And now for something completely different…

Welp. It was a solid 20+yr run, y’all. Imma just rip off the bandaid. We are no longer taking weddings. (DON’T WORRY! I’M STILL SHOOTING PORTRAITS ALL WEEK, YEAR ROUND!!) :-0 With each passing year, our lives have become more chaotic than ever. The moving parts we have to juggle with the 4 kids having so many places to be each Saturday, needing multiple people to help get them all the places, MISSING all the things. It’s just become too overwhelming with a lot of stress leaving little space for joy on approaching wedding days. Once there shooting, it’s always still been great! “It’s not you, it’s us” kinda thing. HA! But also, each day I think of one less anxiety inducing thing I don’t have to face anymore! 20yrs of being worried about something physical happening to us and stopping us from shooting a wedding someone booked, 2 yrs out! Like sorry your wedding is in 4 days, I just tore my ACL! Good luck finding our replacement! Though I spent years of pregnancies, running off to vom or pump, neither of us ever woke with a real sickness to stop us from showing up. Constant panic (and repeated nightmares) of so many diff tech malfunctions, that Praise Be, never happened once! Being on my feet for 10-12hr days just becoming a solid no bueno for our old backs and feet. Processing each wedding for 40+ hrs on top of 6 portrait sessions a week while always coaching at least one sport. ZZzzZzZzz. Just so.many.things. It was time. Now. If you’ve gotten this far, understand how hard it’s been to turn away all of you newly engaged humans that I’ve shot or known since your birth. I hate it. I cried a lot last yr saying no and while it’s become more routine to refer off, I’m still struggling with sadness. BUT I’m still here for all your other phases of life! AND to be honest, we WILL STILL TRAVEL. I will never turn down a paid for destination wedding! 😉 And who knows, once these kids are driving themselves places and we have less crazy day to day (Is that a thing? Because I thought it was supposed to get easier and it’s hella opposite.) maybe we will come back to it in a handful of years?

Here we are at our last wedding signing off. It was such a mix of relief and sadness. Twenty years of people laughing as I boss this hottie around. But truly he was doing so many amazing things that balanced us out, I would have never survived with a random second shooter each wedding. He’s supported me and not complained shooting on our anniversaries, all of our family’s birthdays, NYE, all the things. Not to mention just being a wealth of knowledge in areas I’m not because I never needed to be, because HE knew! I’ll miss working with him more than I ever even realized!

Definition of bittersweet as it was a fabulous last wedding!

And now for something completely different. I had NO CLUE what the hell I was going to do to make up all the wedding income. I’ve probably never ‘Let Go and Let God” so aggressively in my life before. For a full year I was declining weddings with zero plan. I just kept saying, something will fall in my lap. And when that actually happened, I couldn’t have felt more blessed!! I have belonged to Overhill Swim Club my whole life and since being a parent I’ve spent my summers under the shelter processing images while my kids played. The General Manager after a couple decades retired, we had an interim manager and then the spot needed filled permanently. It was the perfect opportunity of 3mths of pre season manual labor while my portraits sessions were slower and now 40 daytime hrs for 3mths. So basically I work 40 at the pool then every other waking hour on photo. It’s been super fun telling everyone I’m hanging up my black pants suit for a rainbow bathing suit and flippy flops!!

After 200+hrs of prep, lots of contractors in and out, I finally had other humans down there every day with me and was ready to open Memorial Day weekend! This was the thumbs up selfie I sent out letting the team know we passed our health inspection and we can open for our 60th Year!!

All the kids at school kept asking if I was going to dress up so I told them I would for the first day! Thankfully, I already know the entire staff at the pool and they’ve all made the transition so easy for me. The board has held my hand through the process of things I had no clue how to do while encouraging me in areas I was pretty sure I knew what I was doing. I appreciate them so much! No one has the slightest idea how much goes into running a swim club and the countless unpaid hours the board puts in. But now I know and respect them so much for their dedication. It’s been lovely thus far and I plan for it to continue to be a great first season!!

OH! Nori started as the front desk attendant last yr but this year we became life guard certified together! (That was a lot of work but actually quite fun?!) So now we will have all sorts of nostalgic memories together down there. <3 Nico will start next summer too! Not to mention the club is a 3/4 mile from our house so the boys just walk down at open each day! I’m just so blessed with the timing of how our kids are independent now and finding something close to home that wont upend our entire lives year round! It is funny how every morning the twins ask where I’m going or what I’m making for breakfast. WORK, KIDS! Still an adjustment but have no room to complain.

A member pointed out earlier this week, “so you were already down here all the time with your kids, but nooooow, you get paid to yell at them?” YES, YES I DO!! You can also call it was it was, a midlife crisis. It’s true. This job is so much more chill and you know how I YOLOOOOO. My mental health is important and I’m working on living my best life while I’m still young and active to enjoy it!  Ya, summer will be crazy trying to figure out how to get the kids all the practices and camps during work hrs, but as everyone else has for years, we will figure it out. Just hoping that my skin doesn’t look like I’m 90 in a few summers! HA! Can’t wait to see all those who haven’t made it down yet!

**THANKS to all the hundreds upon hundreds of wedding clients who have filled our hearts and calendar! We are thankful to have documented for you and will forever remember each and every one you!**