Tug boats and weddings- just a crazy day!

I woke up on the tug last Saturday and I had my day all planned out. Unexpectedly, I ended up crashing a wedding. 

First we took the tug to a fueling dock, then, instead of returning to tie up to the barge, we tied up at a beautiful dock along the waterfront of Corpus Christi, Texas.

Believe me when I tell you, it's not often the words "beautiful dock" and "tied up the tug" are in the same sentence.

After we were there for awhile we noticed people setting up chairs and hanging balloons on the waterfront patio adjacent to our tug. I mean, right next to us. Obviously there was going to be a party of some sort. Hmmmm, I thought, this is interesting.

 More time went by and people started filing in slowly taking their seats. Next a violin player and two photographers start setting up. Damn!! I'm about to witness a wedding? My first thought was, we shouldn't be here. We are way too close. We are way too ugly. This big old tired rusty tug with a crew wearing old work cloths should not be anywhere near a bride in her wedding dress.
I was imagining the parents of the bride, taking one look at this tug boat that was so close we could have been in the wedding party, and saying, "Oh no, this wasn't in the plans. What's that tugboat doing at my daughters wedding??

 The guests continued to arrive. I was expecting Dad, at any moment, to come over to us to tell us we have to leave. I totally would have understood if he did. But no one did. We noticed glances our way from a guest or two, but no one seemed to be bothered. I think I was more bothered than anyone. Having been a major player in my daughters wedding a few years ago, I know how much planning goes into a wedding. I know how much raw emotion is invested in this special day. I doubt the tug boat was part of the plan.

As the seats filled up I could tell this ceremony was going to take place at any moment, with or without a tugboat. I mean we were really really close!
I quickly got over any trepidation I had and did what any camera carrying guy would do,
I ran to my room and grabbed my camera.
And then it began. Bridesmaids front and center. I watched as all 3 bridesmaids came out and walked to there assigned area. I was standing in the bridge of the tug, aiming my camera out the window, but trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. After all, no one was looking at the tug now......

 everyone was looking at her.

 I'm standing in the wheelhouse with my camera, wearing steel toe workbooks, oil stained pants and a worn out shirt, not 50 feet away from a beautiful bride on her wedding day. Life is just crazy sometimes. No cops came...so I kept on shooting.

 I mean seriously, could I have been any closer. I was closer than some of the GUESTS in the back row!

 At this point it gets interesting. The couple is just seconds away from becoming man and wife, when I notice a woman motioning toward me, she's talking to the guy next to her, she's smiling and motioning with her arm for us to blow the tugboat horn! WHAT??
Take notice of the picture below. The woman back row center, is giving me the international signal to blow your horn, ( remember like you used to do to the truckers when you were a kid? )

 Now, I'm having a mini stroke. Who is this woman? Does she really want me to blow the tug air horn? In the middle of this wedding?  At the exact moment this couple were to be married?
After all I have done to keep a low profile, not to spoil this wedding day for the bride, and she wants me to BLOW THE HORN? Who is she?

Well, it turns out her name is Martha and she is the sister of the bride. She wanted us to blow the horn the moment they were pronounced man and wife. If only I had known.

As the ceremony was over and people went this way and that, Martha came over to the handrail, the only thing separating the wedding from our tug. I went outside to talk to her, she introduced herself, said she was the brides sister, hence the international blow your horn arm gyrations, but also asked me if I could send her copy's of the photos I had taken. I was more than pleased to do this for her, considering about mid way through the ceremony I was thinking to myself, "what am I going to do with these hundreds of photos I am taking of a bride and groom I do not know?" Martha solved that problem. I got her email address and promised I would send these photos along. After going through them I would guess I sent her close to a hundred photos.

In my first correspondence with Martha, after sending her some pics, I told her of my humble little blog here and I asked her permission to post some photos of her sisters wedding. She got back to me and said, "I checked with the bride and groom and they have no problem with it. Blog away."
You rock Martha!

Martha is pictured above behind the photographers. A big thanks to you Martha for letting me do this post. The photographers glanced my way a few times during the day, and lets just say they were not smiling and giving me the thumbs up. Maybe it was just my paranoia I don't know. If they only knew my incompetence concerning F/stops and aperture.....they didn't need to feel threatened. I hope my presence did not bother them

Let me say this. This was one of the most enjoyable afternoons I have spent on a tug boat in a long long time. They seem like a really nice family, at least as best as I could tell looking through the port side of the wheelhouse window. I watched the brides Dad playing with a little girl at various times throughout the day. All 6 in the wedding party seemed like nice people, they were all beautiful for sure.

Here's hoping the tugboat didn't make it into any of the official photos of this beautiful wedding.

Here's hoping the bride and groom are as happy in the future as they seemed this day.

My only regret? That I didn't blow that damn horn.