The Past Year…

So I’ll be honest, I had been debating whether or not to do a year in review post. I started before January -  going through alllllllll of the weddings and portrait sessions from this past year, reliving moments and reflecting on just how much I’ve grown as a person and photographer. I think it’s taken me so long to even START writing this post because this past year was nothing less than being described as EPIC. As some of you know, I left graduate school this past June (I was getting my doctorate in Clinical Psychology) to pursue photography full time. I’ve done some major leaps and feats in my life, but this is probably one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever had to make thus far. I mean heck, from birth I was born almost two months early and weighed in at 3 pounds, so I guess you can say my life has never been close to “boring”. It would take a couple coffee chats to tell you all about how I ended up doing this as my profession, but I will say that I am completely where I’m meant to be and doing exactly what I was meant to do with my life. I have never felt so at peace and excited about what the future holds for me – even though at times it can be a little scary. Putting my heart completely on my sleeve, confidence in myself and my work is something I’ve spent the year reflecting/battling with. As artists, we are often our own worst critics (comparing ourselves to others), and this can cause a lot of frustration. I’m continuing to grow, be confident – DAILY. Be it learning something new or trying something fearless . It’s almost perfect that I’m writing this so close to February, as it was in February 2011 that I decided to go from strictly portrait work and delve into weddings. And when I say delve, I went head first, and I SWAM. It’s taken a lot of time, energy, dedication, and sacrifice -  I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I lived this past year out to the maximum fullest. Between finishing/leaving grad school (I left with a Masters degree!), constantly second shooting, my own booked weddings & photo sessions, attending conferences and styled shoots, moving to Charlotte North Carolina, and then traveling all over the place through November for weddings – it’s been a beautiful whirlwind. For my “past year” in review, I decided to showcase images from weddings you’ve never seen before! It’s kind of ridiculous the amount of images I have saved in a folder for this post (when I relive moments I get all sentimental and want to show them ALL). Instead, I decided to highlight unseen images that truly speak to me – images that burst with REAL moments of life, love, and laughter, and represent this past year of growth and awesomeness as a wedding photographer. Although I still owe her a huge letter (yes, I’m a sap and a half), I want to personally thank Valerie Demo for changing my world and trusting me to be her right hand girly and second shooter at her weddings this year. I don’t think it’s hit me just how devastated I feel that we can’t shoot every weekend together anymore (it’ll likely hit when wedding season starts back up) – but no worries, we are already planning weddings we are going to team shoot together this year! Valerie, you have had such an integral part in my growth as a photographer. She is literally my #1 fan (besides husband), and she gives me the confidence to face my fears and just rock it out. I’ll save all the sappy details for now (but Val, you’ll get to read all of them in that letter that is soon coming – thank u friend!!). To those that read this whole post (phew!), I thank you for continuing to join me in this journey, and I hope you come along for all that 2012 has to offer. From my heart, thank you to my 2011 clients and brides. Thank you for trusting and wanting ME to capture images that will last a lifetime (and beyond!)- allowing me to capture such beautiful moments that I can’t possibly find words for how special they are! I look forward to maintaining the wonderful friendships I have with all of you, and you all have SUCH a place in my heart. Oh and 2012? I’m ready.

Without further ado – images no one has EVER seen from this year (in no particular order!) Enjoy