Best of 2017

[embed]https://vimeo.com/250733684[/embed] 2017 was quite a year. I had the privilege of witnessing 26 weddings. One had 700 people. One had 5. I shared mimosas with brides, wiped tears from my eyes during ceremonies, helped sew on lost buttons, took photos with with goats, sheep, cats, dogs, turkeys, and cows. I flew across the world to tell love stories. I witnessed heart-wrenching emotion between family members. I danced my butt off. And I got to see my clients become amazing new friends and help them have the best days possible. On top of that, I got to explore the beauty of the natural world with 40 other couples as we walked through waterfalls, sand dunes, mountain-tops, national parks, tropical beaches and bustling city streets. I got to photograph four proposals. Getting to document four couples saying “yes” to the rest of their lives was SO special. All the tears. I was lucky enough to visit Mexico, Canada, England, Switzerland and Costa Rica. I went through two break-ups, a ton of heartbreak, and found my way back to the one who I was meant to be with despite it all. I read a few books that really changed my life: The Slight Edge, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 10% Happier, and Brene Brown’s audiobook, The Power of Vulnerability really stood out to me. I went to therapy for the first time in my life, and it was amazing. Highly recommend. I journaled a lot more. I didn’t paint as much as I wanted to though. I got to see some really amazing art. Nina Katchadourian and Yayoi Kusama’s exhibits were my favorite. My best friend had a baby and I got to meet her when she was only 3 days old. We celebrated my grandfathers 101st birthday as a big family. I did multiple headshot days with friends at my home office and got to collectively improve the quality of LinkedIn photos for a small subset of Portlanders. I started living with a photographer friend and we became besties. I realized that having someone to work with during the day at home was the BEST THING EVER for my sanity and mental health, especially as an extrovert. I successfully took a photo of myself every week for a year as a part of a 52 week project (okay – some weeks were more like 10 days, but still). I’ll share the whole thing in another blog post soon! I went to two incredible photography workshops and learned SO many new ways to push myself and my business. Overall I’m so insanely grateful for all the experiences I had last year. I can’t wait to see where 2018 takes me! I hope you enjoy the video!