This year Jamie & I spent Christmas in B.C with my family. Isn’t it funny that no matter how long you live away from your family, being there is always being home? I really appreciated that feeling of being home this year, since our lives have been full of so much transition in the past few months. My mom always makes the house really cozy, and cooks us amazing food, and we spend lots of time playing games, walking the dog and just being together. It was such a good week.
My parents! Cooking up a Christmas Day feast…
We spent one day in Seattle after Christmas with Alex & Marie! Jamie and I got a short date at Pike’s Place too…so I thought we’d better take the most classic touristy-seattle pic in front of one of the signs. (Excuse the frumpy lady in the picture…she’s pregnant and can’t wear her contacts any more, and her wardrobe consists of only comfy, stretchy things.)
Our last holiday stop was in Colorado where I shot a beautiful NYE wedding! {More to come on that one soon!}
Also my dearest Ashleigh & Jesse, and the Fightmaster family (yes, that is their last name) live in Fort Collins so we got to spend some good quality time with them. Ash & Jesse took us to a friends’ cabin in Estes, and it was warm enough to sit in the sun and play crib. The cherry on top was that Ashleigh and I kicked the boys’ butts so bad that they even cried a little. We can’t help it, we’re just that good.
He blends in here.
Gotta love a self timer shot! Everyone is laughing because I almost fell when I was running over to get into the shot…typical.
And now, here we are…in Alaska. Beautiful, isn’t it? Winter may have skipped over the rest of the States but its here with a vengeance! At least there’s snow, if its going to be this cold we might as well have snow to make everything pretty.
Our Holiday Season…
The best donuts of my life…serious.
I do have a weakness for the deep-fried goodness that is a home made donut. I can’t help it. I try to just stay away from donut shops altogether, but this one had been calling my name for a while and I finally tried it out a couple months ago.
I’ve seen the lines at the Donut Vault a lot….they wrap around the corner right near the Kinzie Street Bridge/Merchandise Mart where I have photographed numerous wedding parties and engagement sessions. Finally curiosity got the best of me and I googled the place…only to learn that its probably the best donut shop in Chicago (I know, right? HOW did it take me so long to find this out?!)
The store is even tinier than it looks…more like a hallway than a store. They offer 3 kinds of donuts, I tried all of them and they are all amazing (we shared.) Since it was a nice day and there isn’t any seating inside, we walked over to sit by the river…maybe one of my favorite Chicago moments of all time with my best friend and my husby. 
Just a little tip though: They make the same amount every day and only stay open until they sell out! Its best to get there early, especially if you’re going on a weekend (and expect a line!).
2011 Reflections…my thoughts on maintaining sanity as a wedding photographer.
Its hard to believe how much has happened in 2011, and sometimes you lose the details until you sit down to reflect on the year. Around this time of year I always go back through my archives and look over every single shoot from the year, it gets the wheels turning about the year as a whole…what was good and what changes I need to make for the coming year. I think its a necessary thing for any small business owner to do, to take an inventory of the year and make goals for the coming year. I know it is definitely necessary for me.
A couple of years ago Jamie and I took the Megabus from Chicago to Minneapolis for Christmas (about an 8 hour bus ride). This week, that ride came back to me as I was reflecting on this year. We were riding in the dark most of the way, and the other passengers were listening to iPods, watching movies, reading and talking. I was sitting. And staring. Not looking out the window, but just staring at the window. For 8 hours I didn’t move or even say a word to Jamie, I didn’t pull out a book or put headphones in…I was a zombie. I remember at the end of the trip (which seemed so short to me) Jamie asking me what was going on? Was I ok?? He looked at me like I was a little crazy, actually.
I didn’t even realize that my behavior was unusual. I probably couldn’t have done anything else if I had tried. Looking back, I know that what was going on was my body’s reaction to finally sitting still for the first time in a year or so..my brain’s reaction to finally letting it shut off. That was the end of my first year of doing photography full time. I had shot over 90 sessions that year, 43 of them weddings! At the same time, I had been teaching myself the business side of things, trying to keep up with marketing and blogging and facebooking and all that stuff…and had forgotten to take care of myself!
That was when I knew I needed some goals for my business, but really for myself. That pace isn’t sustainable…maybe its necessary early on (maybe not), but its impossible to carry on that way for very long. That is why goals became necessary for me, and why reflecting on the year is important.
For 2011 I had a list of rules for myself:
1. Shoot 33 weddings. No more. (Because I had shot 43 in a year and that was too many)
2. No ‘extra’ shoots during wedding season…no engagement sessions for couples whose weddings I wasn’t shooting, the only child portraits I would shoot would be for people who I had worked with in the past.
3. No more than 4 double header weekends during wedding season…no triple headers.
I did this to guard my time a little more closely, and to preserve my sanity! It was really hard for me to turn people away, but I think that everyone benefited from this decision…I found myself able to give more to my brides and grooms, and to continue to challenge myself creatively at every session. In 2011 I enjoyed every wedding I shot, and didn’t feel burned out at the end of the year…and I’m positive that Jamie noticed the difference in more ways than one!
So here are my stats for the year:
33 weddings (yep…I didn’t budge on that one)
21 engagements (some for 2011 couples, some for 2012 couples)
13 family/child sessions
I had a new website designed, was featured in some blogs and a couple of magazines, attended a few photography conferences and developed friendships with some other wedding photographers in Chicago…all things that had been lacking in prior years!
2011 is coming to a close with my sanity in tact, and I feel like that means it was a successful year. When I was looking through my archives I was again blown away by the quality of people I was blessed to work with this year! So many beautiful, fun, creative couples who think outside the box and know how to plan an amazing wedding! I’m planning on posting some of those images tomorrow…now that I’ve written a novel for you all I promise, tomorrow will be just pictures!
cha cha changes…and how I cope.
Lately I haven’t been very good about keeping you all in the loop…This is the slow down season in my photography world, and there has been so much going on personally that I haven’t really even known where to start…Jamie graduating with his M.Div, us moving out of our cozy little Chicago apartment, living out of a suitcase for the past 5 weeks or so, and preparing for the baby coming soon. No big deal, right? (HA!)
Instead of dwelling too much on all of the big changes, I’ve been plugging along…continuing with life as usual (as much as possible).
I’ve also been doing a lot of staring out the window at this: (Because really, how could I not?)
aaand…there has been plenty of fire side sitting.
I log lots of time on Pinterest (I’m officially an addict.)
and peruse many blogs, both photography related and otherwise. One of my new favorites is Terrain My sister sent me their link, she knows me so well! If any of you out there have some good home decor blogs to recommend, of the DIY flavor especially, I’d love to hear about them.
I’ve been thankful for the time to reflect, especially in the midst of such huge transition in our lives. I’m looking forward to being in BC in a week or so to spend Christmas with my family, and then to heading to Colorado to photograph that New Years Eve wedding and spend some time with my friends Ashleigh & Jesse.
PS We get to move in to our very own house in mid-January!! No more suitcase living for the Roses…and with plenty of time to settle in before the baby comes. Woo!
Just a little piece of news…
Triplets!!!
…Just kiddin’.
Its three pictures of our one and only baby Rose to-be!
In some ways it still doesn’t feel real, although a couple days ago we got to see the little climber move all over the place and the heart beating steadily during an ultrasound. That went a long way in the reality department. Yay for half-way!
