As it happened, I was already planning on visiting Teppy the weekend of May 9-10, 2015, which coincidentally was the same weekend that Germantown High School was having their prom. I told Teppy that I would be happy to come photograph the event for the kids before they went off to the dance, so she asked Yunmin's host mom who asked Yunmin and they said sure! We were very excited about this opportunity because not only did we get to crash prom, but we got to see our favorite Korean student dressed up like a Korean James Bond!
Teppy met me at the airport with a Culver's sundae topped with chocolate chunks and strawberries along with a killer order of cheese curds. It made the 90 minute flight seem worth it (remember my fear of flying? There was no way I was taking Ambien for this flight knowing I had to go right to the photo shoot and didn't want to be loopy). Living in Atlanta with only Brusters as a "top tier" custard and no cheese curds, these two food items are a must when visiting Wisconsin, so I was happy that Teppy had the foresight to appease my craving as soon as I landed. As Teppy drove, I assembled my gear in the back of her van. I noticed right away that Teppy had done her homework. In the back of the van were 2 GINORMOUS bags of helium balloons (already inflated) along with bags with confetti, chalk boards, and glitter! This girl must have pulled an all nighter stalking Pinterest, because this stuff was GREAT for photographing prom!
We pulled up to the house of Yunmin's date at 1:15 on the dot, ahead of Yunmin himself! (Let me tell you, I hauled ass through Milwaukee airport and jumped into Teppy's car at a run. Photographing prom is serious shit and I wasn't taking this job lightly!) When he finally arrived, I was properly introduced and gave him my greeting in Korean of "anyounghaseeo". Now, I'm sure I didn't say it perfect, but he understood me and smiled. We proceeded to the back of the hosue where we took a plethora of fun and fantastic photos. Here are 2 examples:
After 30 minutes, the kids left and went on to another meeting place with other couples. Teppy and I headed downtown Menominee Falls and got some coffee while we waited for the kids to arrive to their final photograph site, a gazebo by the river. We chatted for about an hour on the balcony of a little bookstore/coffeeshop and enjoyed the cool air, as it had already hit the high 80's down in the ATL. Finally the kids arrived and it was photo frenzy time:
Yunmin Hwighting!