I loved this shoot. It started out very iffy. We were set to shoot at the Exposition Rose Garden in downtown LA. On a saturday afternoon. Nothing special about that day. Or so we thought. It was a USC home game. And of course the garden was right next to the stadium! But no worries. Elizabeth had searched high and low for the best location for her princess shoot. The show must go on! Through rain and snow and crazy USC fans…nothing will stop me! LOL

And so I searched for parking. Got lucky and found a lot right across the street. Lucky?…I guess if you think forty bucks for parking is luck! Wow! No worries, this shoot is very very special and I pay the parking attendant. So I give Elizabeth a call. She is still looking for parking. I tell her about the lot. Both of us keep our fingers crossed there will also be a spot for her. I make my way through the crowds…searching for the rose garden. I pass by the stadium. WOW! I’m not much of a football fan, so I don’t get to go to many games. These fans are…very… um….supportive. LOL I saw more than 5 HUGE TVs with even bigger speekers all set up on the lawn of the stadium entrance. I guess these poor souls couldn’t get tickets to be inside and so they parked themselves in full surround sound, hoping it would feel like they were on the 50 yard line.

So I finally reach the rose garden and to my horror….there was a chain link fence surrounding the entire thing. We couldn’t even get inside. It was already 3:30 and I was afraid we were going to lose our light if I didn’t think fast. I called Elizabeth. Maybe we could search for another spot close by…no way! In these crowds? Walking in those outfits. I made an executive decision. We were going to Kenny Hahn Park. The next obstacle…giving David and Elizabeth directions. Yikes. My sense of direction is horrible. My explaining and giving directions…even worse. I made a call to the husband. Gave him Elizabeth’s cell phone number and crossed my fingers.

Next stop, the parking garage to get my car and cry about a $40 parking spot that I stayed in all of 10 minutes. But it’s only money. I was photographing true love. It was worth it. Right? The wonderful, fantastic and oh so amazing parking lot attendant gave me my money back. Thank you Mr. Parking Lot Attendant!

So I drive on to Kenny Hahn. I get there in less than 15 minutes, find the two love birds and we get started. Wait! I forgot to tell you exactly why these two love birds were dressed up like Belle and Prince Adam. This gorgeous girl was realizing a dream. To feel like a princess. Even better…to BE a princess. And let me tell you, she deserves it. Over the last few years, she has lost about 140 pounds. And her gorgeous husband has loved and supported her every step of the way. Not only that. She made these costumes. Did that sink in? She MADE them. By hand! Custom! WOW! Growing up the fat girl was, I’m sure no fun. Being made fun of. Not feeling pretty. Never getting to be the princess. Always, the witch. Or the step sister or even worse, not even invited to play. So when she realized that she would indeed meet her goal, she decided she was going to be a princess. And her husband, her prince. Fitting, I think. She sure looks like a princess to me.

A huge congratulations to you Elizabeth. You are gorgeous. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this beautiful dream….which is now your reality. Woo Hoo!

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