You Belong in the Zoo!

Marilyn and Michael

July 14th, 2006

At face value, without hearing any of the details I wanted to do this wedding.  For one factor only, it was to be held in the Los Angeles Zoo Bird Show Sanctuary!  I knew the rest was going to be crazy fun.  When I first met Marylyn, she had an easy going disposition about her.  She worked at the Los Angeles County Zoo and she took her love of animals to the point of making it a profession.    The love of animals for her goes so deeply that she couldn't image getting married without her feathered friends taking part. It's one thing to to invite your coworkers to your wedding, but its another thing to plan your wedding around your coworkers.  I have respect for people who take their profession to heart.    In a strange way, this wedding really worked!

The most obvious reaction is that you may be thinking that Marilyn is a future cat woman, you know the kind who has 18 cats in a small apartment.  No, she actually is quite normal.  Like any bride she has met the man of her dreams and she is excited about getting married to him. And like any bride there is an adjustment period of moving in with the husband after the wedding.  It's just that moving in comes along with a few more birds an animals than most women have, but really not that many more.  Marilyn & Michael don't run a wild life sanctuary out of their home.   He is a math teacher, they more less live a normal life. 

The first time Marilyn came over, she took time to get to know my dogs.   She studied them and talked to them, and they were like putty in her hands.  She has this type of nature which is Mother Earth on steroids.  Yet, she is like this with people as well.  Michael is a lucky man because he found someone who will go to the ends of the earth to make sure he is happy. 

Marilyn mentioned that it would be hot on her wedding day because the zoo is often hot in July.  Okay, hot was not the word, there was a heat wave that rolled in and the LA County Zoo was something like 96 degrees with humidity.  The zoo wasn't really set up for holding ceremonies. So, the bridal room was an unused storage room.   It was so hot that the engagement portrait melted !  Yikes!

Marilyn could take the heat, she had spent many a summer in the heat doing shows with the birds. She had many funny stories about birds eating other birds during the show to the horror of the guests (Hey, nature happens).  To make things worse the zoo had  a deal with Disney to put on a show at the El Capitan in conjunction with a movie.  She had to work around her normal work schedule with this project and plan her wedding.   Simply too much work but somehow she managed to make it work. Her human coworkers were very excited for her and really was there for her to make sure her wedding went flawlessly.

Now, Michael is this super easy going guy, and also very nice.  I really hope he doesn't mind when I tell this story.  Since he's a math teacher he's a bright guy.  His mind is strong in logical thought process (left brain).  His right brain ability needs work.  Before I got to the zoo, Michael and his groomsmen went walking around the park to spot out photographic locations   Me personally, I love this idea, it means he is involved with the process.  So, when I got there he was excited to show me the wall with rocks he had found and wanted to use for the portraits.  Keep in mind it was about 100 degrees by this point. We all go walking up the hill.  The groomsmen in the photo (left --->) who is closest to Michael is named Wayne.  Poor guy, it was hotter than hell, and he was walking up this hill with wearing a black Tuxedo.  His face was beet red and I was a bit worried about his health. When we got to the spot in question  with the pretty rock wall, it unfortunately was 3 feet tall!  I said "Micheal, you will have to lay on your stomach to work with this  wall."    We walked about 30 feet away and took this picture.  He was fine with everyting.

The ceremony started off with a bird show.  At the very left of this image you can see the little cage this bird came out of.  I had a prime location picked out to shoot this part of the ceremony entrance, but before I could start they kicked us out and told us to move to another location.  Photographing these birds wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.  They move extremely fast.

The birds came in for a landing at the stage, they were trained to move into the cave and go to the trainers who were waiting inside,

This little guy and gives the speech from the princess bride "Mawidge, Mawige is what wings us together, today."  His comic timing and British accent were impeccable.  Or, it was a tape, I am not certain. Anyway, this guy stole the show. 

As soon as Marilyn came in, it was like a normal wedding.

The reception looked great, I was held in a special part of the zoo where they have special events. The only thing we found a little odd is that they served chicken for dinner.  I couldn't help but tease Marilyn about it.  "Hey, who were these, the slow learners?"

Before I am finished I do have to give a shout out to my my gal Amie from Central California.  She wasn't the second photographer at this event and her style is simply amazing.  Oh, I just love her!

Overall, awesome people, awesome event, thanks so much for having us! 

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