Well 2016, it’s been REAL….

I love doing these posts to look back at all my work for the year, it’s SO fun to see all my Sessions & Weddings in one post! However this post is going to be a little more personal than previous years as I had a lot happen in between all the Sessions & Weddings that definitely challenged me. With 25 Weddings & over 100 Sessions, it was a crazy learning curve in my career & it’s given me a new perspective of where I want my business to go! I feel such a deep gratitude that 25 couples & over 100 families have let me into their lives to document such special memories for them this year. & A thank you is not nearly enough to express that.

I battled heat stroke, a car accident, a bacterial virus & my family lost 3 very special people this year… with each one of these things happening on separate days I had to work. To say it was hard is an understatement, but I got through all of these things with the help of my incredible second shooters & wonderfully supportive family. & Just when my personal life was hanging by a thread, on October 17, 2016 my world completely fell apart. I woke up in a ton of pain just after shooting my 21st Wedding & found myself at the hospital where I received news that would forever change me. Matt & I had only just found out we were pregnant…. & that initial shock of finding out you’re expecting your 3rd baby hadn’t really sunk in yet… & well, it didn’t really have time to. That afternoon at the hospital, I lost the baby. I don’t remember much, only that the nurses had to come in & console me…. then chase me back inside as I left without a prescription. I drove myself home & parked outside my house & sat there for 30 minutes crying on the phone to my sister. I couldn’t even go inside & see my children & hug them. It wasn’t fair & it was just too hard. So many women go through this & don’t have anything to come home too… & for that I was grateful to be able to go home to babies that I already have. But what I could never expect was that it was just as hard to already have 2 children while grieving the loss. I spun myself into a really dark place & I couldn’t do anything but cry. I put everything on hold, cancelled my sessions & cried. I never told anyone, as I’m more of a suffer in silence type. However, when I found that the suffering in silence was just making my dark place even darker…. I finally started opening up & letting people know what was going on.. including my family & friends. I came to find that so many other woman have gone through the same thing.. even friends of mine that I have known for years. It’s such a taboo subject & you hate to even say the word “miscarriage”…. but you learn that 15-20% of pregnancies end in miscarriages & that it happens a lot more than any of us would like to admit. But if you don’t talk about it.. you’ll feel all alone. I never wanted to talk about it & I didn’t for the most part. I had this tendency to just isolate myself & pretend like everything was fine… & it wasn’t. But talking about it & coming to terms with the loss has made things easier… even though I still don’t understand it & I’m very confused about a lot of things. Carter knew when he looked at me in the bath one day & said “The baby in your belly is talking to butterflies now” which never made any sense until now. It’s amazing that children can sense what is happening around them, without you ever saying a word. After opening up, I’ve found solace & strength in the community of these mothers who have experienced the same loss… including my beautiful big sister, who is going to make an incredible mother when the time comes. It’s made me find this strength I never knew I had & has helped me get up in the mornings & be the best Mum I can be to my kids. There will forever be a sense of wonder & sadness to our loss, but I strongly believe everything does happen for a reason & all we can do is move forward.

All of that aside (sorry! I didn’t wanna make this a sad post) I did have one of my best years yet. It definitely could have been a lot better personally… but business wise, it was pretty fantastic. I surpassed my Weddings from last year, almost tripling my bookings… & I met so many new & wonderful people! I also got to put on 2 styled shoots that were a dream come true… one of them being at the world famous Ice Castles in Edmonton! I also put on a double mentoring session & had the opportunity to host a very successful workshop with my biggest attendance yet. I got the chance to travel all over the place to shoot, including an out of province Wedding in BC with my friend Raelene which was amazing. When it comes down to it… I have a lot to be thankful for! & I’m so ready to dominate 2017!

So here you go! Review with me my amazing 2016 year with all these beautiful couples & families!

& I hope you have a Happy New Year!