Before you read the rest of this, if you’re awesome, you will give me the greatest birthday gift and make me super happy by donating to St. Jude’s Hospital!! You can click the link here to donate, it’s super easy and doesn’t take more than 2 minutes! Every little bit counts 🙂

Usually I get pretty happy and excited about my birthday but this year that hype is lacking a little! I’m not sure if it’s just that I’m getting old or I’m looking at bigger milestones that are upcoming in the near future but either way I wanted to write SOMETHING so I could look back years from now and remember things that happened during this time of my life! Here’s a couple of things that happened over the past year!

• I started my first full time grown up job. It’s interesting to go from working in group projects with classmates to working with a wide range of personalities and ages at work. I also now know entirely too many tricks in Excel
• Learned how to budget and save up a pretty good sum of money for a rainy day!
• I moved out into my first apartment and then I  moved back home all in one year! Hahaha I wouldn’t have had it any other way though! I absolutely loved my time in my Ballston apartment and getting to buy my own furniture, decorate it, and cozy up in it. The walk to the metro was good for getting in those steps but also mildly impossible at times. I know that sounds dramatic but lugging heavy camera equipment, two laptops & lunch or a suitcase and laundry basket (don’t ask) was surprisingly difficult at times. And don’t get me started on days that it was raining which lead to bullet number 3
• I learned to be more tolerant of the rain. I used to HATE getting caught in the rain but over the course of this past year it’s happened so many times that I’ve gotten more used to it. I do still prefer being indoors and cozy during it if given the option though!
• Moving back home was equally as nice! I’ve always been friends with my parents but it would be weird to go from living on your own in college to being back at home. Oddly enough after moving back after living in my apartment it’s been much different than what I’ve expected and really, really comforting and nice! I thrive off of having background noise, a Nespresso machine, and a big kitchen to cook in!
• I bought a black stick shift Jetta and my high school self would be really proud that I decided to continue driving stick hahaha I kind of had to “relearn” how to drive it since the clutch is very different than my old car (which led to a rough test drive, not gonna lie) but I’ve definitely gotten used to it and some of my favorite times this past year have been driving in it either on the way down to Charlottesville or back and forth between Herndon and Ballston with the radio/Spotify keeping me company and having time to think about life
• Leading to the fact that over the course of this year, I actually learned that I LOVE cooking!! That’s something my high school and even college self would absolutely not believe. That being said, I’m still a huge foodie and have gotten to try so many new amazing restaurants over the course of this past year
• The people who have always been there for me throughout my life have continued to be the ones to support, encourage, and even question me throughout this year and I’m very thankful for that. Oooh also my best friend graduated and moved back home and I’m SO HAPPY about that!!!
• I’ve had my fair share of ups and really down days. It’s something that I realize won’t ever go away and I’m still learning how to cope with.
• I guess the biggest and most obvious one is that I built a business after years and years of honing my craft! So that’s pretty cool 🙂 It’s starting to gain the kind of traction and momentum my high school could never have dreamed up!

 

Things that I’m hoping to change for next year!

• I really want to travel more for fun next year and not just for photography! I took a bit of a hiatus this year (due to saving up money). But if you take half a look at my saved pictures on Instagram/Pinterest, it’s VERY clear that I miss it a lot!
• I DO want to continue to travel for photography as well and I can’t wait to grow my business to it’s fullest potential!! More on this coming very very soon 🙂
• That being said, this next year I am definitely taking more time & initiative to block off time for more leisure activities. I guess this can be summed up as “work life balance” which has been surprisingly hard for me over this past year. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that I need to be working on my business in all my waking hours but it’s not going to combust if I carve out time for myself. I made the mistake of neglecting the importance of free time during points of this year and it never ended well so I want to be even more intentional with my time moving forward
• I started reading again this year and it feels so good!! I’m hoping to continue to carve out time to do this every day as well as journal & meditate
• I guess this still goes along with the two things above but I want to strive to become more present/aware/grateful for each day. All too often I feel like I’m rushing through to-do lists and wishing days away when I should never take a single day for granted
• Although structure and routine are a great thing, I’m hoping to be a LITTLE more spontaneous on a day to day basis! I think this could help with the above 🙂
• Visit more vineyards this year with family and friends!
• There’s about a million and one other things but I’ll end this on a fun note: I had all my Charlottesville spots but I really want to find a dope place for mac and cheese near here!!

