The years go fast and the days go so slow…
Hello there you frigging gorgeous humans,
I hope 2019 was everything you had hoped it would be, and that 2020 will bring you more love and fulfillment than ever before.
This last year for me?
holy hell, she was a MF doozy-
As you know, I was able to find my biological dad, which was easily one of the most monumental events of my life. Things have been going pretty well, and I was able to go to BC a few more times throughout the year to spend time with Al and my step mom, Terrie.
But work? Ahhhhhhhhh, my work.
Truth be told, in the fall, I almost hung up the ol’ camera and quit.
I’m not going to get into the details, but its safe to say that I was in a position (many, actually) that I had never been in before.
I made mistakes. I fucked up.
Other people fucked up.
It happens.
I learned some VERY valuable lessons, lessons that I didn’t even know I had to learn, but such is the life of an entrepreneur, isn’t it?
Keep going, keep growing.
Just when I felt like I couldn’t possibly offer anymore of my heart and soul to this craft, I photographed one of the best weddings in one of the best locations, and my faith was renewed.
So I’m going to give a quick overview of my 2019/wedding season, and try and keep it brief-ish.
(Wait, no, that’s sooooo not going to happen, lol)
…Early in the year I spent some time in my studio practicing portraits, pets, products, and a little boudoir with friends and models. I had such a great time and am super pleased with the work that came out of it.
I also spent time with Danielle, a stylist who I love to collaborate with! She and I did a few sessions over the year, and I cannot wait until we work together again.
I also set up a photobooth at my studios open house and had such a wicked time meeting people and getting them in front of my ring light.
March is always a good time as I am part of a charity that means a lot to me; One of my oldest friends in the world, Mikey J is part of GAKAL (Give A Kid A Lift)
I get so pumped shooting live music and working with my friends. Helping out a charity that puts lifts in the homes of people who really need it is the icing on the cake.
After I got back from meeting my dad, I got back to work, with Krista at Salvedge fashion, to showcase some beautiful clothes. I adore the store and every time I work with her, we have a great time. The models I worked with were wicked pro’s-true beauties that know their angles and have variety in their work. Thanks #bossbabes
As for weddings, I really wanted to try and keep my total for the year at 15, which worked out perfectly; it was enough to keep me having fun and making some cash, but not so much that I was completely overwhelmed like 2018.
My first wedding of the year was in Canmore, at one of my favorite spots out of the city.
C&PJ and I had met the year before and instantly clicked. (I find this with almost every one of my wedding clients)
They are both easy going and madly in love, my favorite kind of people ;) Some of my most cherished shots of the year came from that wedding, thank you guys.
In May I shot a local wedding during a random freak snowstorm on Glenmore reservoir, super fun, then later that evening, jetted off to Punta Cana for 5 days to work a destination wedding.
P&R, again, some of the nicest ‘clients’ I’ve ever had.
Although I was only able to spend 5 days with them and their families, I can honestly say I connected with them all in a way that I don’t usually.
I mean like, I’m open to it, but it doesn’t always happen.
Travelling away from my family to spend time on a striking beach resort in the Caribbean is hard to do, believe it or not. I always feel a little guilty that my kids and husband aren’t there, and spoiled that this is my job, and I never know who I’m going to meet, or if we’ll ‘jive’, so to speak.
I can honestly say that this destination wedding was my favorite of them all; an amazing group of people who were so relaxed and happy to be there. We had SO much fun together, and I connected to them in a very short period of time.
After 5 days, when they met me in hotel reception to say goodbye; there were many hugs, some laughs, and a few tears.
Thank you, you wicked awesome people. That was a trip I will never forget xo
As soon as I returned, it was back to Canmore for a beautiful wedding at the Silvertip resort.
I loved the scenic views, the hilarious and touching vows, and the bagpiper. (que Rick Atsley…)
Just a week later I was shooting a wedding for an old colleague from my fitness days; L&M had met abroad while travelling; she from Canada and he from Scotland. After 3 months together they knew they had found their true loves and got engaged. I loved working with someone I’ve known for years.
