Confessions of Jersey Girl

Edit.  We as an internet community owe an apology to American Airlines.   We were wrong, mislead and well… oops.   Misunderstandings happen and when we take something public via the internet and our contact network (let’s face it, us 20sb-ers can be a very large and intimidating bunch), we expect people to take notice.  American Airlines did everything in their power to right a wrong that wasn’t even theirs to right.  We were misinformed and given completely incorrect information.  There is someone in this situation to be angry at, but it is certainly NOT American Airlines.  Below is a post from Allie:

“I’m mortified to tell everyone that the issue that we were led to believe was caused by American Airlines’ unwillingness to refund our photographer’s husband after her was called to active duty in Afghanistan was not, in fact, caused by American Airlines. The issue was caused by our travel agent, who never actually submitted his deployment paperwork to the airlines to complete the refund, but told me that every option had been explored (including submitting the paperwork), and that there were no additional choices except to take a $150 cancellation fee and a credit to be used by May, 2010. We are handling this issue privately, and the airline (which the agent also mixed up – it’s US Airways – imagine my horror) has been incredibly helpful in getting the refund. Let’s just say, I won’t be purchasing airline tickets through travel agents anymore. I thank everyone for jumping in to support us, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart to everyone, especially American Airlines, for the misleading information that was passed along.

Allie”

If any of you know anything about me, you know that I am a photographer and a Military Wife.  These two things are both the center of my universe.  It has been brought to my attention today by a very dear friend and photographer (and fellow destination wedding bride) that AMERICAN Airlines does NOT refund ticket prices should a member of the military be called to Active Duty or deployed before the ticket has been used.

When I heard this today, I was shocked.

Get this, not only do they not refund the money for the ticket, THEY CHARGE A $150 CANCELLATION FEE!  What!?

I am heartbroken.  As someone who has endured all the military can throw at a family… I know that the last thing a family needs to be dealing with in the face of a deployment is fighting with an airline company.  It’s wrong, it’s unfair and they deserve their money back… plain and simple.

Here is the excerpt from Allie’s fiancee Jeff’s blog post explaining the situation:

“American Airlines does not refund tickets purchased by military personnel if they get called to active duty before they use the ticket. You heard me, not a single cent. Not only do they not refund the money, but they charge a $150 cancelation fee and give the soldier a credit (now $150 less) for a ticket that expires before most of their tours are up.

Here’s our story: We booked a photographer for our wedding in Mexico and agreed to fly her and a second shooter (military husband) down in exchange for the services. About four weeks later, she contacted us saying that her husband had been called back to Afghanistan for another yearly tour. Our thought was that, since his being called to active duty is out of his control, American Airlines would gladly change the name on the ticket to someone who could actually go. Not the case. Even after submitting US Military paperwork to American, the best they could do is the exact same deal they give to customers that call and bitch about changing a flight: a huge cancellation fee and credit for a later flight (which he’ll never be able to use). Nice work American Airlines, you guys are a class act.”

American Airlines? I don’t think so.

Ladies and gentleman, I’m asking for your help.  Spread the word about this.  Tweet the hell out of American Airlines.  Ask them WHY they refuse to refund the ticket price of a man who is protecting their freedom.  Let’s raise a little hell.

Repost this to your blog.

Tweet @American Airlines

Clearly, i’ve failed at VEDA if that wasn’t already glaringly apparent. Oh well. With everything else going on in my life the thought of a video blog a day sort of makes me want to barf. I’ve been super busy with wedding stuff, the photography business and whirlwind day trips to NYC to see my favorite girls in the history of the world. I have so much to update you all on it’s a little ridiculous really. Things should slow down soon, but in the meantime do me a favor and answer this question…

What’s your favorite way to unwind and de-stress?

The above photo is just one of the shots I captured during the engagement session that I shot yesterday evening.

