2018 A Year in Review
I’m excited to share a final blog post for 2018, a year in review. In retrospect, 2018 has been a year of high highs and low lows. I never want to sugar coat life and yet, I try to see the good in it all. 2018 was a year of wonderful moments like adventuring through Europe with my best guy and brother, hiring an amazing admin to be my right hand, exploring new hobbies, and celebrating 5 years of marriage.
But 2018 has also been a year of growing pains, both in my business and personally. I’ve navigated slow booking seasons and redefined my version of success, questioned my worth as a creative, and begun therapy to further understand who I am and how to become the best version of myself.
As a photographer, my default is to share a year-end blog post with only weddings and sessions, behind the scenes, and other photography related photos; but I want to share something more personal, a peek into my life besides photography. 😉
This past year was full of travel, including my first time to New Orleans for the Tuesdays Together Leader Retreat. There are Tuesdays Together chapters all over the world, committed to believing and thriving in “community over competition,” and for about a year and a half, I’ve co-lead a local meetup with Lauren Buman. In January of 2018, we gathered in New Orleans to hear from inspirational leaders, eat all the beignets, and explore NOLA.
At the beginning of 2018, I also brought on my administrative assistant, Mackenzie, to be my right-hand girl! She’s been an amazing partner throughout the year and I’m always grateful for her support and input behind the scenes. She also rocks a flower crown. 😉
Early in the year, one of my closest and oldest friends, Meghan, and I adventured to Sonoma for a girls trip. It was freezing cold, but we survived by tasting all the wine and eating all the Italian food!
Styled shoots are a great way for creatives to try new, weird things. One of my favorite styled shoots was with Melissa (Moelleux Events) at the Abbey in Phoenix. The photos below are a behind the scenes look at the Abbey and the hauntingly beautiful space it is. I have an entire blog post dedicated to photos from this shoot, see them here!
2018 was also full of several amazing concert experiences! Throughout the year, I saw The Band Joseph, Matt Theissen and the Earthquakes, Johnnyswim, Need to Breathe, Hearts Like Lions, and Taylor Swift. Although I can’t choose a favorite, Taylor Swift’s stadium tour was definitely amazing. Karen and I took a girls trip to Pasadena to see her live, and even if the stadium was full of screaming 14-year-old girls, we were pumped to be there. We explored the local coffee shops, adventured to a local nursery, and even came home with our own cactus love fern.
In May, my photographer and real-life bestie, Sara, and I traveled to Chicago for a wedding! It was hot, humid, and a drastic change to my desert ways, but we had a great time! We photographed a beautiful wedding for dear friends and got to explore the city. Win-win!
In June, I ended my Spring wedding season with a much-anticipated event, Phx Get Hitched! For almost a year, Melissa and I planned and prepped for an entire wedding giveaway. We chose a winner, designed a wedding, and hosted the winning couple’s free wedding at The Legacy. It was a wild adventure for sure, but so fulfilling to see such a crazy idea come to fruition. You can see the full blog post here.
This summer Mike, my brother in law, Jon Jon, and I took the trip of a lifetime. Mike and I first traveled to Finland to visit my grandparents and extended family. It was Mike’s first time in Finland and it was a blast to introduce him to more of my family. We relaxed in the countryside for a week, living the slow-paced life, and then met Jon Jon for a few weeks of exploring through The Netherlands, France, Scotland, and Iceland. See more photos of our time in Europe here.
Our friends David and Holly happened to also be in Amsterdam at the same time as us, so we took a day trip to Haarlem together, explored breweries, and enjoyed walks through the city.
To commemorate our time in Europe, we got matching tattoos of a compass. It was a trip of a lifetime and I can’t wait for our next adventure together. 🙂
Shortly after returning from Europe, we kept the adventures going, this time, to Disneyland! Mike, Jon Jon, Sam, Karen, and Corey and I piled into a minivan to hit Pixar Fest. We ate way too many churros, saw Mickey and Minnie, and took endless photos, all while wearing our favorite Disney outfits.
This year was full of coffee dates and spending time with my favorite people. Can you see a theme here? Cortaditos anyone?
Working with my favorite creatives is always a highlight for me, but especially with Mrs. Melissa Tinajero. This lady is my daily phone call for inspiration, venting, and all around girl talk. We’re both gemini’s, have a love for local coffee shops, and just get each other. I couldn’t do life without this one. Love you Melissa.
