So, I’ve been on a roll lately. I got married 68 days ago, traveled Europe for a month, and have recalculated all my life goals, pumping up my business and what I can offer all my lovely Bride and Grooms.
I’m all about being honest, and honestly, last year, I was in a photo funk. My heart knew that I love photography, but my brain was detached, and honestly, scared. It kept bombarding me with endless thoughts, questioning my ability to succeed at what I wanted to do. My brain was actually tricking me into contemplating walking away from this little business I was trying to cultivate.
But then… then, there was Europe. There was waking up every day for a month, without anything to worry about, without any responsibility, to the love of my life. We would spend breakfasts sitting at little cafe tables outside of small shops, sipping cappuccino and buttering our baguettes with the most fabulous fruit jam. So what did we do, my new husband and I, as we frivolously ate with no consideration to calories or our jeans buckling upon our return to the states? We talked. We remembered. We shared the nostalgia of our Wedding. We talked about how dream-like it felt, and how overwhelmed we were by the love we felt on that very day. It was nothing but a dream.
It was at this moment, one morning, sitting on the corner of a coffee shop in Paris, that I received that amazing email from our photographer, linking us to an online gallery of our wedding photographs. My heart skipped, and my husband and I anxiously flipped through photo after photo. Suddenly, we realized, our wedding wasn’t a dream at all. It was simply the most amazing day of our lives, so amazing it was hard for us to imagine it ever really happened. But, here were the photos, proving to us that yes, it was real. Yes, these memories are real.
I looked up from my smartphone and baguette, took a deep breath, and took in the beautiful city around me. I was filled with inspiration, love, gratitude, and genuine happiness. Then I realized, this is what I want to do. I want to give others the same feeling I had just had. I want to live a life of beauty and adventure, and I want to share that experience with every client I meet and with every wedding I shoot.
I returned home with a new outlook on life, and realized there were some things I would have to change. I would have to run at this little photography business head first, with my heart right behind. I would have to silence all those negative thoughts, questioning my ability to make this dream a reality. I would have to face my fears. Even if it was scary, I would have to push through.
With that new mindset I have entered this wedding season sparked. I am throwing myself deeper into my craft, and personalizing it from every angle. From marketing, to client interactions, to the actual shooting of the wedding day, I am determined to make love stories real. I am determined to give my clients everything I felt on that amazing morning in Paris.
It’s scary, and there are endless risks involved. Could I fail? Yes. But if I am truly trying my hardest, if I am earnestly throwing my entire heart into my craft, I have to be okay with that possibility. It’s oh so scary, but in the end, I know it will be worth it.
Have a cappuccino on me.
xoxo
Lillie