Just a few more hours are left of 2017! I can’t believe it! Can you?!  Well, this blog post is going to be a little different.  Not many photos.  Heck, there might not be any!  WHATTTTTTT?!

So, let’s do it!

Let’s start off with my clients!  Gosh, I know all photographers tend to say this, but my clients and couples are seriously and honestly and wow…just amazing!  I have nothing to compare it to though, of course.  I literally just winged this whole wedding photographer thing a couple years ago!  For real!  It’s true!!  I never worked for a wedding photographer prior to becoming one myself so I don’t know what’s “normal” when it comes to the photographer/couple relationship.  Is it supposed to be strictly professional?  Not for me apparently!  I’ve found that mixing professionalism with a good dose of kindness and mixing in some good old human compassion and connection… OOo and don’t forget that splash of ridiculousness…makes for an amazing concoction!  It is also a recipe for stunning images! 

My brides are especially amazing!  These girls text with photos of their dresses.  They call me when they’ve picked their bouquets.  Heck, some have called me the night of their rehearsal dinner asking me to “talk them down” when they’re panicking and wanting everything to be just right (you know who you are and I love you, girl!).  Recently, I just signed up to go to a bridal show with one of my brides (it was my idea) “just because”.  You know, because I very rarely get to just “be” at those kinds of events!  Heck, my grooms are pretty amazing too!!  One couple gave me that amazing coffee cup!  Another couple surprised me with Christmas cookies!  Many of them grab me and give me hugs and we laugh and have a great time!  Gosh.  I hope this is normal…because it’s always going to be the norm for me! I can’t imagine it any way else! 

I founded my business with the idea that a wedding photographer should be more than just a vendor.  I wanted to be a lending hand and most importantly, a friend.  These couples have allowed me to not just photograph their big day but be a HUGE part of the whole process and many are still keeping in touch long after their weddings are over!  I’ve gained friends not just clients and I’m so thankful for that!   The joy I get from being the person they chose to freeze their special memories is unexplainable.  I thought the nursing profession was fulfilling!  Well, this might just take the cake! 

So, it’s the end of my second full year of business.  SECOND!  On November 1, 2017, I had my two year anniversary!  THAT is just insane to me!  So, I thought it might be fun for me to attempt to talk about myself a bit since you’re so used to me yammering on about my couples and clients!  So, let’s veer from the “normal” Hannah blog post, shall we?!  Let’s have some more fun and laugh some more! 

Here we go!

Fun things you might not know about me or I’ve learned or noticed about myself over this year!

• I have a checklist of all my gear I go through in my driveway before EVERY wedding (and it does include lunch on that list too!).  I’ll check it once.  Pack my stuff in my car….and then sometimes pull over at the end of my road and do it all over again!  It’s a sickness!  I’ve refrained from this embarassing task when Kari is with me! But I’m pretty sure I say EVERY trip “Gosh…I feel like I’m forgetting something”.  Just to be clear…we’ve never forgot anything!
• I’m not superstitious.  Kari begs to differ.  I MUST listen to Red Hot Chilli Peppers on the way to each wedding.  I don’t think that’s superstitious…I think it’s just like when you play sports…you always have a “routine” before going up to bat, serve, etc.  It just feels right!
• Speaking of that routine, I lost Red Hot Chilli Peppers the morning of Kari’s wedding.  She then texted me that things were a “sh*t show” (sorry…no other way to be eloquent when you’re talking Kari talk) and I texted back “I can’t find Red Hot Chili Peppers.”…SEEEEE, it’s a sign! She also ran 40 minutes late and an important vendor showed up 3 hours late.  Seriously, it’s a sign!  I did find that CD and we listened to it on the way to EVERY wedding we had! I bet she’s pretty sick of it!
• I also spilled an entire cup of hot coffee on me while driving to Kari’s wedding location. The lid wasn’t fully on the cup.  Oy.  Good thing for that black jumper!
• I give my couples a hard time about their dips and I blog about it.  You’ve read it!  You know!  BUT, I’m not even sure my husband and I can dip! I plan to try it out this winter! I’ll report back!  I promise! 
• I listen to love songs while I edit photos.  It makes me feel warm and fuzzy and smile!  I’m not sure how this started, but I love it! 
• I do not listen to love songs when I blog.  It’s like driving when you’re lost.  I just need QUIET! Shhhhhhhhhh!  Turn that crap off!
• Specifically, the couples’ first dance songs are often the ones I download and I listen to them when I’m editing that particular wedding.  Adds some nostalgia to the mix! 
• I can’t edit at night.  Nope.  Too tired.  Light isn’t right.  Nope.  No way.
• My husband says I write like a caveman.  You all tell him you love my blog posts typos, grammatical errors and all! 

