First #CHPcouples Gathering + Our 2015 Photos

I know, I know! I suck at blogging right now! Things are CRAZY busy! I have so many weddings and sessions to share with everyone, but my focus lately is to push out the sessions as quickly as I can so everyone can have what they need in time for Christmas.

Something I decided to do awhile back was host a party for my couples – ALL of my couples. I had no idea how this would go since it was my first one, and I am such an introvert that planning a party slightly terrifies me. The closer time got, the more couples signed up to come. What I thought would be a small turnout turned into a pretty decent sized turnout! That would definitely NOT fit in our apartment lol… Thank goodness Chelish came to the rescue! After thinking of what would be a good little spot to get together with plenty of seating, I realized her new location would be perfect. She’s got gorgeous antique seating, plenty of counter space, and tons of little tables to set around for folks to use if needed for drinks and what not.

I’d heard from other photographers that have hosted similar gatherings that it can get emotional. I feel like I’m pretty strong when it comes to holding back tears when need be because there are SO many touching moments at weddings, and I’m learning to hold it all in the best I can (I’m still a softy when it comes to first looks and father/daughter dances) 😉 I truly didn’t expect anything that would evoke tears… Silly me. You see, something happens when you get a large group together that all have one common theme – I photographed their wedding. I’ve watched these couples grow. Have babies. Move. Go through hard times. Loss. Celebrate victories. But certain things are kept from social media, and some things are just missed when you don’t have that personal interaction with them. I didn’t realize how much I have truly MISSED seeing my past couples. And being surrounded by them last night was incredible. I learned SO much about them that I hadn’t learned before. We talked about each other, each wedding, the struggles, the things that went wrong, the good things, the laughs we have now. We talked about their jobs, their upcoming plans, and then I got the surprise that one of my brides is expecting her first baby! Being far away via only Facebook interaction, I’ve always celebrated when I found these things out… But being told in person, seeing the little bump, it just hit me. I have the most amazing job. And I got so teary and tried to hold it back, but being able to witness the joy in person is different. It’s indescribable. When I say my couples mean the world to me, they absolutely do. And it also made me realize how quickly life goes by. It feels like these brides all JUST got married, but I had some of my first brides and some of my recent brides all together in one room, and it does not seem like it’s been over 3 years since my first wedding. It blows my mind. I chose to leave the camera in my purse, and just enjoy this moment with them. These things need to sometimes just be experienced rather than the focus being on who can get the best selfies, though I do wish I’d grabbed one photo of all of us together.

And that leads me on to the next topic. My photos with Chad this year. I’ll be honest, I almost called off the whole thing. As much as I promote a positive body image, it can get to anyone. As many know, last year I came down with a crazy stomach issue. I dropped 50 pounds within a matter of months, and it was a total mystery as to what was going on. I couldn’t eat much of anything without getting sick, and I was so worried that Chad would give up and leave. But he didn’t. He stayed and supported me, took care of me when I needed it. I had so many tests done, but nothing could ever be determined for sure. We had our photos done last year while I was at my current lowest weight, and I admit that I loved them and felt pretty good about myself despite the way I got to that weight. And then they put me on a medication that seemed to calm my stomach down, though it didn’t solve the issue entirely, and I gained everything I lost back again. I wasn’t feeling my best, and I worried that I’d not like the photos. It’s not the photographers, because I adore Connection Photography. It’s a mind thing. And Chad hates photos anyway. And then something happened to one of my most recent brides. Her wedding was one of the most touching weddings I’ve ever attended. Her brother was in an accident, critical in ICU only a few short weeks before her wedding. Her grandfather has battled cancer three times. She wasn’t sure who in her family would be able to be there at her wedding to celebrate her union with the love of her life, if she’d get photos with these wonderful men that mean so much to her on her big day, and all she cared about was living in the moment because you never know what can happen or when. It put things into perspective. Despite how I felt about my body, this is a chance to capture our relationship and showcase our love. It doesn’t matter what we look like – nobody cares about that – nobody that truly matters anyway. So we did it. I trusted Joseph and Andrea. It was the craziest day – freezing cold, very high winds that kept my hair in my face constantly, and we were basically on a struggle bus headed straight up a mountain with no cell reception and ponies trying to eat our things. I still worried about how things would turn out, and then I got our preview. And I LOVED it. Instead of seeing a girl that’s gained weight with worry of what others would think, I saw two people that are meant to be together capturing a moment in their lives they share to remember forever. We never know how much time we will have on this earth, and we never know when our last moments together will be captured. To be blessed with these beautiful moments with the man that puts a smile on my face every single day means more to me than I could ever express. And to be able to give those same moments back to my brides and grooms? It’s incredible.

So for those out there that avoid getting their photos done, I encourage you to just do it. Even if you don’t like them now, you certainly will down the road, and you don’t want to miss out on those moments because you felt self-conscious. What matters is taking full advantage of what life has to offer, to enjoy it rather than stress over the exact amount of calories or carbs you’ve had or to have guilt if you choose to sleep in rather than take a walk one day, and to live with purpose that can leave a lasting positive impression on those who come into your life. We deserve happiness. Everyone.

Many thanks to my fabulous team for making me feel beyond beautiful and for boosting my self-confidence:
Images by Connection Photography
Makeup by Erin Ashley Makeup
Hair by Mirror Bomb Studio

And of course I had to request an Andrea/Chad sandwich only to get this sweet surprise!