When I became a photographer I did so with the goal of making images that truthfully and authentically told the stories of the people who bravely stepped in front of my lens. I wanted to make images that mattered. Somewhere along the way I lost my WHY, I set it hastily aside for someone else’s goals; getting published, booking more weddings, finding the “perfect” clients. The hustle drained me and my creativity. It stole my heart and my soul was no longer seeping into the marrow of my work. I was lost. With the help of some amazing mentors, and a few fleeting days of honesty and vulnerability in the mountains, I found myself again. I reconnected fully to the steady thrum of my heart and decided then and there to never again let anything – or anyone – silence it. Throughout my journey as a photographer, I’ve had countless conversations with other...
love is snow and wispy white clouds of breath. love is tears and laughter and faith. love is story and grace. love is ellie + andrew.
There are so many things that can be said about a wedding day, all of which are true and accurate portrayals of what takes place when two people embark upon their journey to forever. But like anything that gets said too frequently, the sentiments have become cliche, trite, expected, and Ellie + Andrew’s love story is none of those things. Ellie and Andrew have written the pages of their stories throughout the whole of their lives; the years begin and end like chapters, paragraphs punctuated by fleeting moments of joy or sorrow, laughter or tears, friends and lovers made, lost. And then, each other. A wedding is both a beginning and an end. It’s the lighthouse – a beacon set on a stony shore to guide us safely home, and the ship – the hull filled with memories, visible scars of childhood and hidden ones of growing up, learning lessons, becoming wiser. It’s everything...
on love and life and stories and hope. remembering two thousand fifteen.
Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes. Thousands of images. Three hundred sixty five days. Dozens of Stories. Fifty Two weeks. Fourteen weddings. Twelve months. Eight states. One year. Holy shit it’s been a whirlwind year. They say (whoever “they” are) that you should do something every day that scares you – so today that thing is going to be talking about my accomplishments. I’m terrible at self-promotion but I’m going to give it an honest-to-goodness go. Gulp. In August I hosted my first workshop, Write Your Life, and am working on launching my second. Three days later I lost my corporate job and was catapulted head first into legitimate, scary-as-f*ck, self-employment, though it is a position I should have chosen for myself ages ago. This fall I was asked to hand letter a magazine cover for Minnesota Monthly and the beautiful Lucia at Utterly Engaged tasked me with writing an...
love is farmhouses and forests and flowers. love is home and hearty laughter and hands clasped together. love is natasha and joel’s wedding day.
Natasha and Joel were married on a hot July day in southern Minnesota in Joel’s parents backyard. Natasha, an incredibly talented floral designer, made nearly everything herself and transformed Joel’s parents land into a beautiful and perfect wedding venue. Since their wedding day, Natasha has become a good friend of mine and I couldn’t feel more grateful to have been beside her on her wedding day, as she married the love of her life. Joel doesn’t just make her happy, he makes her beam. When she’s next to him she glows from within – and it’s a sight to behold. Here is how I saw their wedding story – what it felt like on that sticky summer day as two people walked together into the beginning of their forever:...