This year was also another milestone for us and the Brooks. We did a crazy thing in the Spring of 2017 and moved in together. Four best friends, their adorable son, and terror of a dog, all under one roof. It has been the most amazing journey, believe it or not. It’s provided Mike and I community when we’ve needed it most, given us the privilege of being Uncle Mike and Aunt SuSu to Sulley, and created a home full of love and support. Yes, we’re crazy. And we love it.
2018 was also full of self-discovery. I began therapy to work through life events I haven’t fully processed, like Mike’s mysterious illness that engulfed our lives in 2015. The photo below on the left is an art collage I created to visually represent that time in my life and all that came with taking care of a sick husband during our 2nd year of marriage. I also began exploring the art of macrame. The photo of the right is the very beginning of my first macrame piece. Since then, I’ve finished that piece and also created a 7-foot table runner for Thanksgiving.
Each year, November brings one of my favorite events of the year, United. United is a photography conference hosted by Showit, the amazing minds behind my website. It’s crazy that a software company would invest in their clients (mostly creatives and photographers) by hosting a “summer camp” conference. But it’s true, it really is an amazing experience. 2018 was my 4th year attending and I had the privilege of leading a bohemian styled shoot with some of my favorite local creatives. 25 brave and excited photographers joined me, listened to me teach about shooting in various lighting conditions, and then captured some amazing images of my friends, Matt and Sara. It was a beautiful learning experience to share my story and expertise as a photographer.
My San Francisco bestie joined Mike and I in Phoenix for Friendsgiving and a weekend of festivities. Our time is always full of shopping, only the best food (Liberty Market and Raising Canes 😉 ) and all the laughs. Our time is always too short, but it just means I’ll have to visit SF again. Bummer. 😉
In 2018, I had the privilege of photographing 20 weddings, 8 engagement sessions, 15 portrait sessions, 22 boudoir sessions, and hosted 6 mentor sessions. Wow! What a wild ride. I can’t thank my family and friends enough for their support and love throughout this season. And to each and every couple and individual who entrusted me to capture their story, my sincerest thanks. You’re supporting a boss babe pursuing her dreams and bringing them to life. Truly, thank you.
Thanks for reading 2018 A Year in Review! Be sure to stay tuned for next year’s blog post. 🙂
2018 A Year in Review
I’m excited to share a final blog post for 2018, a year in review. In retrospect, 2018 has been a year of high highs and low lows. I never want to sugar coat life and yet, I try to see the good in it all. 2018 was a year of wonderful moments like adventuring through Europe with my best guy and brother, hiring an amazing admin to be my right hand, exploring new hobbies, and celebrating 5 years of marriage.
But 2018 has also been a year of growing pains, both in my business and personally. I’ve navigated slow booking seasons and redefined my version of success, questioned my worth as a creative, and begun therapy to further understand who I am and how to become the best version of myself.
As a photographer, my default is to share a year-end blog post with only weddings and sessions, behind the scenes, and other photography related photos; but I want to share something more personal, a peek into my life besides photography. 😉
This past year was full of travel, including my first time to New Orleans for the Tuesdays Together Leader Retreat. There are Tuesdays Together chapters all over the world, committed to believing and thriving in “community over competition,” and for about a year and a half, I’ve co-lead a local meetup with Lauren Buman. In January of 2018, we gathered in New Orleans to hear from inspirational leaders, eat all the beignets, and explore NOLA.
At the beginning of 2018, I also brought on my administrative assistant, Mackenzie, to be my right-hand girl! She’s been an amazing partner throughout the year and I’m always grateful for her support and input behind the scenes. She also rocks a flower crown. 😉
Early in the year, one of my closest and oldest friends, Meghan, and I adventured to Sonoma for a girls trip. It was freezing cold, but we survived by tasting all the wine and eating all the Italian food!
Styled shoots are a great way for creatives to try new, weird things. One of my favorite styled shoots was with Melissa (Moelleux Events) at the Abbey in Phoenix. The photos below are a behind the scenes look at the Abbey and the hauntingly beautiful space it is. I have an entire blog post dedicated to photos from this shoot, see them here!
2018 was also full of several amazing concert experiences! Throughout the year, I saw The Band Joseph, Matt Theissen and the Earthquakes, Johnnyswim, Need to Breathe, Hearts Like Lions, and Taylor Swift. Although I can’t choose a favorite, Taylor Swift’s stadium tour was definitely amazing. Karen and I took a girls trip to Pasadena to see her live, and even if the stadium was full of screaming 14-year-old girls, we were pumped to be there. We explored the local coffee shops, adventured to a local nursery, and even came home with our own cactus love fern.