Fun things about Kari and I!

• Kari and I met through mutual friends just last year!  Her now husband’s sister is married to a friend of ours that also used to work with my husband.  Did you get all that? 
• We both HAVE to eat or we both get hangry…me more than her, I think!  We always plan to get breakfast in the morning before weddings!  Honest to goodness, we’ll give ourselves a 45 minute head start to run through the drive thru…and we’ll STILL not make it early!  It’s INSANE!  It’s our running joke now!  I’m going to start instagramming the lines at these places on Saturday mornings!  It’s seriously ridiculous.  We’re giving ourselves a one hour head start next year!
• We HAVE to eat lunch too!!  Weddings are exhausting, I tell ya!  It’s often a peanut butter sandwich I’ve packed the night before that we consume.  I can’t even begin to imagine how much peanut butter is on our cameras at this point but those puppies can freeze or melt and they’re still so good!
• We’ve seen some guests get positively upset in our favor over dinner meals!  We are NEVER ones to be picky…we’re just happy to eat at receptions!  In the hall, in a coat closet, it does not matter to us…seriously!  On many occasions, we’ve had guests offer their own chairs, meals, and what not in order for us to get a bite to eat!  Heck, one DJ handed us forks! HA!
• Clyde took a photo of us at Erinn and Andrew’s wedding….Clyde, we never got our copy!  Darn it, Clyde!  7 months later and we’re still yelling that! 😉
• I have about one hundred photos of Kari trying to get OUT of the processional shots during the ceremony!  She routinely stays with the bride before the grand march down the aisle.  I step into the aisle…snap the shot and ALWAYS catch one of her running out!  It always makes me giggle!
• We tend to do the same “dance” at receptions!!  You’ve seen some of the photos…it’s a struggle to stay out of each other’s shots!  I’m running from her.  She’s running from me.  It goes on and on!  
• We do make a great team.  And while I don’t really believe in things being “meant to be”, I think Kari was meant to find me.  She hired me as her wedding photographer through the mutual friends/family I mentioned above.  We really didn’t even know each other!  Now, she’s one of my very closest friends.  I can’t imagine life without her and I definitely can’t imagine weddings without her!  Thanks, girl!! You’re the best! 

One last shout out to my family and friends who have supported me through all of this!! Most importantly too, my husband!  This whole wedding photography business thing came up over a couple of drinks on a late night.  “Hey, I think I’m going to get a business license.  See how it goes.”  And IT WENT!  WOW!  It’s still just so crazy to me!

Thanks to my family who supported me and cheered me on!  A HUGE shoutout to those particular close family members who have watched my children over and over so John and I could both work!  I really couldn’t have done it without you!

Last but not least, thank you to all of my photography friends who push me to be better and do more!  They cheer me on constantly!  They pick me up when I get down!  They push me to new levels and help me achieve new goals!  I’ve learned SO MUCH from each of you and I couldn’t have done it without all the knowledge and support you’ve each given me!

So, yea…if it wasn’t for clients, family, friends, my husband, and even my children…I wouldn’t be where I am today!  To think that just two years ago I didn’t have any weddings booked at the end of the year!  Now, I’ve now booked well over 30!  It’s just MADNESS and I LOVE IT!

 

HERE’S TO 2018!  

IT’S GOING TO BE AMMMAAAAAZING!

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Now, let’s be honest…did you make it through all of that jabbering?! If you did, don’t forget to comment and let me know!  Toodles!

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Of course, I want to end 2018 just like I did this year if not better!  I want more couples to find me and I want to build even more relationships and make new memories and take even more beautiful photos!  You can help make that happen and help people figure out why I’m the right choice for them!  You know me!  I have no shame and I’m not shy!  If you haven’t already done so, can you please go on Google or Facebook and give me a review?!  It doesn’t matter if you were a bride, a groom, a family member, or guest.  Heck, if you’re a photography friend…you count!  If you’ve had ANY interaction with me on a photography basis and have something to say, say it! 🙂  Don’t you always read the reviews on a product before buying?!  Couples do that too when choosing vendors!