Natalie's Dream Come True // Delaware Portrait Photography

I am just going to warn you, this is the craziest story ever.  I mean, things like this don't actually happen to people, not in real life, that is.  But apparently, they do, because I got to bear witness to one of the neatest fan stories ever, starring my friend Natalie.

About a month ago, Natalie was squealing in the church hallway because she had just won a contest.  She called me over and I could see her struggling to keep her voice at a normal decibel as she told me about her desire to see the new Hunger Games movie Catching Fire.  I knew that she had originally wanted to see the midnight showing on opening day, but because of her sweet sister's upcoming wedding, attending a midnight showing right after a rehearsal dinner was not really a viable option.  But instead of buying some next day fandango tickets, Natalie took matters into her own hands, and entered every contest she could find that would get her to the Hollywood premiere of one of the biggest movies of the year.  Yeah. Right.  That'll work.

And by golly, she WON!

Yes, Tiger Beat Magazine (one of the contest sponsors) is sending this girl to Los Angeles a few days before the rest of the country gets to see Catching Fire.  She gets to sit in the same theater as Jennifer Lawrence and Woody Harrelson and Josh Hutcheson, and see this awesome movie that I have been trailer-stalking for MONTHS before anyone else.  She gets to walk on a RED CARPET.  She get's to bring her dear sister with her and stay in a fancy hotel room.  And to sweeten the deal, she gets to wear a fabulous dress courtesy of promgirl.com (the other contest sponsor).  And of course, they had to send her several to choose from.

So what do you do when you have a bunch of gorgeous sparkly dresses to try on for the Hollywod premiere of a movie in your favorite franchise?  You have a photoshoot!  We had so much fun running around Natalie's yard in ball gowns, standing in the middle of the road in sequined dresses, and earning the stares of many neighbors.

But the biggest joy to me was seeing how happy Natalie was.  A hardworking, kind, and serving student, she is busy and under stress all the time.  She does so much for others and is such a friend to everyone.  An out-of-this-world adventure is such a sweet gift to her.  And as much as I was fully willing to offer my chaperone services for the premiere, I am so thrilled she gets to share such an incredible event with her big sister right before her sister gets married.

Natalie, you are beautiful.  I am sure you will turn heads at the premiere and have the time of your life!  Say hi to J-Law for me!