Welcome, 2012 | Looking Back at a Beautiful 2011

2011. What a year! As I went back through my chronological picture folders and really looked at all that we’ve done this year I actually became a little exhausted! So much change. So much growth. So much happiness! I’m going to be putting together a 2011 personal photo album a la this post on Jasmine Star’s blog, but I also wanted to record and share the highlights of my 2011 here on the blog both for you and as a record for me to look back at. Without further ado . . .

January was our second month living in Santa Barbara County, California.  We hiked up to the Hollywood sign in L.A. with Gary’s sister and took in the panoramic view of the city.  My parents came out to visit from Florida. Gary and I shot just for fun at Vandenberg AFB and visited Santa Barbara for the first time, where we are in the photos below :) 

February was huge! I spent the first three weeks in anticipation as I was preparing to go to WPPI for the first time and even more importantly to the Making Things Happen intensive!  This is what preparing for a trip looks like to me:

Cute flats for all the walking, a fab necklace, new sunglasses and my first camera “purse”, by Jo Totes! :)

Our little family spent a weekend in Santa Barbara (Gary, me and Claire) at the beautiful Bacara Resort and Spa mid-February with my parents who were out West again for a business meeting. Above flats were broken in ;)  A few days later I was off on my drive to Las Vegas!  I was really counting my lucky stars the entire trip it was so awesome.  I felt like the gigantic world of wedding photography shrank by the hour there as I met new photog friends, visited vendor booths at the Trade Show and just sort of took in this new world I was entering! My recap post of the first few days can be found here.  A couple of days into my trip I participated in a desert shoot which became a turning point in the way I approached photography, I learned a ton just from shooting alongside a handful of more experienced photographers:

The next day was one I felt like I’d been waiting months for, Making Things Happen!  Since about October I’d been following the MTH group online and wishing so much that I could attend the workshop.  After being extended a scholarship I was able to sign up and I can truly say the rest of my 2011 would have been vastly different without the experience and the wonderful people I met in that room.  My recap of what it was like can be found here.  The next day was my first time being photographed professionally for headshots and I was lucky enough to be in front of Gina Zeidler’s lens. The photos you see of me currently in the About Me and Contact sections of the blog as well as my Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter photos are her handiwork :)

My drive back to California after Vegas was so beautiful, I couldn’t help stopping to capture just a little bit of it:

At the end of January we visited yet another beautiful winery at the end of the month with friends of ours, Sunstone Vineyards & Winery:

March brought Gary’s birthday and the beginning of wedding festivities for my Chi Omega little sis and BFF Jessica back in Florida.  It was a tissue pom making marathon the night beforehand but I wouldn’t trade it for anything :)

A few little DIY projects that kept me busy prior to the shower:

March also brought the addition of two new pups in my life, Nicole’s Annabelle (left) and my dad’s new little Daisy (right)!

Sadly, Annabelle wasn’t meant to stay with us very long and she passed away from an infection just a few days after we met :(   

I cherished every moment of our time in Florida.  Having moved all the way across the country a few months prior will do that to you. 

Hanging in Florida with my parents, Dad specifically means fabulous eating. I found this photo of one of my dinners out with the family from this trip and vividly remember this as the best filet of 2011! :)

The end of the month had us back in California visiting the winery that produced our favorite local meritage blend:

I drove down to Santa Barbara (about an hour from where we were living) and discovered the gorgeousness that is the Santa Barbara Courthouse.  Seriously, it’s an amazing place.  It’s going to need it’s own Portrait of a Place post one of these days . . .

April included more time exploring Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.  Knowing our time was limited in California I tried my best to see a lot of it!  Old Mission Santa Barbara: 

I made some new friends at Port San Luis:

And my oldest (longest) friend Nicole came out to California to visit!  We did a ton, including staying up till the wee hours to watch the Royal Wedding (okay, that was mostly me), visiting Hearst Castle by way of Morro Bay:

We also made sure to visit the SLO Farmer’s Market and get Nutella Crepes!

Later we went to beautiful Roblar winery and enjoyed the plentiful sun of Santa Ynez.

