Nice Weather

These past few days we have had some super crazy weather!! Like wind that will blow you over crazy! True story......I almost fell over when I went to go bring the dogs in lol....no shame! Haha!! But today I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and the sky looked somewhat promising of a nice day!! Thank goodness! :) And indeed it was a gorgeous day. I love being able to go outside and play with the doggies. Everything during that time seems so peaceful and "uncrazy" if thats even a word lol. Tonight I snapped this picture with my crappy camera on my phone...doesn't really do much justice, but it was still pretty :)

Hope you all had a great day!!

Words of Encouragement

So as many of you know, I am starting my new business. I have clients lined up for weddings this year and I cannot wait to get things rolling! But sometimes I catch myself getting too far ahead of myself and then over thinking the logistics. Then I get frustrated and feel like I should just give up on everything! At that point in time, God feeds me some feel-good-encouraging-YOU-CAN-DO-IT words that I need. I was laying in bed yesterday trying to fall asleep and my mind was racing with big dreams for my business, how I want to be as AWESOME as Jasmine Star, Katelyn James, and Justin & Mary. These dreams are suddenly shattered by the realization that there is a lot of hard work, practice, and many, many long days before I get to that stage I feel somewhat discouraged. Coincidentally I was reading a post on Katelyn James’ blog, in the midst of my despair, where she was talking about her business start up tips. She gave some really neat and useful insight on the business side of being a photographer by using her experiences. That post spoke to me…no really, it SPOKE to me:

“The first year can be the hardest. You’re probably not going to make any money. You’ll have to work harder than you ever have and you’ll be tired. Decide to keep going. Decide to keep pushing forward and taking risks. This isn’t over until you allow it to be over. If this is your passion, make a commitment to keep fighting for your dream!”

-Katelyn James

So here it is; here I am. Deciding to keep going. Deciding to keep pushing forward and taking risks. Because this IS my PASSION, here is my commitment to keep fighting for MY DREAM!

Despite all that I have working against me, I have so many things working with me to help me accomplish my goals and keep me heading on the path that I want to be on. I am so INCREDIBLY blessed to have the people I have in my life. Without their support, I would be lost. I thank God everyday for giving me strength and courage to keep my eyes on the prize and for reminding me to be grateful for all the blessings I have. Happy Monday!! :)

Bridal Fair Preparation!

It was last May when it was decided that I would have a booth at the 2012 Mother Lode Bridal Fair. In December, I was helping my best friend Bronté flip her 120something year old farm house. The doors weren’t in the best condition, so they were sitting in the dump pile when I got this grand idea!! I decided to salvage them and use them for the backdrop of my booth; if it worked out, AWESOME! If it didn’t, itd be no big d. Bronté’s mom, Robyn, had hooked me up with a sander and a place to work on the doors and I went to town! There were SSSOOOOOOOO many layers of paint on these doors I couldn’t believe it! I was like, Man this is going to take foreeeevvvverr! But the more I sanded, the more I loved it and the more I wanted to keep going! As many of you know, I am absolutely OBSESSED with the color teal! And guess what the color of one of the many layers of paint was?! TEAL!!! YEEESSSSSS!!! How cool was that?! If that wasn’t meant to be, I don’t know what is lol! Robyn was helping me with putting everything together and creating my vision of what I wanted it to look like! So grateful that I had her help, I couldn’t have done it without her!! We designed a sign for my logo and logo placement, flower arrangements, made NEW business cards, giveaway ideas, and uses for mason jars. I incorporated lace and pearls with peonies and dried wheat along with vintage style doors that had worn hardware attached. How cool that everything was coming together and working like I had imagined it would! Surprising what a little creativeness and elbow grease can do! I am so excited to see how the booth will turn out next weekend! :)

Olivia & Matthew | Married

Welp, here it is! My first wedding! I am so excited to be finally sharing this wonderful learning experience and this joyful event where two people chose forever. When Olivia first approached me about shooting her wedding, I was shocked that I was even being asked to SHOOT wedding!! A REAL LIFE ‘I DO’ WEDDING!!!! I always thought something like this was just in my dreams……SERIOUSLY, I dream about shooting weddings ALL THE TIME lol! I excitedly accepted the offer and started gearing up for that day which was about nine months away! My second shooter, the one and only Miss Jillian Van Tassel, was set, equipment was ready, I had researched shots that I knew I just HAD to get, and I sent out an email to Katelyn of Katelyn James Photography asking for any tips that she might have for an aspiring wedding photographer shooting her first wedding in a few weeks. Such great advice from her btw!! Thanks Katelyn :)!! I was beside myself all summer and when that Saturday on September 17, 2011 came, I’m not gonna lie, I felt like I was in WAAAYYYY over my head. But once the girls started getting ready, I just got in the zone!! I was having so much fun capturing the smiles, laughs, & tears of probably one of the happiest days of Matt and Olivia’s lives! I am so blessed that I had the opportunity to shoot this Mountain Ranch Wedding. Enjoy!!

YEESSSSS!!!