Headshot by Hope Taylor Photography!

If you enjoyed this post, you might like these as well:

A Place Called Home

DC to Charlottesville

Friday Fun – Foodie Edition 

It all started on Thursday during work with a group message from my best friend. It had some of the greatest news ever. I scrolled through back to where it began and read five words that made me smile from ear to ear “Pulkit is proposing to Sayali!” And so it began!!! I had known that it was coming soon, but I didn’t realize just how soon it would happen! Sachi and I went out to Target the next day to grab posters to help Pulkit make signs that spelled out “will you marry me?” across them and then we spent 15 minutes in the card aisle trying to find the perfect “congratulations” card. You’d never guess the amount of cheesy ones we ran into before stumbling upon the perfect card!! That night we spent half an hour putting together the posters with thick, black Sharpie to make sure she’d be able to read it from across the little reservoir in front of the Capitol Columns.

The next morning we started driving over into D.C. to the National Arboretum Capitol Columns to meet up with Pulkit to run through our game plan for the big moment, before Sayali got there. He had two of his friends there that she wouldn’t recognize who could essentially “hide” in plain sight without being recognized to take video and pictures with the columns in the back! Me, Sachi and Sayali’s sister Sanika would have to hide BEHIND the columns and snake around as Pulkit got down on one knee. We practiced where we would crouch and made sure that we weren’t visible. Pulkit let us know that he was planning on reciting a poem he’d written for her (it was SUPER cute!!) and that he’d then get down on one knee and that was our cue to run around with the signs that he would point us out to her before showing her the ring.

And so we crouched, and we waited, and we scouted for her car. And after what felt like an eternity to us (so I can’t even imagine what it felt like for Pulkit!!) we peered around the edges of the columns and we saw them come up over the hill right to the middle of the columns. He pointed out the columns to her, and pointed out the view the other way, pulling her around so that her back would be facing us as we ran to the side of the columns first. He finished his poem and got down onto one knee, the moment she had been waiting MONTHS for, was finally there. And it was perfect. Because she didn’t notice his two friends video taping or taking pictures to record the epic moment and she didn’t notice us running like little chickens, posters flapping in the wind. Because all she could focus on was her soon to be husband, asking her to be his wife!!! He got up and she hugged him and he pointed us out to her and her face was priceless. Really words don’t do it justice, just see the pictures!! And then after she realized he pulled out the ring to put it on her finger and to seal the deal and it was perfect.

They celebrated with everyone running out to her, to give her flowers, to give her the biggest hugs and congratulations and to see what we’d all been waiting for: THE RING!!! And boyyyyy is it a GORGEOUS RING!! Seriously none of us, especially Sayali of course, could stop staring at it! It caught every bit of sunlight that day and even later on at her parents’ house, every bit of light even at night!! They enjoyed popping some champagne and then took their first pictures as an officially engaged couple and the rest of the day was spent in absolute happiness and bliss and sharing the good news with everyone 🙂

Hehehe just hiding out behind the columns, nbd!!

WHEN SHE NOTICED US WITH OUR SIGNS SAYING “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” Best moment hahahahha 😀

Look at this STUNNNERRRRR of a ring!!!





The whole gang recreating the E.P.I.C. moment!!


Adorable, adorable, adorable!!

Coming home to the parents!!!

The ring is loved BY ALL!!

I’m so honored to take their engagement pictures later this month among the cherry blossoms and their engagement party later this spring with their family friends but I’m so glad to have been able to capture a part of the beginning of official their journey together as a newly engaged couple!!!! CONGRATULATIONS YOU GUYS!!!!

For all of you that can’t get enough of proposal stories 

Botanical Gardens, Capitol Hill & Union Station Proposal – Wendy & Lucas

Georgetown Waterfront Proposal – Nakul & Lakshmi

 

 

It was a cold November day, the one where the week before it was actually warm but somehow Virginia weather managed to do a 180 in a week. We made it to the Iris Inn, the coziest little inn nestled into the side of a mountain that was starting to bloom with the gorgeous warm, fall colors. Louisa was in one cottage on the left, getting ready with her best friends and her mom while Grant was across on the right, getting ready and hanging out with the guys watching some football. From the moment I saw Louisa’s details and dress and Grant’s details, I knew this wedding would be styled, refined and meaningful. Louisa’s mom gifted her a horseshoe that had Louisa and Grant’s name, following a British tradition 🙂 Both Louisa & Grant were so incredibly relaxed on their day, so ready to be married, nothing to be anxious or nervous about. Their certainty was incredibly heartwarming. And to say it was a cold day would be an understatement, but I don’t think we could have found anyone more up to the challenge of taking their pictures out in the cold than Louisa & Grant!

