About 365 days of marriage

I started this blog in April of 2011. At the time, Bret and I were wedding photographers and it was a way to share how marriage is more about the day to day and so much more than the wedding day itself. For about 5 years, I blogged about the joys and sorrows of the Christian walk, marriage, work, family and friends. I’ve blogged every day since a few weeks after I started. In May of 2015, we photographed our last wedding. Now, I have become passionate about simplicity, particularly in marriage, Christianity, business, travel and life. For a number of reasons, we have become minimalists. I’ve found that having simplicity makes life so much deeper, refreshing and joyful. I hope that this blog will help others see the benefits of living simply.

Day 1526 – A Party With Friends And Discovery Of An Awesome Connection To A Previous Client

Posted on September 14, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

Today, I went a party at a friend’s house. We met at Target about 8 years ago. I photographed her sister Laura’s wedding 2 years ago.

Here’s a shot of the lovely barn (check out the link above for more pictures!)

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And one of the DELICIOUS Pink Lemonade drinks (for adults) in a mason jar! Yum!

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I was chatting with Laura and we realized something totally AMAZING!

I was there the night she met her future husband, Cory.

We also realized I was at the party when they really started talking more (the second time they met).

The party was almost 6 years ago from today!

It was so emotional realizing I had been around for their WHOLE relationship AND that I got to photograph their wedding celebration! Ah!

Icing on the cake? I got a shot of them together at the party!

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Day 1525 – Behind The Scenes At A Pregnancy Announcement Shoot

Posted on September 13, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

I know how much you folks enjoy these behind the scenes posts, so I figured I’d share some more!

If you don’t know my dear hubby personally, he is so much fun! When I ask him to “model” so I can test out the light before we start shooting, he typically does something like the following.

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If we ever do have kids, we have our pregnancy announcement all ready to go!! 🙂

Day 1524 – Business Lesson Learned

Posted on September 12, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

I’ve been photographing weddings for almost nine years….whew, every time I say it I feel a little older! Since I’ve been full-time, I’ve realized a LOT of things I was doing wrong or poorly. Today I realized I really should have tracked my leads better. (Where they came from, how many times they contacted me, why they didn’t book [if they didn’t], etc.)

But, one of the things I love about running my own business is that I can fix my mistakes at any point. Unfortunately, it meant I spent many hours this evening figuring out these details (fortunately, I got to watch a few episodes of Once Upon A Time!) I am very happy with the amount of data I have in front of me though! It will help me in planning my next moves in terms of marketing and follow up with potential clients. It will also help me to see all kinds of other fun things. I’m a bit of a data geek, so I’m excited to analyze everything, figure out some trends, etc.

So, the lesson for you today! If you are running a photography business, track your leads. Even if you’ve been in business for a while, look back and figure it out! I know I’m missing some of the leads that came in (since I didn’t track it, I don’t have my phone call leads). Today is a great day to try again!

And as you “restart,” “May Each Step You Take Be Sweet.”

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Day 1523 – The Way To My Networking Heart

Posted on September 11, 2013 by 365 days of marriage

Today I attended a networking group (The Executives Association of Baltimore) where I met a TON of really awesome executives and business owners. But the one that stuck out the most was the one who knows the way to my networking heart.

Barry Hebb at Tidewater. He gave me a pen….he said he was out of business cards…but that “outage” was a win for him! So when you’re marketing yourself, dear readers, give out something your target will LOVE! As you may remember, I LOVE pens! (Noted here.)

Thanks Barry!

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