Reflecting on a year of Growth and Gratitude 2024 in review.

January to March – A New Beginning in Dawson Creek, BC

The year started with a sense of adventure and change. My partner Phil and I made a significant move to British Columbia, from Australia, where we had lived for over 5 years.. I met Phil 3 years ago as of this new years 2024. He is from the UK, and my home is BC, Our first official move to Canada, we landed in Vancouver, bought ourselves an RV, and hit the road off to Alberta to catch up with dad for new years evening, we landed in Canada on Dec 20th 2023, saw dad for new years and spent the first month there, settling in and looking for a new job, and catching up with family for the first time in 6 years. We got a new doggy Indica, and started a bond with her, while living in the RV. Finding the perfect RV doggy wasn't easy, and she wasn't the first doggy we found. We tried 2 others before her, but we put her in the RV, and she just sat there and looked at us, like "where we going?" She didn't stress or panic.She was relaxed with us, and didn't mind our presence, or being brought into the RV, and having the door shut. The other 2 dogs we tried were a complete disaster within minutes, so this was a good sign. We took Indica with us, on a road trip right away, as I took on a new job working on a cattle farm in Dawson Creek during the slow winter months. This was a far cry from my usual life of photographing weddings, but it was exactly what we needed—some time to reset and experience something new. The landscape in Dawson Creek was freezing, with minus 40s, working outside wasn't too friendly, but at least we were hooked up to a house we could use, and eventually we moved into, but it allowed me to explore the vast wilderness, coyotes, wolves, and elk, and moose, that would become a brief moment in time. We also adopted a farm cat that was abandoned by the younger kids working on the farm. We saw him in the cold a few times, and he come up to us and Indica our pup, and never seemed bother by us. 3 months later, they let me go, it seems with farm work they really take advantage of the probationary period, so I got screwed big time... we didn't see it coming and we didn't have much saved.

As the cold winter months settled in, I took a step back from everything to adjust to the new chapter ahead and focus on finding us another job on a new farm. It was a slower pace of life, one that gave me time to reflect and recharge while working on a property that was full of beauty and challenge in equal parts. Winter in Dawson Creek wasn’t just about the cold; it was about a quiet pause, before the world of photography would start buzzing again for me. I knew this time was crucial to start a few things on the backend of my business, with finishing up my website facelift, and creating more blogs, and adventure experiences I can offer within my business, as well as adding a few new features to the website that had come out with the Pixieset updates for my website hosting service. They added some studio features making booking weddings and mini sessions and photo sessions so much easier, and smoother for my clients, allowing a live calendar booking feature that integrates with all my sessions. I am super excited about this, because its saved so much client communication, and planning, scheduling, and emailing. Now I have a streamlined seamless process with booking, you can click book now, on the website on the investment page, it takes you to a booking form where you can pick your package, fill out the contract, and pay to book your spot before it gets taken, all this, before you even speak with me! I love this, and I think my clients do too, especially when I might be busy with other arrangements, while I do miss the engaging conversations of getting to know my clients, this is so much easier and user friendly, and a self service booking system that is available 24/7. Also, I love that there's a new anticipation when we meet that feels like a fun first date!! With my new welcome video on the website as well, I really think it helps my clients get to know me better, so they can trust who they are booking, and that I am the vibe they are looking for! During this time, I didn’t have any weddings to capture, but I used this slower season to reflect on my photography business and plan ahead.

The downtime in BC was precious, allowing me to learn, grow, and rest my mind, and reset some plans, and find the resistances in my business, or anything out of order, and plan for a bigger future while being back in Canada. After a few months in BC, then getting fired, we moved on to Alberta for a brief stint, where I continued to take a break from wedding bookings, but started to figure out where our next moves were gonna be long term, to be able to work with Phil's visas. I searched for jobs, and applied like craazzzyyy, I also used this time to work on my website, and hone in my unique style!! I changed up my editing preset process, and now I have exclusive presets for certain times of the year, as well as a new cohesive edit for all wedding work going forward. I'm excited to see how the consistency of my work changes, as I finally made the move to edit all my work with the same look. Previously I edited to the wedding, but now I edit to my style. Warm, authentic, true to color, some tones can be moody, and some can be brighter and soft. I love vivid colors, and vibrant dramatic blacks. I was working on my welcome intro video then, but I hadn't quite finished it yet!! I was super excited about this coming wedding seasons in Canada, and wanted to spend this time resettling, getting my name out there in the local community, and creating a new client experience, so that my couples feel cared for, loved, and organized when working with me. I wanted to ensure they have a wedding planner as well, so I spent a fair few weeks working on creating a full length 78 page wedding planner that's customizable and printable! I'm sooo excited about this release. I thought I would try and sell them on Esty, but turned out I suck at marketing these, so alas, I will give them away to all my wedding clients for free when they book with me. Message me if ya want one anyways, for reading this blog. My treat! I'm so excited about all these awesome changes in my business and this year was truly a year of growth, and transformation! I needed all this down time, to create a better client experience. With 12 years under my belt, you really do have to go over and analyze your business, workflow, and client experience to be sure what your offering is what your clients want in this day and age! But if your constantly working within your business, where is the time to work behind the scenes on the business? I really think a lot of wedding clients don't realize all the free work we truly do, just to get the business set up, and adapting as time evolves, as well as updating the websites, and blogs, and keeping the customer journey a pleasant, informative one, that's easy stress-free, and feels empowering. Plus all the research into tech, and how this stuff is all set up, and running a business alone, itself is another job. You entrepreneur friends would totally understand, we small business owners wear many hats!