In May, my photographer and real-life bestie, Sara, and I traveled to Chicago for a wedding! It was hot, humid, and a drastic change to my desert ways, but we had a great time! We photographed a beautiful wedding for dear friends and got to explore the city. Win-win!
In June, I ended my Spring wedding season with a much-anticipated event, Phx Get Hitched! For almost a year, Melissa and I planned and prepped for an entire wedding giveaway. We chose a winner, designed a wedding, and hosted the winning couple’s free wedding at The Legacy. It was a wild adventure for sure, but so fulfilling to see such a crazy idea come to fruition. You can see the full blog post here.
This summer Mike, my brother in law, Jon Jon, and I took the trip of a lifetime. Mike and I first traveled to Finland to visit my grandparents and extended family. It was Mike’s first time in Finland and it was a blast to introduce him to more of my family. We relaxed in the countryside for a week, living the slow-paced life, and then met Jon Jon for a few weeks of exploring through The Netherlands, France, Scotland, and Iceland. See more photos of our time in Europe here.
Our friends David and Holly happened to also be in Amsterdam at the same time as us, so we took a day trip to Haarlem together, explored breweries, and enjoyed walks through the city.
To commemorate our time in Europe, we got matching tattoos of a compass. It was a trip of a lifetime and I can’t wait for our next adventure together. 🙂
Shortly after returning from Europe, we kept the adventures going, this time, to Disneyland! Mike, Jon Jon, Sam, Karen, and Corey and I piled into a minivan to hit Pixar Fest. We ate way too many churros, saw Mickey and Minnie, and took endless photos, all while wearing our favorite Disney outfits.
This year was full of coffee dates and spending time with my favorite people. Can you see a theme here? Cortaditos anyone?
Working with my favorite creatives is always a highlight for me, but especially with Mrs. Melissa Tinajero. This lady is my daily phone call for inspiration, venting, and all around girl talk. We’re both gemini’s, have a love for local coffee shops, and just get each other. I couldn’t do life without this one. Love you Melissa.
This year was also another milestone for us and the Brooks. We did a crazy thing in the Spring of 2017 and moved in together. Four best friends, their adorable son, and terror of a dog, all under one roof. It has been the most amazing journey, believe it or not. It’s provided Mike and I community when we’ve needed it most, given us the privilege of being Uncle Mike and Aunt SuSu to Sulley, and created a home full of love and support. Yes, we’re crazy. And we love it.
2018 was also full of self-discovery. I began therapy to work through life events I haven’t fully processed, like Mike’s mysterious illness that engulfed our lives in 2015. The photo below on the left is an art collage I created to visually represent that time in my life and all that came with taking care of a sick husband during our 2nd year of marriage. I also began exploring the art of macrame. The photo of the right is the very beginning of my first macrame piece. Since then, I’ve finished that piece and also created a 7-foot table runner for Thanksgiving.
Each year, November brings one of my favorite events of the year, United. United is a photography conference hosted by Showit, the amazing minds behind my website. It’s crazy that a software company would invest in their clients (mostly creatives and photographers) by hosting a “summer camp” conference. But it’s true, it really is an amazing experience. 2018 was my 4th year attending and I had the privilege of leading a bohemian styled shoot with some of my favorite local creatives. 25 brave and excited photographers joined me, listened to me teach about shooting in various lighting conditions, and then captured some amazing images of my friends, Matt and Sara. It was a beautiful learning experience to share my story and expertise as a photographer.
My San Francisco bestie joined Mike and I in Phoenix for Friendsgiving and a weekend of festivities. Our time is always full of shopping, only the best food (Liberty Market and Raising Canes 😉 ) and all the laughs. Our time is always too short, but it just means I’ll have to visit SF again. Bummer. 😉
In 2018, I had the privilege of photographing 20 weddings, 8 engagement sessions, 15 portrait sessions, 22 boudoir sessions, and hosted 6 mentor sessions. Wow! What a wild ride. I can’t thank my family and friends enough for their support and love throughout this season. And to each and every couple and individual who entrusted me to capture their story, my sincerest thanks. You’re supporting a boss babe pursuing her dreams and bringing them to life. Truly, thank you.
Thanks for reading 2018 A Year in Review! Be sure to stay tuned for next year’s blog post. 🙂