Also, funniest line from a ceremony;
‘I’m so glad I swiped right on you’
As the weather got better, I opened a few sunset sessions for couples and families. Its such an invigorating feeling to get back outside and stomp around in the mud with clients.
June was a little more slow-paced with just 2 weddings; M&M and K&C.
The first I was excited to shoot in a gorgeous old church in Inglewood. The creaky old wood stairs, worn-in pews, and stained-glass windows were truly stunning. I myself am not super religious, but I love the history, craftsmanship and true beauty in churches.
K&C held their wedding at a family members private residence in Bragg Creek. The weather was perfect and the love between these two is off the charts. They are also the only couple that I drank wine with upon delivering their photos! I feel so lucky to know them
July was full of adventure for me personally;
My gorgeous husband surprised me with a trip to Seattle for our 3rd wedding anniversary. We flew into SEA and rented a cute little red corvette to take down the Oregon coast to Cannon Beach. It had been a bucket list destination of mine, and thankfully, Jeff pays attention to his wife and made it become a reality. I had booked a session with a local photographer that I HUGELY admired, and received some pretty jaw dropping photos, if I do say so myself. Thank you to Shuttergram Portraits for shooting us in the rain and also for lending me the dress.
Jeff and I had only ever had our photos taken together a few times in our 13 years together. Now, I will try to book a photo shoot for us whenever we travel, and even though I’m super uncomfortable on that side of the camera, I know I’ll regret it if I don’t.
We had the most relaxing time away and finished off the 3 day trip with lunch date at the market and a little rock’n’roll show at the WAMU theater.
I love travelling alone, but I really adore travelling with my husband-Jeff and I have the same sense of adventure!
work-
while the weather was hot, I photographed a wedding at the Italian cultural center near DT Calgary with probably the most hilarious couple ever-A&K were so much fun! Their wedding party was a blast, their parents were so awesome!
I brought along my simple* photo booth and it was a hit! It was for sure one of the most FUN weddings I have ever been to, and! The dance floor was poppppinnnnn’
A few weeks later, my friend Lindsay (of RaeLee Beauty Services) and I traveled to Radium for an outdoor wedding- An old high school friend had hired me for her stepdaughters wedding. I had met C&D last fall when we did their engagement shoot at Big Hill Springs so I knew that it would be a relaxed, easy going day.
We had such a beautiful time with them, and again, set up the ol’ photobooth for some laughs :)
I love road trips with friends <3
A few weeks later, I photographed another wedding at the Italian cultural center and had such a superb time with L&B and their friends and family. If you have the option, get married there, and get yourself some of their outstanding freaking food. Holy heck is it ever good
I had an opportunity to work with an up-and-coming country music star to get him some photos for his single/album. I never thought I’d see my photo on itunes, but it happened, so I can pretty much die happy now :)
A big Thanks to Mitch Glanz and his beautiful wife Nikki for showing me a good time and for letting me do what I do-I’m officially volunteering to be your tour photographer when you hit the big time (check out the song Wander! I love it and I don’t typically listen to country music much)
August was supposed to be a relaxing month as I only had 1 wedding booked (compared to 5 the August before) but it was anything but as I suffered a neck injury and ended up in an ambulance and on my way to urgent care.
Over the last 9 or 10 years, I’ve put my body through the ringer with bike riding, weightlifting, kettle bell swinging, and the 3 babies, but I had never had anything like this happen to me before. No real major injuries in all that time and this one put me oooouuuttttt.
I had started feeling a little twinge of pain in my neck before the Seattle trip, but thought nothing of it. Over about 5 weeks time, things had gotten progressively worse and I was left in the absolute most terrible pain of my life; unable to move, in tears, and on the floor. Turns out, I had a compressed nerve root near C5 and C6. Nerve pain is a bitch. That is all.