But, I haven’t even gotten to all the Harry Potter details that played in to the day. There are Harry Potter fans and then there are Harry Potter fanatics like Louisa & Grant. Her shoes had “after all this time?” and “always” printed on each sole, their friend read a passage from the Half Blood Prince during their ceremony, their cake had the snitch and the deathly hallows on them, each of their reception tables were named after places in Harry Potter like “The Owlery” and “The Ministry of Magic,” and their reception had music from the soundtrack of Harry Potter playing throughout the night. Even some of their floral  decorations were made out of paper from the actual Harry Potter books. Jontell and I were amazed at how well they incorporated so much of the book in such a classy and wholesome manner. It all tied so perfectly in with having their wedding at the Hermitage Hill Farm with their open barn and actual horses in the back! Plus, we got to take some gorgeous pictures of the bridal party with their custom wands and the horse of the farm making a truly magical day!

Vendors
Day of Coordinator | Bride & Joy
Hair & Makeup | Charlottesville Makeup Artist
Hairstylist | Brooke Christine Designs
Cake | Shall We Bake
Dress | The Dress Boutique
DJ | Schultz Sound Services

HOW GORGEOUS ARE THESE LACE DETAILS??!!

Love this one of the guys getting ready 🙂 And a tie with Snitches on them, yes please!

 

When they read Harry Potter DURING the ceremony!!!

These two made taking pictures in the freezing cold look soo effortless!!

SO COOL that they brought out a horse named Clyde to take pictures with!!

Clyde was a total professional when it came to taking pictures, look at him looking RIGHT at the camera! 😉

The Harry Potter touches continue!!

 

I loved being able to second shoot such a unique wedding with Jontell Vanessa Photography back in Charlottesville!! Check out her blog post from the day! It’ll be one that I always remember. Louisa & Grant, I hope you continue to bond and incorporate the little things into your life in a big way, always <3

This week was another good week! I feel like good weeks generally keep good weeks coming. My life here is by no means all pretty flowers, gorgeous wedding venues and beautiful rings ALL day every day! Most of it is just sitting behind the computer with a top knot and an unfinished mug of coffee next to me, typing out this blog post or emailing a client, or putting together something useful for 2018 brides, or even mundane things like marking expenses as business or personal. It’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes that doesn’t always get showcased! So, I want these posts to be a little bit more transparent with everything that goes behind doing wedding photography 🙂

So that being said, here’s prominent parts of the week (aka generally a lot of food highlights hahaha):

– I went out to the Wharf in D.C. on a super windy day with Naveen and LOVED IT!!! Also, they get a million bonus points for having a brand new Dolcezza gelato and coffee store which also features BREAKFAST FOOD!! I mean check out this menu & this super cute penguin 😀

  

– I got to virtually hang out with all of my girls from college who are now all over the US via Google 😀 It was definitely the highlight of my week getting to catch up with everyone & hear about all the awesome things that people have been up to. And it was also comforting to realize that yea sure, we’re “real adults” now, but we’re still ourselves and having fun! I also think everyone appreciates the fact that they get wayyy more sleep now post that E-school life!!!

– It feels so much quieter around here now that everyone who was back from UVA for break has gone back to school again but I’m excited to get back to practice, practice, practice!! I’m performing with DCBC at an upcoming bhangra competition called East Coast Bhangra (ECS) at UVA and I am SO excited to be going 😀 At first I didn’t think I was going to be able to perform but now that I am able to I CAN’T WAIT to be able to be in Charlottesville for a weekend, compete with my DCBC crew and get to hang out with all of my UVA homies!!! It’ll be like YAR PART TWO! and I’m so, so exciteddd.

– Anyone see the Vikings victory over the Saints? I was totally rooting for the Saints but damn, that was a CLUTCH ending!! If you didn’t se it, go check out the highlights, it was a crazy game!