April to June – A Summer of Healing, Puppies, and Creative Ventures, Alberta to Manitoba!

As the spring thawed into summer, life continued to surprise me with both challenges and joys. My 30th birthday was in the RV in Mantiba, I bought myself my own cake, and my partner got them to decorate it cute for me! One of the most unexpected—and rewarding—experiences was raising a litter of puppies. When we move to Manitoba for Phil to start work on a farm out there, Our dog, Indica, a one-year-old Siberian Husky- fell in love with a Rottweiler-Australian Shepherd mix, and a few months later, had her first litter of eight adorable puppies. As a first-time puppy momma, I found myself utterly captivated by their growth. And challenged with the small space of an RV! I recorded the birthing, and filmed them growing up, they were raised under our kitchen table, we set up a little pen for Indy to get in and out of. Over time as they grew up, I took fun photoshoots of them to find them homes. As they started running around few even jumped into my client sessions, and my clients adored those photos the most!! From their eyes opening to their playful antics, they filled our home with so much energy. With eight puppies to care for, I had my hands full, but it was one of the most heartwarming experiences of the year. I was watching all the pups at home while Phil was working, during this time I thought it might be good to try a new venture into some business hustles I can do from home!! This included creating Social Blueprint Marketing, where I was able to manage other companies accounts, and marketing for them, and create marketing campaigns, and graphics, reels and content to record together, to create a more engaging online experience for their customers and leads. I really enjoyed this venture, and I took college courses in Australia for social media and marketing, and business management, which helped me hone in my style and delivery and process, and curate the perfect system to help my clients get on top and organized with their socials. I probably should have been working on my own, but I really didn't feel we were gonna be in Manitoba for long, and I wasn't working much there, and didn't have many options, and to be honest, Phil wasn't so happy there either.... So while I waited to see what new chapter was unfolding, I started searching endlessly for new jobs, and applied across Canada again to BC... I focused on other businesses instead, utilizing my skills for the greater good, helping others. I also used this time, to spark a new interest in painting, which had become quite seriously more of an obsession. I got a bunch of painting stuff and spent everyday, painting a new project or an old one I started. Some were quick, some I painted over a few times to get it right, and some took weeks on end to finish. Some I just threw out, and others I gifted away. I really enjoyed getting into painting, and thought I might even attempt one day to do some wedding live painting, because I think it could be a fun additional piece to my business for brides who I connect with but maybe already booked their photographer or videographer! I used a few of my photographs, and I started to paint those for reference. I picked some Iconic favs, because those meant a lot to me!

We were fortunate to find loving homes for all of the puppies, and it’s been such a joy to see them go on to make new families so happy. One of the puppies stayed with us, while another went to a dear friend of ours who I share entrepreneurship with, they own a company that creates soup for doggies, and gave us some samples for our babies to try! They are raising our puppy Rylie, and my cousin is raising our other puppy Violet. I'm glad we got a few pups closer to home. All is not lost, all pups are loved and adored well.

July to September – Back to Alberta we go!! A Whirlwind of Boudoir, Family Portraits, and Fall Adventures, Garden venue Collab!