Thankfully my husband was able to return home immediately from Manitoba to take care of everything so I could go to the drs, my chiro, my naturopath, and my massage therapist. I was put on opiates and harsh anti-inflammatories to give me relief. It worked, and because I have the best chiropractor in the world, I was able to work again at the beginning of September and finish the last 4 weddings of the year. Seriously, if you’re in YYC, go see Dr. Miranda Moen at Healthquest in Kensington. Her whole team are the most talented and trustworthy medical professionals I’ve ever dealt with. They also got me through 3 pregnancies while I was working out like a damn demon-
I love you forever and ever xo
So, to finish this off this novel, I’d like to touch on 3 of my favorite weddings of 2019;
M&K got married at the Canmore Nordic center in early September, and it was a perfect day in the mountains! Typically I prefer not to shoot in the afternoon as the sun is high in the sky and it creates harsh shadows, but the light was superb; just enough cloud to diffuse the sun perfectly. The sweetest part of the whole day was the first look, and bridal party photos at Quarry lake. I took one of the best photos of the year that day, and I don’t mind saying it out loud; this is stellar photo and I’m super proud of it.
Also in September, K&S had the wedding I cried the most at, probably of all time. Their love for each other, and their very unique family situation was so awe-inspiring, I had to just accept that I was going to be a mess, and all but cry my face off through their speeches. I also had a technical issue that I hadn’t experienced before with an SD card. Another lesson learned that day.
The very last wedding of the year was in October at the FREAKING Saskatoon farm, in a FREAKING greenhouse! If you know me, you know I’m a huge plant nerd. To shoot in a greenhouse was literally a dream come true.
To finish off the year in such a stunning location, with the most easy going wedding party, (and a couple that really show up for each other, supports each other, and loves each other so deeply) was really what MY heart needed. It was the wedding I needed to renew my faith that I was on the right path, professionally. Its also the wedding that I’m most proud of; their gallery had over 600 photos and I felt was very complete, despite the fact that I didn’t photograph the boys getting ready.
Thank you, A&J, for showing ME a good time, and for letting be a part of your day.
Over the summer and early fall, I also photographed some more live music at stampede, my own family, other people’s families, Santa sessions, some more boudoir, some doggies, and a shit-ton of other little things here and there. I had so much fun with my camera this year, and have really tried to embrace my 85MM, which I’ve kind of avoided for too long.
I also left my studio in Ramsay, which actually felt like a breakup in a weird way. I had outgrown the space and wasn’t finding that I was getting my value out of it, so it only made sense to pack it in. Jeff and I are currently looking at buying a new house, a wee bit bigger, so that I can set up a studio space that I have access to when the baby is napping.
Over the almost year and a half that I rented the space, I made some important connections, and again, learned some valuable lessons about life and business that will stay with me forever.
Overall, it was a really, really great year, despite the health issues. I’m thankful beyond belief for being able to continue to do this.
I cannot express my gratitude to all the people that have hired me, trusted me, been kind to me, shared their love with me, and let me share my love right back.
Although I am currently still taking meetings and husslin’ a bit, I am purposely trying to keep my laptop turned. Off.
Finding a way to step back and breathe, so I can be re-charged and re-focused this spring when wedding season starts. In December I had planned to start a 2 month hiatus, but it ended up getting pushed to January. Now that I’m here, its easy to look back on the chaos and realize how crazy it was. I love it though, I love owning my own business :)
My family and I took a few friends back to Puerto Vallarta just before Christmas and had such a relaxing time. As it usually goes on vacation, we all met some really wicked-ass people from all over the world. Many late nights with menthol’s and tequila were had.
I’m so looking forward to 2020!
If you made it this far (bless your mf heart)
Thank you, for being patient, and for being supportive of this lil’ thang o’ mine…
Until next time,
Reens xoxoxo