About a week ago, I got my hands on a Canon 5D Mark II camera.  It was a HUGE financial commitment.  I saved and planned and made sacrifices (mostly in the wedding department.  I didn’t REALLY need the beautiful, flowy arch on the beach that costs $600 just to RENT).    I’ll admit, I was intimidated.  Becka shoots with this camera, Jasmine shoots with this camera. These are two women that I look up to SO much, they are two women who I want to be just like.  (Is that creepy?  If either of you read this, please don’t be creeped out.  You girls are just rockstars.)  All I kept thinking was that if my pictures suck on this camera, I’ll know its because i’m not good enough, because I don’t have the know how.  A good camera can only take you so far, you know?

I sort of felt like yesterdays shoot was going to be my turning point.  From this, I was going to know if being a photographer was something that I wanted to really throw myself into full force or if I was just mediocre and should cut my losses and stop throwing my time and money into something that isn’t going to go anywhere.  I’m sort of convinced now that i’m meant to do this whole photography thing. I may not be as good (yet) as the women that I admire so very much, but I think I can get there… I can make this happen.  I have never in my life been so happy doing something.  Last night while I was posting the pictures to Facebook for my clients, the girl in the photo above messaged me.  ”Thank you Rachel.  I feel so beautiful.”  That’s how I know I did my job well.  I went to sleep with the biggest smile ever on my face last night.  I feel so honored that people let me into their lives, let me see them as they are with no walls up.  The magic is in the people I photograph, not the camera that i’m holding.

On a different note, I’m participating in a Project 365 with three other wonderful and inspiring women.  What’s a Project 365 you ask?  Simple.  We’re taking one photo each day for a year.  Sometimes the pictures will be taken with a DSLR, sometimes maybe my iPhone… who knows.   Each day, we all post our photos to our blog for you to check out.  It’s an amazing project, make sure you check it out!

So my wedding is in 88 DAYS (!!!!!) and we leave for Jamaica in 85 days.  We’re getting close to crunch time and i’m feeling the stress more than ever.  So, what’s a girl to do when she’s stressed out?  SHOP!  Here’s a rundown of some adorable, fabulous, wedding related goodies i’ve purchased in the past week:

I purchased the white one, and I have no idea where i’m going to wear it, but it was too cute not to have.  I already have “getting ready” tank tops that you’ll see in another post, so maybe the morning before the wedding getting ready for the rehearsal?  Hmmm.  It’s from Victorias Secret.

I also purchased the requisite terry cloth pants and hoodie, for getting ready, in white.  This is also from Victorias Secret (you know, in case you weren’t able to tell from the model.

Guys, I have been coveting this necklace since long before I was ever even engaged.  It’s perfection in every way.  I love that it’s an adorable little spin on the classic pearl necklace without being too over the top.  I finally bit the bullet the other day and ordered one because I’m convinced that nothing else will ever measure up.  Sigh.  It’s so pretty.  It’s from VirginiaGeigerJewels.

Perfection, right?  This headband is from my heaven on earth, Anthropologie and I can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on it.  I see a lot of repeat wear on this baby.  I plan on wearing my hair down for the ceremony, but I felt like I’d need just a little sparkle since my dress is so plain.  It’s perfect, not too over the top and will be just what I need to keep my beach wavy hair out of my face when I walk down the aisle to the love of my life.

For the reception I want to pull my hair into a side ponytail and I’m going to put this clip just above it.  Let me just tell you, if you have a serious love for hair flowers like I do, LilyLadyBlue is the place to go get them!   I swear, you can’t tell this flower is fake!  It looks and feels so real, I was completely blown away by this pretty little thing when it arrived in the mail last week.  It’s spectacular.  I even cheated and wore it out on date night last night.  I put my hair in a low side bun and pinned it in, you would not believe the compliments that I got!

This about rounds out my frivolous wedding purchases, ha!  What is something you plan on purchasing for your wedding that you could maybe do without?  What’s something that you don’t really NEED but you might die if you don’t have?  Am I the only one that gives in and buys all of this crap?