i always get super emotional when i start pulling for my end of year posts.
to be honest, i have a pretty terrible memory. so going through my hard drives and revisiting each and every session is like going through a flip-book of my year and seeing those moments of beauty, of vulnerability, of wonderful light, the stories of love. the personal triumphs and failures. of revisiting people i miss and don't get to see, and places i've visited far away from my little nook in charlotte. (btw, i still cry every time i hear "resolution" by matt corby, or "ends of the earth" by lord huron. thanks to two of the most emotional ceremonies i've ever witnessed!)
i love it and i hate it. and it always makes me hope for a better, for a bigger next year.
....but we all know that bigger isn't always better - so instead, my wish is for a more intentional year. i've already begun creeping towards that, from having an open and honest heart and picking my 2015 couples (you are all already amazing, by the way) to making small business moves towards a cleaner process & refining my brand.
i'm getting really FREAKING excited about my life in the next year.
(with that being said, i'm still booking a handful of weddings. if you're getting married outside, if you've read my philosophy page and feel like our hearts are a good fit, if you're a wandering, adventure-seeker, let's talk.)
but before we even get to 2015, i want to reflect on 2014. it was a great year.
personal triumphs (business and personal):
+shot an incredible international wedding in mexico with my bestie paige jones.
+was blessed enough to photograph an amazing wedding in big sur/carmel valley, california.
+was featured on green wedding shoes again(!!), as well as cottage hill and ever ours.
+traveled to santa barbara with four of my bff's and went to photo field trip. learned some tricks from some photography heroes (sean flanigan, benj haisch, ben sasso), met a ton of awesome new friends.
+shot a wonderful elopement in charleston.
+had to really learn the meaning of trusting in the Lord. financially, finding work, keeping faith in myself and my business. this was perhaps the toughest but most rewarding lesson.
+became dear friends with so many of my amazing couples. and really found my place in my photography community.
+traveled, traveled, traveled. and loved every minute of it.
+learned to turn down couples. this may be a weird one to most, but for me, it was really big personal success. i learned it's more important to click with my couples, to be as excited about their wedding as they are my photography. it's okay to lose out on some money (lots of money, actually) to be able to give my full heart to each couple. tough lesson, but a great one.
+was featured in a two print magazines, mywedding's first ever print edition and also had a small feature in carolina bride.
+soul searched and really learned what the creative process of shooting and loving on my couples means. to me.
+moved into an awesome apartment (solo) and bought a new car.
+ate Japanese food with my couples after half of my shoots. you don't even know how happy this made me.
okay. here we go.
oh, ps: here's 2012 and 2013 if you missed them.
(this is a super picture-heavy post. i literally sat for hours and just couldn't cut this down any more. i'm sure all my friends who only blog like, 30 images a wedding want to kill me right now. cheers!)