And experienced Pinkberry together for the first time in downtown Santa Barbara:

Followed by a visit to the SB Marina:

May came and the three of us ventured to San Francisco for the weekend:

 The following was deemed the best pizza e-ver (found in the Italian District of course): 

After our whirlwind weekend Nicole and I visited Cambria Winery on her last day in town, it’s where they filmed one of The Bachelor episodes with Brad and Emily :)

Nicole and I actually boarded the same flight when it was time for her to go back to Florida because I was on my way there as well to be my friend Jessica’s MOH in her wedding the following weekend :) You can see their wedding post here.

Amanda and I were bridesmaids together that day–she and Jessica’s brother Jordan are getting married in April and I’m thrilled to be their wedding photographer!  April 28th is coming right up :)

The day after Jessica’s wedding a dream of mine came true: I got to go to Hogwarts!  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure got it’s own Portrait of a Place post here :)

At the end of the month I shot my first wedding as an official part of a photography team!  As it turns out, my first wedding would be a 700 guest, LDS + Polynesian extravaganza–talk about intense!  It was completely thrilling and I knew for. sure. afterward that I didn’t want to do anything else but wedding photography.  You can find the entire post here.

I had a great time working with Jove and Annie Yambot and Jenn Lebron!

June came and with it our 3 year wedding anniversary.  We decided to start a new tradition, albeit a couple of years behind, to take a photo of ourselves in front of our current home on each anniversary since it’s possible we’ll live quite a few places being in the Air Force and all :) 

Two more California weddings rounded out the month and I was pretty much in Heaven: first was a Santa Cruz wedding at a lovely B&B where I shot with Sarah McKenzie, you can find the rest of the day here.

 And second was probably my favorite wedding of the year, a San Luis Obispo Mission ceremony followed by a vineyard reception. {Singing} H e a v e n !  Brittany Gerth invited me to shoot with her on this one and we really enjoyed the day.  Part 1 and Part 2 of the day can be found here and here.

Finally at the end of the month Gary finished his training which is what had us in California in the first place:

July started out with a trip to Deer Valley, Utah with my parents for some R&R and to celebrate the 4th. Favorite family photo taken at Sunday brunch at the Montage:

That same morning I sat in awe of the gorgeous tall trees just outside the windows of where we were eating and told Gary I would love for our house in Colorado (where we’d be moving in two short weeks) to be really wooded like this:

While in Utah I did some new headshots of my parents:

I also did a really fun Lifestyle shoot of a very talented little figure skater, you can see the rest of the images here.

After our return from Utah the military movers came and packed everything up and we were off on our way to our new home of Colorado Springs!  I’ve grown to really love road trips and wanted to make sure we made the most of this one, so we stopped at Sequoia National Park and Arches National Park on our way:

Upon arriving in Colorado Springs we immediately began the in-person search for a home and after a few tireless days we found the perfect one (on a very treesy lot) and put in our offer!  After some back and forth we had a deal and the wait to close began. . . Meanwhile we went on our first Rocky Mountain hike at Waldo Canyon (in the rain):

We may have gotten wet but it was beautiful nonetheless!

August came and I had the opportunity to second shoot my first Colorado wedding with one of the lovely ladies I met at the Making Things Happen workshop in February, Danica Larsen!  So it was off to Boulder for a creek-side ceremony and reception: 

Gary and I attended a local Craft Lager festival later in the month with friends and visited Cave of the Winds for the first time, then finally closed on our house!

September was a really busy month as well, I was invited to shoot with Laura Murray at beautiful Perry Park which turned into my favorite ceremony I’ve photographed to date: 

 The full post can be found here.

I also got my office all set up (Claire helped):

My parents came out to visit (I’m seeing a trend here, are you? Love them . . . ) and we had a number of firsts together: Garden of the Gods, the Broadmoor, Cog Railway to the top of Pikes Peak and hiking North Cheyenne Canon/Helen Hunt Falls:

I will say that after hanging out at the Broadmoor for just one evening I can see what a magical wedding location it must be! I can’t wait to photograph one there . . . :)

We got a few snow flurries at the top of Pikes Peak–in September! :)

October 1st came and the aspens were ablaze.  It was the perfect fall day for an Estes Park wedding!  Shooting again with Danica was so fun, we remarked the entire time about the gorgeous surroundings.  The full blog post can be found here.

