Here We Go, 2011!

Wedding Mania 2011 starts next week. I've had the last four months off from weddings and work in general, really. The winter months are always a little slow in this business but this time around it was a well needed break. As I came back from maternity leave, I struggled to keep up with emails and communications with clients. I lost all motivation to work as I tried to come to terms with our new version of "normal" in life. Having a baby is an emotionally complex journey. There's the obvious love I felt for my baby, but there was also the unexpected in the form of guilt, pressure and fear. Being a working parent isn't easy. I felt like taking time away from my son made me a bad person. I don't know why I'm sharing all this other than to let all those new parents out there know: I can relate. I think having an understanding of parenthood helps me relate better to new parents (and the not-so-new parents too) when I walk into their homes. Just like having been married and having been a bride helps me relate to couples on their wedding days. That sort of parlays into a goal I have for myself this year... I want to get to know you guys a lot better and put more of my personality up front in my blog and our meetings. The success of your wedding photos really depends on your relationships with me - you have to be comfortable with me and trust me on your wedding day in order to get those really honest, emotional shots. How can you do that if I don't let you know who I am?

Anyway, that's a little bit about me and what I've been up to. This year is BIG. We've got lots of gorgeous stuff coming up; downtown weddings, barn weddings, weddings on lakes, weddings in art galleries, buses, parties, LOADS of amazing couples and engagement sessions... It's gonna be huge. My brain is so well rested and I'm ready to have fun with you guys this season. Last year was awesome but I am soooo glad to be unpregnified this time around. I was pregnant at all but one wedding last year. The season went from praying I didn't throw up during the reception to praying I didn't go into labor during the reception. And a couple of times I got stuck on the ground trying to get a shot and had to be assisted back to my feet. But this year I am back to my old self and can take luxury in things like safely standing on a step-stool and getting drunk at your receptions. I kid, I kid.

Here's a couple pictures of my family since I'm always sharing other peoples' families.