If you come up in Google searches for “midtown Tulsa real estate” or for “Tulsa Realtor,” you’re going to receive some interesting requests not at all related to real estate. My fellow bloggers will know what I’m talking about!
Once I blogged about a new downtown Tulsa winter event. My step-daughter wanted to take her son ice-skating there during the holidays, so we had investigated hours, prices of skate rentals, etc. In my blog post, I clearly included a web site and phone number for more information, but I still got calls anyway. Since I had the information, I simply answered the questions.
A new restaurant on the river opened a block from my house and there was much anticipation about its opening. My husband and I walked over to try it out, then I snapped some photos and wrote a blog post about the new restaurant on the river. Again, I clearly linked to a web site and provided contact information, yet I received dozens of calls that first weekend for reservations. Now I know to log those contact numbers into my phone so I can give them out when needed!
A tree sculptor was working on a beautiful piece of work at Veteran’s Park, also a block from our home. My husband and I walked over to meet him and hear a little history of the project. Of course I snapped photos and wrote a blog post about it. Within one week, I received a call from someone wanting to know how much this particular sculptor charged, and I received another inquiry from someone wanting to know if I knew of a less expensive tree sculptor. Oya.
But my most rewarding and interesting call lately was from a photographer in need of a grand and elegant staircase on which to take photos of a bride. She actually found me on Pinterest where I had uploaded some photos of historical mansions in my neighborhood – the Dresser Mansion and the McBirney mansions. She had been searching for mansions in my midtown Tulsa neighborhood, an area that I often blog about. The photographer called me late Friday afternoon and needed to take the photos Sunday afternoon, so we had only two days to find the perfect grand and elegant staircase.
Now the McBirney Mansion was formerly a Bed and Breakfast and was rented out for wedding receptions and other events. It was sold to owner occupants in 2014 and is being beautifully restored by the family who purchased it. The Dresser Mansion was already booked on Sunday and this photographer was in a quandary about where to take the desired photo on Sunday!
So, I searched for 2-story homes for sale above $1 million dollars in Tulsa and weeded through the photos to select ones that contained a staircase that I considered to be grand and elegant. I sent the prospects to the photographer and told her she was going to have to call the Listing Realtor and make the request. I was happy to open the house for her and stay for the photo shoot, but I didn’t have time to make the ask. The first Realtor she approached hung up on her!
Then I revised the search to look for only vacant homes. Again, I weeded through photos and sent the photographer those which I thought would work. She got very lucky and found a very gracious Realtor and gracious Builder/Owner who agreed to let us use the house for photos.
Then the fun began. I met the bride, her mother and best friend – and the photographer at 6pm on Sunday. This bride’s train was so long, it took both the mother and friend to help her move around. It’s a good thing she took this trial run, because she discovered that the dress was too long – and she couldn’t comfortably sit down because some portion of the torso was too tight. So, an advance dress rehearsal is a good idea!
We took photos on the staircase, then in a room upstairs with a beautiful window – and finally some photos by the stunning front doors. While Mom’s and girlfriend’s hands were full, I carried the floral bouquet, cell phones, bottled water and even a chair. This, my friends, is taking full service real estate to a new level!
I snapped a few photos with my phone, but promised to hold off on my blog post until after the wedding – don’t want to chance the groom finding photos of his bride online before the big day!
Of course, everyone involved was very grateful for my help. The bride promised to call me when they are ready to buy a house and the photographer will refer me to someone I’m sure.
And for those who wonder why I took the time to help this group out – it’s all about karma.
So now I’m happy to finally share this story and photos of the beautiful bride!!!
Content written and published by Lori Cain.