As summer turned into fall, I found us a new job with a 2 year visa for Phil that was near my family, back in Alberta in Spruce Grove and it offered us a house, and property to ourselves. We loved the idea of this place, but little did we know, the cycle of getting let go before 3 months continues.... I didn't find myself able to do the job, as the only thing they offered to me was staring at a conveyer belt of potatoes for 8 hours a day, which, honestly I had vertigo after the first hour... Never in my life would I do a job like that again. I signed up for the harvesting and seeding side, and I guess got thrown into what they had at the moment. I went home, politely quit, and focused on diving into a series of creative sessions. One of my favorite shoots this year was a trip to Newfoundland!! I got a wicked 4 day adventure, that turned into a complete airport nightmare, that landed me in the hospital on the way home without my consent, to get discharged to be able to fly....The airline had cancelled so many flights back to back, i was so under-slept and exhausted, I felt like collapsing when we descended and started walking down the run way, something wasn't right... I believe my blood sugars just dropped to dangerous lows. But that aside, the wedding was freaking INCREDIBLE! I got to shoot with Cheree a lovely photographer from Cheree Photography, a newer budding fulltime photography inspiration to me! She's doing so well in business, and I am so proud now to be her friend and watch her grow and give her feedback, and see it propel her business into further success! We shot the wedding in Newfoundland together, and we met for the first time in the airport! On the way, we explored the island, around Deer Lake, and learnt a few fun things from the locals prior to getting screeched-in at the wedding reception. For those who don't know, getting Screeched-in is typically a Newfies way of welcoming you to their culture. Inviting you to be apart of it all, and making sure you have had the real Newfie experience, and kissed a cod, and spoke your oath in your most Newfiest accent possible, while wearing a ridiculous fisherman's costume, playing with a pair of spoons, or a stick of spoons to make some fun racket. Newfie music is an absolute blast, and I truly had so much fun learning about their culture of mummering, at Christmas, going door to door of the neighborhood, dressed in funny costumes, and a pillow sack on their head disguised, playing funny jokes and role playing, and singing, to try and get their neighbors to guess who they are!! This tradition, goes back to Europe, and the settlers to Canada keep it very much alive!! This wedding also had a cute little church ceremony, and a parade through the town, honking in their cars while the bride and groom sat in the back of the pick up, and wave at the whole community, and their homes, as they drive by. This might sound weird to you, but honestly, its what they do, because the kids grow up, and move away, and come back just to get married and be with the retirees of the land, their parents and grandparents... This is the island where couples elope to get married to be back home with their families, but its not the place to raise a family, there's not many careers or jobs available, and honestly while you COULD raise a family here, the opportunities are long lost... That said with the tourism expanding there is hopes in the community that the dyeing island will thrive again, beyond the occasional wedding day. If you ask someone, oh, did you go to newfoundland to see a wedding, 9 times of 10, its a yes!! Ive tried!!

The vibrant colors, and rocky coastline, and ethereal feel were exactly what I had envisioned for a dramatic and fun shoot, but unfortunately, we didnt have ANY time for the epic landscapes, and the bride didnt seem to want to go somewhere incredible... Im a bit disappointed after doing the pre roadtrip up north, and seeing what Newfoundland really had to offer for landscapes and beauty, I really was hoping we would have gone up the road a bit to cool spots, but this wasn't my wedding client, and I was only the videographer, and when you hire me as a second or assistant shooter, or a videographer, I am not the lead, and I dont assume as such, and I dont like to be pushy with clients that are not mine, and start suggesting ideas outside their plan. This was another photographers wedding client that had already pre-arranged all these details and timelines together, so everything was set in stone, when I arrived to replace Tyler whom couldnt make it for a surgery. I am grateful I got chosen to shoot this destination wedding, and travelled across Canada to the east coast for my first time!! Ive always been a fan of canada and its coastlines, but nothing has ever brought me so far east before. I am grateful it was a wedding day!! But I would LOVE to shoot there again, to capture more of the coastlines and its rugged lands, and ocean shores. You can tell even the bride was a bit dissapointed with what we had to work with on the locations she chose, both had bad glare from the sun and lended for clouded glarey photos and not crisp details. Lenses cannot shoot into glare, or broad daylight without specialty filters, which most photographers dont even bother to use, they just dont shoot into glare, because it can also wreck the sensors in your camera if you shoot with a DSLR, thats not mirrorless. I shoot with Nikon, so I consider this risk, and move the client slightly out of the glare, but then you get harsh shadows, and she chose a spot with no shade... Usually shooting in no shade isnt an issue, as long as the sun is behind or off to the side, but the sun was right into their eyes, the wind was blowing wild in the spots she chose... everything wasnt right. We lost so much time, we walked past the horses in a good lighting spot that could have been great, because I guess she wasnt into the horses, she wanted the water... But that didnt work out, so we lost more time! In the end we did get a few nice photos, But I know if I did that wedding again, I would have planned the photo locations based on lighting, shade, time of day, the background, the glare, as well as where the beautiful landscape can shine, without other elements interfering. You can usually find the perfect spot, if you plan well. Unfortunately, it was the last minute fill in, and I didnt get much say. I did the best I could, and I even took some photos for the client as well, as a free little thank you for having me, I offered them a special sparkler photo which I am really proud of!!

