We're Not Perfect and Why We're Celebrating Anyway: Courtney + Scott
It's My Turn to Be In Front of the Camera!
It was a typical Friday afternoon in my office when I started to feel it. I drummed my fingers across my keyboard typing out emails as I felt it expanding in my mind. If it had been a physical manifestation it might have looked like water boiling on the stove. It bubbled slowly at first and then became rapid until it spilled over the sides of the pot. It was a mental itch to get out of the house, get away from the everyday routine, and it was all consuming in my mind by the time Scott arrived home.
How long had it been since we just got in the car and drove around for the heck of it? How long had it been since we'd taken a vacation or taken a night off, unplugged from the TV and our phones, to dream about where we wanted to go next in our lives? A month? 3 months? It was the beginning of December and I was winding down from my crazy hectic wedding season and felt the overwhelming urge to get away. Scott and I had even passed by our 6 year anniversary back in October without much of a celebration! Ahh!
I yelled "We're going on an adventure!" in my best Bilbo Baggins voice as I raced up the stairs to pack!
Scott and I decided then and there we deserved a break, and I yelled "We're going on an adventure!" in my best Bilbo Baggins voice as I raced up the stairs to pack! I was a blur of motion as I threw clothes and hair products into my bag for our road trip; destination Grand Rapids, MI. I sincerely believe that it is ok to take some time away from the computer, breathe in the cold air, snuggle a little longer in bed, and, actually, live life outside of work (a hard concept for a work-a-holic like me)! I feel so blessed to have a man at my side for the last 6 years who, despite the initial confusion and the "Where did this come from?" statement, he will grab my hand, get on board, and start running in the direction of adventure or whatever crazy thing I dream up next!
I spent most of the year photographing couples and weddings all over the state, running a business, trying to be as organized as possible, and yet, somehow, time got away from me. I'm not perfect. By the end of 2016, I realized that Scott and I hadn't had a chance to get in front of the camera together at all! There were no professional portraits of us that we could look back on and say, "This is what our life and love looked like in 2016."
Despite what social media would have you believe, I'm not perfect.
I strongly believe that you don't need an excuse to get professional photographs taken of you and your loved ones. You don't need to wait until you're engaged or your wedding day or when you're about to have a baby or when you've lost that pesky 10 pounds or when your life is all perfect and orderly or, or, or. . . If 2016 taught me anything it's that we aren't guaranteed any amount of time in our lives and we should be celebrating the ordinary everyday moments in between the highlight reel.
After the 3 hour drive to Grand Rapids, we arrived at the beautiful Vormittag Tree Farm to meet with my crazy-talented friend, and fine-art photographer, Ashley Slater to take some mini portraits! The weather was Christmas card perfect and our long weekend away was the best thing ever guys! For the last two years now I have made it a point to get in front of the camera because I truly believe in the power of photographs. (See our photos from last year here!) My everyday life normally doesn't involve me wearing makeup with bold red lips and effortless looking curls . . . heck to the no. . . despite what social media would have you believe, I'm not perfect and most days I'm rocking a big poofy bun on my head with dark rimmed glasses and no makeup. I try to take as many candid pictures of the everyday unpolished me on trips to the movies or while visiting with family as I can, but on the occasion when I can have a fellow photographer take my photo, I'll put some effort into looking a little more hot damn vs. a hot mess!
One day you'll want to look back and say, " I lead a pretty wonderful, adventurous, fun, hard, and love-filled life and I have the pictures to prove it."
So I want to tell you, yes YOU, that you don't have to wait to start documenting your life and the stage you are at now! You are beautiful and you are uniquely you right now. One day you'll want to look back and say, " I lead a pretty wonderful, adventurous, fun, hard, and love-filled life and I have the pictures to prove it."
Love,
Courtney
I hope you enjoy some of my favorites from our little portrait session with Ashley Slater Photography!
Location: Vormittag Tree Farm, Grand Rapids, MI
Photographer: Ashley Slater Photography
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