1 year ago I photographed my first wedding.

As some may know, I am a graphic designer by day, and a photographer by nights and weekends. A year ago, I was working with this fabulous girl who I chatted with daily whenever we needed a break from work. When Heather got engaged, of course with us being girls, our regular conversations were long gone, and we chatted about all things wedding! Then one day Heather asked me if I would be her wedding photographer. At the time, I had mainly been shooting for fun, and doing friends and family. I started to justify to Heather why I COULDN’T do her wedding… because I had never shot one before, and because I believed (and still do) that wedding photos are sooo important. At the end of the biggest day of your life, the food will be ate, the cake will be devoured, your hair will start to fall flat, and the thing you will have left, that for the next 70 years will remind you of how special, joyful, and meaning that day was when you married your best friend, will be your photos.

Heather said, yes I agree with you on how important wedding photos are. But I have seen your previous photography work, I know how passionate you are about it, and I know you will do a great job photographing our wedding.

Yes, at that point in time, Heather probably had more confidence in me then I did myself. I just jumped in headfirst. I had not second shot a wedding before, or job shadowed anyone shooting a real wedding. Crazy huh? Would I recommend others to do this? No. But I take every wedding very seriously, and once Heather convinced me to shoot her wedding I booked a trip to Dallas, TX where I did a 3-day photo workshop and soaked up every bit of knowledge I could. Along with a few other educational courses, and touring their wedding venue a few times while taking practice photos, I became confident that I could shoot her wedding and capture her day the way every wedding day should be captured!

I look back at that now, a year later, and say thank you Heather! Thanks for having confidence in me, thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone, thank you for helping me pursue my passion! You convincing me to shoot your wedding led me to figure out what I truly enjoy doing- photographing weddings and capturing those once in a lifetime moments.