– For any of you craving Bodo’s, try out Bethesda Bagels in Dupont Circle! I promise this will help you get your fix of the water bagels & bagel sandwiches we all love Bodos for <3

– I spent a lot of time configuring HoneyBook which is my new customer management system that tracks all of my project/wedding details in one place! So far I’m loving it (except for that one time I accidentally sent someone a slew of template emails…). I added the Wedding Questionnaire that I send to couples 2 months before their wedding day into HoneyBook to provide a seamless experience and added a portion to my website regarding what the wedding experience with me looks like from start to end! I also updated my engagement questionnaire to reflect these changes. Along with that I fixed up a section of Frequently Asked Questions to include in my Wedding Collections & Pricing guide! You see what I mean about the top knots & coffee and hours at a computer rather than just taking pretty pictures? But I really love it!! Because from all the hard work comes news like that below:

 – I BOOKED ANOTHER WEDDING!!!! I legitimately love this couple already 🙂 We FaceTimed since they currently live in San Francisco and they are just the most easygoing and laugh loving (that’s a thing…) people I’ve met! The groom to be designed one stellar engagement ring that I can’t wait to photograph soon as their official wedding photographer!!!

– I AM GOING TO BE WORKING WITH ONE OF THE TOP PHOTOGRAPHY INDUSTRY LEADERS THIS YEAR!!!!!!!! I know, all caps, this is excessive but this is someone that I’ve looked up to for probably over five years now. You know when you meet a movie star in real life? I’ve never been a fan of actors/actresses but I FANGIRL over some of these well-known photographers and she is one of them! Despite being around the same age, she has worked really hard and been so incredibly successful, she hosts her own photography workshops and even teaches at conferences! I will be photographing a handful of weddings alongside her this year and I can’t wait to get to meet her in person (I was NOT cool over FaceTime when I talked to her hahaha let’s be real) and get to know her personally over this upcoming year 🙂 Plus a little bird told me that I’m sharing this whole experience with another photographer friend which makes this all the sweeter. I’m so excited to get to go out to this photographer’s workshop which is right after ECS! I had been planning on trying to make it out to a conference this year as one of my 2018 goals and it’s cool to see this coming to life!!!

If you read to the end of this, you’re a champ and I thank you for being a small part of my journey here with my little business 🙂 It couldn’t be possible without you!

PAST FRIDAY FUN POSTS!

The One with Biscuits & Warm January Days

The First of 2018!

Wind, Hats, Cake & The Crown

 

 

This one had been in the books for a long time! Ever since I started becoming interested in wedding photography, I’ve looked up to Hannah of Hannah Smith Photography. This girl was someone that lived close to me and was about my age and doing something that I dream to do in a couple of years on my own! So safe to say when she asked me to second shoot with me in August, I did a little happy dance 🙂 I would get to photography another wedding while watching and learning from the sweetest, bubbliest pro! The drive down with Hannah and Madison was sooo much fun & I loved getting to work with them throughout the day, talk about a dream team! I could immediately tell that the day was gonna be a good one 🙂 The storms were holding off, we perused TJMaxx and had lunch at Chik Fil A before officially starting the day at Rock Hill Plantation.

And the entire day continued to be so easy-going!!! Jon & Melissa were sooo calm and easy to work with and you could tell that NOTHING could make their day any less than perfect! Even their bridal party was so easy to get along with, welcoming and the whole wedding felt like one big tight knit community that had come together to watch two of their beloved own finally tie the knot 🙂 And what better place to do so than Rock Hill Plantation in Stafford, VA. They had a BEAUTIFUL outdoor ceremony space in front of a gazebo, such a classy getting ready area for Melissa, the cutest little front porch and 3 baby goats! I have a thing for baby goats so I was freaking out a little and all three of them were SOO cute and nice (shots with goats included at the end)! Here are some of the highlights of Jon & Melissa’s big day!

This first look was the SWEETEST THING EVER!!!! This was my first time photographing one & I can see why photographers advocate for them!! It gives you guys some time to see each other, talk to each other & enjoy the day before your big moment!!

Definitely one of the funniest parts of the day!! These girls had soo much fun with these shots 🙂

^^^ THIS MELTED MY HEART!!!! Melissa watching the Mother Son dance 😀

And they finished off with a sparkler exit that looked like it was something out of a fairy tale 🙂

I loved getting to capture all the sweet moments throughout Jon & Melissa’s big day along with Hannah & can’t wait to work with her and Madison sometime again 🙂 iPhone pictures with goats below as promised!