to buy a gas guzzling 4WD monster to do the very rare winter wedding. I am from central NY. I have driven in many many many blizzards, and snow is a way of life from December to March there. I asked for suggestions , perhaps I wasn't clear about what I wanted to know so I'll take some of the blame for that. I never considered not going, I have never missed a wedding in all the years I have been doing this. My fear was driving down there, and having THEM cancel! Or getting in an accident on the way. There were many helpful posts, but as usual in this quagmire called Fred Miranda Wedding forum, there's too many unhelpful ones as well.
Glad to hear you made it there safe and sound and did your job. I bet the couple was happy too... but I'm confused about what you were looking for... You said you wanted suggestions or opinions on what to do. To some, myself included, that made it sound as if you were contemplating not going as one of the possible options.... which you admit to probably being a little unclear about. You also tell us that you've never missed in a wedding in all these years, so you obviously have a pretty healthy understanding of why some of us might think it crazy to miss one... that being said, I don't think the tone was out of line.... just a little tough love.
Well, I'm certain that we're all glad to hear that you made it back safe. You're right, sometimes it is hard to appreciate how dangerous the roads are while safe inside a well-heated home.
Feel free to share some of the images if you'd like.
I am glad that you made it there and back safely. I think that you did the right thing by asking for advice from your peers and it looks like you got some valuable feedback but I can certainly understand your frustration with some of the responses.
I live in Indiana and I drive a 4Runner so I live for snow covered roads. Ice however is a completely different beast. No matter how well-equipped your vehicle might be, sliding is always a hazard. Not only do you have to worry about your own vehicle but you also have to watch out for everyone around you. All it takes is one other vehicle sliding into yours and you could be out of commission. Or if you're on a route that gets shut down because of an accident, you might have to travel miles out of the way in a detour and it's bound to take a lot longer than under normal driving conditions.
You'd said that this was in the country and those roads are usually in the worst condition because of drifting and they're often the last to get treated (if any) and plowed. If it is snowing it can often be difficult to see the edge of the pavement. Most country roads are surrounded by drainage ditches on both sides so you don't have a lot of room to work with if you do start to slide.
In my experience there are a few phrases that seem to apply here. Most people don't really push themselves or demand the absolute best from themselves.
"Drink water, drive on"
"You can sleep when your dead. Sleep is only a crutch"
I realize these don't directly apply, but they follow a similar mantra or theme. In this case, as most people have expressed, you need to be there unless it was certain death or it was illegal.
Just a part of the game we play. You did the right thing and got there.
It's good to hear it went well overall. I was also confused by your initial post. My thought is that if you have potentially terrible weather, hopefully you factored that in and would be able to make a mini vacation out of it if need be, even with it being fairly close to home. Without knowing all the details, all we can do it give suggestions.
Janet, I'm very sorry about the loss of your friend. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family.
JanetG wrote:
glad you made it there and back safely. sadly a friend of mine who was only 30.. did not make her journey. her family is devastated as you might imagine, but they are proud in spite of their grief, that she was an organ donor and has helped to save 6 other lives with her gift. please don't be flippant about manning up... the roads can be dangerous and deadly.
Janet, I am so sorry for your loss. My sister passed away a few years ago and she was also an organ donor so I know how your friend's family feels.
cbradio09 wrote:
In my experience there are a few phrases that seem to apply here. Most people don't really push themselves or demand the absolute best from themselves.
"Drink water, drive on"
"You can sleep when your dead. Sleep is only a crutch"
I realize these don't directly apply, but they follow a similar mantra or theme. In this case, as most people have expressed, you need to be there unless it was certain death or it was illegal.
Just a part of the game we play. You did the right thing and got there.
There's a difference between demanding excellence from yourself and acting foolhardy for some sense duty.
Yes weddings are important events and a one time deal for most people, but they are not worth injuring yourself traveling on unsafe roads (no matter how big your 4x4 is).
alohadave wrote:
There's a difference between demanding excellence from yourself and acting foolhardy for some sense duty.
Yes weddings are important events and a one time deal for most people, but they are not worth injuring yourself traveling on unsafe roads (no matter how big your 4x4 is).
RichardLavigne wrote:
Word... Last oct. we shot in the blizzard in in NJ. We were also the limo driver that day. Nothing stops the FJ.... Man up. You can't blog excuses.
+1
twice i was only one who showed up on a wedding.
first time broken water pipe, street closed, i went over the field and was by church 1h in advance. There was only bride, groom, priest and groom's parents (who all were local) and me.
second time, last year winter wedding, evening was on castle in wine yards. bride and groom had G class daimler and i took 7 family members with me. All other had to walk about 2km in very snowy conditions or wait for shuttle from the castle.
JanetG wrote:
glad you made it there and back safely. sadly a friend of mine who was only 30.. did not make her journey. her family is devastated as you might imagine, but they are proud in spite of their grief, that she was an organ donor and has helped to save 6 other lives with her gift. please don't be flippant about manning up... the roads can be dangerous and deadly.
I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Janet. Safe travels, everyone.
