Lesson to All Wedding Photographers

By far, the coolest job at a wedding is the flamenco guitar player.

Get over it. It's true. This guy is a stud. Total stud. We the wedding photographer, are way to involved in the process. We are booked months, sometimes years in advance. We have utmost responsibility. We are ON the entire time, sometimes days before scouting locations, dealing with shot lists and editorial feeds.

But not the flamenco guitar player. No way. Don't bother him with calls, exact times or specifics. If you need him, he'll be at the bar, in his sandals, in his flowing white outfit and hair long past his shoulders. And if he's not at the bar, you better send your best friend to find the bridesmaids cause he might have found them first.

You know those Dos X's beer commercials, about the most interesting man in the world. This is the guy they are talking about. You can see his charisma from space. His bear hugs are actual hugs he gives to bears.

I remember working a wedding once. It was hot. Really hot. 112 to be exact. I was crouching down during the ceremony, a thousand and one thoughts on my mind, sweat running off my elbow, and I looked over and there he was. Margarita glass at shoeless feet, white linen outfit, backlit hair blowing in the wind. He looked right at me and I could just imagine him saying, "Stay thirsty my friend."

It was then and there, as my day only got more and more involved, that I realized I had made a poor decision all those years ago as I walked past the music room in elementary school. A quick glimpse inside, seeing other kids pounding on bongos. I should have turned, but instead, I kept walking on the path I follow today.

And now I can only look and admire from a distance, the work of this all powerful being.

You might see him later in the night, popping up here and there, showing a scar on his leg, his arm around the mother of the bride, speaking Urdu with another guest, only adding to the mystery and allure of the most important cog in the wedding wheel.