Pikes Peak had it’s first big snow fall and I was so mesmerized . . . this is the view from our master bathroom:

I had the opportunity to shoot with Shelley of Studio S Photography for a wedding in Thornton, an area of Denver:

Shortly thereafter we had our first big snow, Claire being a Florida pup was really not sure what to think of it!

Image on the right taken with Instagram

We carved pumpkins and decorated for Halloween (Claire and I were pirates), and at the end of the month I second shot one more wedding.  Heidi of Heidi Leigh Photography had me along for an Air Force Academy Chapel ceremony, I was thrilled to be shooting there!  More here.

November.  I’m tired just thinking about it!  And probably from recapping this very full year . . . ;) I spent three out of four weeks in Florida in November, on two separate trips.  First, I met Nicole’s new puppy (who I’m happy to report is still doing wonderfully), Sophie Grace:

Then I attended a marketing/photography workshop in Orlando given by my favorite wedding photographer, Kristen Weaver!  The workshop included a styled shoot (which will definitely be getting its own post soon) and the collaboration of the photographers in attendance was featured on one of  my favorite wedding blogs!  A couple of my favorite photos and also a couple of me shooting taken by Kristen and her assistant :) :

Raise your hand if you’re obsessed with every detail of this cake. I know I am! Every last one.

After the workshop it was time for my BFF Jen’s bridal shower, hosted by my mom and me at my parents’ new house that they had literally just moved into the weekend before.  (Call us crazy, we did!)

It really was a fabulous time :)

I can almost never resist taking ring shots, this is Jen’s beautiful engagement ring!

I returned to Colorado and was immediately off to Denver for a fabulous industry event which I will share more about in another post, but here’s a peek!

During the few days I was back in Colorado I was also working on producing ceremony programs for my friend Emily to match the wedding invitations we’d created earlier in the year.  Before I knew it I was back on my way to Florida (this time with Gary), leaving the house ready for Christmas:

It was opening night for Twilight: Breaking Dawn and you better believe I was there!  My mom and I enjoyed every second of it and were just as torn up as anyone about the fact that we have to wait another year for part two.  Ah!

The next evening was Jen’s rehearsal dinner which she and her fiancé hosted at their home–it turned out beautifully:

After a bridesmaids sleepover it was time for Jen & Patrick’s big day.  I have honestly never attended a more emotional or heartfelt ceremony than theirs.  The entire wedding party and audience was in tears!  It was really beautiful:

The very next day Gary was a groomsman in the wedding of our dear friends Tim & Emily in Sarasota.  Selby Gardens was the perfect place to celebrate their union and Emily’s details were so charming :)

Before returning to Colorado I did make it to the beach once :)

Which brings me to . . . . . .

December!  Whew, we’re almost there.  So December was here and the tree still needed to be decorated before Gary’s three siblings came to stay with us for the holidays.  We attended Gary’s work Christmas party at the Garden of the Gods Club.  We got together with my Vegas roomie, Kate and her husband Sam (who also relocated to Colorado Springs this year and now live five minutes from us!) for a Christmas card photo session trade-off:

Our friends Drew and Brandy got engaged, I baked Christmas cookies (and documented the entire process which will be another post!) to send to my parents:

We got lots more snow:

The tree was decorated and presents were wrapped:

 I had my 25th birthday on Christmas eve and for it Gary’s two sisters and brother came into town! :) The next morning after presents we went out to a little hill in our neighborhood and sledded to our hearts content (super fun):

We hosted Christmas dinner at our house with the five of us and two other couples, and ended the night by getting into our matching PJs  that my mom sent for each of us, including Claire!

We spent the rest of 2011 sightseeing in Colorado Springs and spending quality time together:

All in all it was a wonderful year for Gary and me, I’m so grateful for all the new friends made and the celebrations we were able to be part of, the time spent with family, the personal and business growth . . . here’s to an equally beautiful 2012!  Wishing you the very best.

 

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