In the fall, the leaves started to turn, and I sensed a good vibe for fall photo sessions at this property with a cute fall barn look, we were surrounded by cool barns and sheds, and nice fall trees!! I also shot a family session on a dusty dirt road during the fall, which turned out to be a dream! Everyday, A truck drove by, kicking up dust in the road and creating an incredible atmosphere I just was waiting to capture in one of my sessions for the images. It added so much depth to the photos, and I was so glad the family was game for it. I’d tried to create a similar effect during a bridal boudoir session earlier in the year, but the road we were on didn’t give the desired result. After learning from that experience, I found the perfect spot this time, and the dust shot was everything I had hoped for! I also got to do an amazing couple session in the fall, when it rained, and I got to bring out the black umbrella, which matched her lace black dress, and his black suit, the vibe was on point!! I set up my flash for off camera flash rim lighting, using a stand, and a wireless trigger, and my flash. It lit up the rain like glitter and looks SOOO unique!!! Its totally different to any other fall session on the farm, and I was hoping for sunset, but at the end of our glittery misty rain, we did get a pop of sunset, and the couple stayed a bit extra long just to capture this bit of sunshine poking through in the horizon.

Although Phil was let go from the farm soon after, it allowed us to explore new opportunities, find homes for the pups, and let them learn to explore a larger property and free roam, while growing up. And I got to create some magical sessions, and make some new friends in my dads home town, and where I grew up! We will return, and those clients will be long standing friends, and I know that! Some fun things we did on the farm was, We would ride the dirt bike and let the pack follow us in the fields! We had fires in the night time, and watched the aurora and tried to have an aurora photo competition! Phil set his Garmin watch to alarm every time the aurora was in %100 visibility. I was able to capture several fun fall sessions, including some Halloween-themed shoots with ghosts, pumpkin painting, sunflower fields with ghosty costumes (sheets of course) and sunnies, and even some engagement photos with smoke bombs at the corn maze! The weather and landscape, and farm in Alberta were perfect for these creative sessions, and the playful vibe of the families I photographed made these moments unforgettable. I got access to a farm for the first time in my life, in Canada, during these sessions, and also started offering dance Choreography lessons for a few couples in the house, since it was HUGE, and had such a nice floor space. I started teaching lessons for the first time within my business, and I absolutely LOVED it, and my couples are actually improving greatly!! While we did move away, we are still able to connect when I have future wedding days, and do a little lesson, or a virtual one, as we only have a few lessons left! Going forward, Ill be setting up more dance lesson offerings when I move back to BC or AB, but I don't feel this life in Saskatchewan has space for this fun side venture. How it works: I create a custom video for every couple, suited to their wedding dance song! I edit the video using some nice dance moves from either weddings I have filmed myself, or YouTube dances that suit the style of your song. This is a new fun venture I am happy to have added to the business in 2024. It worked well and I captured some fun behind the scenes content as well!! We did some lessons at the house, and some at the tri leisure centre. I prefer a private studio space however, but this does add to the costs, so my clients like the affordability options. I can also go to their home, but this client wanted these lessons as a way to get out of the house as well, and not feel that comfy home body vibe.

I also wanted to branch out into connecting with wedding venues and events in the Spruce Grove area, so I followed a few new venues, and joined a few market show groups, to start seeing where the events and action is, and what venues are around I can connect with. Lone behold, 5 minutes from my house, 2 days after doing this, I found a wedding sign this way ----> on the ground! I was like no way theres a venue around here? Sure enough!! Turned out another venue, about 15 mins away was searching for a collab content styled team, and had a vendor night organized the day before. I attended the vendor night and found out about the venue, and its content day planned the day after, and they had a hard time finding someone for the video content. So I come along to try and fill the space!! Check out above, for the Garden venue collection I made from that day! I took only a couple of images, as I mostly focused on video. Id like to finish up the content for that still, so stay tuned! Ill be doing a blog feature for the venue!

