goodbye 2011, hello 2012 ♥

2011 has been my absolute favourite year, of all my 22 that I've been alive. How could it not be, when it started out like this:

On January 15th, Ryan proposed.


It was such a wonderful day -- exactly how it is supposed to be (except everyone was supposed to answer their phone when I called them!!)

On March 20th, Ivy was born.


I didn't anticipate loving someone so much before even knowing them. My brother and sister-in-law are AMAZING at keeping everyone up to date from all the way in Toronto. We get a picture of the day, every. single. day. Something I would love to do when I have my own kiddies!

On May 26th, we moved in to our first house together.


We had been watching the house go up since April of 2010, and finally, on this day, we got the keys and made it home. We slept there the first night on a mattress on the floor if I remember correctly. We got up in the morning, Ryan went to work, and I started painting. It was fantastic. <<read the post>>

On June 15th, my logo was born.


Thanks to the amazing artist by the name of Laura Warecki. Most people have a company before they have a logo...but I'm not most people, and having that logo designed for me was a huge part of the process for me. There was no turning back after that. Laura, I will be forever grateful.

On June 18th, I met my very first clients: the Murphy family.


I am so grateful to them for allowing me to tag along on a walk through the park, and snap photos of their beautiful family. Everybody starts somewhere, and that's where I started. <<read the post>>

On June 30th, I shot my very first wedding.


Chantal...Maxime...there aren't enough words. It meant so much to be to be able to call myself a wedding photographer after our day together. I made a ton of mistakes, and looking back on those photos has me yearning for a second chance to shoot more of the details, up my exposure, change my aperature...but learning through those mistakes has been such an important part of this year. <<read the post>>

On August 14th, I met Francis & Gabrielle for a couples shoot.


The shoot changed the entire game for me. Over the course of the 2 hours we spent together at the Aylmer Marina, I realized that THIS is what I wanted to do. Shooting couples is my absolute favourite thing to do, and this shoot in particular really broadened my scope of capturing a couple exactly as they are in real life. <<read the post>>

On August 19th, I booked my booth at the Ottawa Wedding Show.

That was a big day for me, and it all started with a blog post about my 5-year plan. It was the moment when I decided that in order to brand a company around who I am instead of what fancy equipment I'm using, I had to bear my soul on the internet. And on this particular day, it meant revealing some pretty big dreams. <<read the post>>

On September 21st, I booked my trip to WPPI. 


It was a few weeks in the making, along with lots and lots of dreaming that one day, turned into a reality. <<read the post>>

On September 24th, I shot the wedding of Melanie & Michel.


Melanie & Michel were the kind of clients who just...fell into my lap. I was truly honoured to be there to document their wedding day, and I truly believe it will be the wedding I continue to talk about years from now. <<read the post>>

On October 7th, Ryan and I stood at the mailbox and shoved 100 wedding invitations through the tiny slot, 3 at a time.


Ryan made fun of me for thinking this was the best possible way to mail the invitations, rather than going to a post office like a normal person, but it was 10:00pm on a Friday night before we left for Florida the next morning. And...we had a really good system going by the last 3. <<read the post>>

On November 13th, I organized a styled wedding shoot.


To say it was a process, is a huge understatement. No one told me planning a styled wedding shoot would be just as much work as planning a real wedding! I am indebted to Shannon for all of her help on this massive project, and I am so pleased with the results. <<read the post>>

On November 26th, I quit my day job.


It was a hot mess of big dreams, annoying office lighting, and some straight-out-of-left-field decision making. It was the end of one chapter in my life, and the beginning of another. <<read the post>>

They say that the way you ring in the new year will dictate how you'll spend that year. And if that's true...I'll be spending 2012 wrapped up on the couch, editing photos, uploading and designing albums, watching movies I've seen a million times. Sounds pretty perfect to me.

Happy new year everyone!




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