the journal

I first published this post a couple years ago, but I thought it would be good to revisit and to include something I have NEVER told a SINGLE one of my clients (well, maybe my sister, haha). … Keep reading and I’ll share a little secret about something I do as an Idaho Wedding Photographer and Planner before every session, wedding, client meeting/phone call and event.

~ From 2019 ~ “When I first started my business I was really young. I thought, oh it’d be super fun to take pictures and maybe I could make some money. Little did I know how much work it actually is to run a successful, profitable business. After 4 years of playing around and telling people I was a photographer but not really knowing what I was doing, I decided it was either time to get serious or let go. It was kind of a turning point in my life. My high school sweetheart and I got married November 15, 2014! You can read more about our wedding day HERE! We’re both from a small town in Idaho and we always knew that we wanted to spend forever together. It wasn’t until our wedding day that I realized how much I believed in love and in marriage. Looking back, I always believed in these things, but when I got married it all became so much more real. I am so lucky to be married to a man who tries his best everyday, who loves me no matter what and who always encourages me to keep going in everything I do.

So, in January of 2015 I started actually investing in my business. I re-branded, changed the name of my business and started to get serious. I got my business license and started going to workshops and styled shoots and started connecting with other photographers in Idaho. Over the last 4 years I’ve worked so hard to get my business going. I’ve taken classes and sought out advice from other professional photographers on what works and what doesn’t. I’ve spent hours and hours marketing and designing my website, writing blog posts and editing images, and it has not been easy. There have been many times when I’ve thought, I can’t do this. I’m not getting enough business and no one will ever hire me. I’m not good enough, my work isn’t good enough and I don’t stand out. I’m not outgoing enough or fun enough, etc., etc. I’m sure all you creatives out there know exactly what I’m talking about. But every time I get discouraged, I am surrounded by people who believe in me. By family and friends that push me to keep going and by clients who trust me enough to capture the most important day of their lives and it gives me strength and comfort and peace every single time.

And that is why I do what I do. Because I want to encourage YOU. I want YOU and YOUR LOVE to have the BEST MARRIAGE you can because when you get discouraged, I want you to have someone that lifts you up, that encourages you to keep going and that helps you feel loved and at peace. I believe in marriage and I believe that it CAN LAST FOREVER. Not just for now, not just till death, but beyond that. Because love is strong. The strongest ever. True LOVE WILL OVERCOME all and I am a firm believer in that. Because when we selflessly love someone else, it has lasting effects on them and on us. And that’s what I want to do for you.” ~

I truly believe that my job as an Idaho Wedding Photographer and Planner is NOT to capture pretty pictures or organize things or tell people what to do … I believe that my job is to help YOU feel LOVED on the most important day of your life. And that’s why … HERE’S THE SECRET … before every wedding, every session, every phone call, every client meeting, every event … I pray for you by NAME. … I pray that I can do everything in my power to help you feel encouraged, strengthened, uplifted and most of all LOVED. I pray to have the energy I need to do the best job possible for you and I pray to be calm and excited and not stressed or anxious … and sometimes I pray that for you as well. … Being an Idaho Wedding Photographer and Planner is my DREAM JOB and I am BEYOND lucky that this is what I get to spend my life doing.