One of the best surprises of the year was being booked for a destination wedding in Banff, Alberta, in 2025! This has been a long-standing dream of mine, and I can’t wait to shoot at Tunnel Mountain Reservoir. The idea of capturing a couple’s love against the stunning mountain backdrop while doing a little photo hike to other scenic spots fills me with so much excitement. It’s going to be the perfect blend of nature, adventure, and romance. I am gonna be sharing with you this couples wedding story as well when I get a chance because they have offered to be featured in my Wild Love Stories Podcast!! Which is another feature I have added to the business, and I am super excited about!! I will update you more on this as it develops a bit more on the backend. Still a few things to plan out!!

October to December – A Season of Heartfelt Moments, Learning, and Major Milestones

It was also wonderful to see the puppies star in a few of my fall mini sessions, with their fluffy coats and playful personalities adding a perfect touch to the photos. My kitty also made regular appearances, especially in my witchy and spooky Halloween sessions—such an adorable familiar! Im super excited I got to expand into some witchy boudoir themes, and mother daughter witchy theme too!!

One of my favorite memories was celebrating Halloween in 2024, after years of being away traveling. I was able to spend it with my sister and her three children, walking through their fun, festive trailer park community. During my travels, halloween spirit had died, so It was such a special time, especially because I had missed watching them grow up during my travels, and the nostalgia of feeling the magic On Halloween night. We also celebrated my niece Ivy’s first birthday the day after halloween—she was born just after midnight, so she’s my families little “Halloween baby!” Of course, she had an adorable ghost costume and a cookie monster cake for her cake smash session, which I was lucky enough to capture one of my nieces first ever birthdays, and her cake smash! To make it even more memorable, my partner got me a cauldron that featured in the shoot—truly the perfect touch for her spooky celebration! As fall turned to winter, my schedule filled up with an incredible variety of sessions, from bridal boudoir to in-home family shoots, to dance lessons with 2 couples. A standout moment during the season was the bridal boudoir session that was captured during the fall. This session has turned into something even more exciting: the bride-to-be will be getting married in September 2025, and I’ll be photographing her wedding next September! I am beyond excited to continue this journey with one of my favorite boudoir babes and to see her big day come to life. Shes also posted on the website in my boudoir section.

October and November, also brought times of healing, as I had recovered from 2 breast surgeries, with the ALL CLEAR on cancer margins!!!!! WOOOO!!! And, I got a heart stent put in as well to help my with my genetic disorder, ROS1, IMT tumour. Anyone who knows, knows I'm doing great, but its a very grim diagnosis with a lifelong journey of medicine. I believe I am healing everyday trialing a new drug in Canada Crizotinib. But we will know more in the new year 2025. I have joined some groups to find people with this rare condition like me, and there is a lot of hope. I hope to be a beacon of light in medicine, and I am at the leading edge of medicine, experiencing its power during its transition, its beautiful to be given a diagnosis with a lot of sound options and hope, despite its rarity. Also, even just having this diagnosis is a step in the right direction for my health, knowing what it is I am up against, it has no impact on my future in weddings, And for this, my 2025 future is looking BRIGHT!!!

The end of the year brought both professional and personal joy. In December, I had the honor of getting booked my flights to Vancouver to go photographing the wedding of one of my best friends from army cadets—someone I’ve known since grade 8. This was especially meaningful because, as you might know, I’ve spent many years overseas, missing several of my friends’ weddings. Finally, my friend is the first one of my close friends to book me to capture their special day, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. The wedding will take place in Vancouver, and I am so excited to attend and shoot it. I’ve been planning a mini-session tour around the wedding from February 5th-8th, and I’m looking forward to meeting couples in Vancouver during that time.

This winter, I was also excited to be booked for a hockey-themed wedding (yes, you read that right!) in 2025.The groom will be arriving down the aisle on a Zamboni, which is going to be absolutely epic. This wedding is going to be full of fun, laughs, and so many memorable moments. With the scoreboard being used to countdown to the ceremony, and the goal sound being the start of it all, I can't wait to capture it all on video and share the story behind this unique wedding day!

Another exciting wedding for 2025 is a Seba Beach backyard wedding and one in Leduc. But what I’m most excited about is my best friends quaint LGBTQ-friendly wedding I’m shooting in Vancouver in February, where I’ll be reuniting with my best friend from my army cadet days. This opportunity is so special to me, and I’ve been waiting for years to capture one of my best friends’ weddings. I’m beyond grateful to have the chance to document her beautiful day, and I can’t wait to share this journey with her. what an incredible year, and what a great year coming up!! What a year ahead, and I am so excited to see what 2025 brings in!!