This week, I photographed a wedding reception that wasn’t really a wedding.
At least, not in the traditional sense.
The couple had eloped, and then later gathered the people they loved to celebrate it. There was no pressure to fit their story into a particular timeline or follow the usual list of things a wedding is “supposed” to include. They got married the way that made sense for them, and then they celebrated it in a way that felt like them.
I loved that.
Maybe because I spend so much of my time photographing families, and I see the same thing there.
There really isn't one right way to build a family.
Some families have three kids. Some have one. Some have grown children and grandchildren gathered around the table. Some are newly married. Some have been together for decades. Some stories include loss, change, remarriage, adoption, stepchildren, unexpected turns and chapters nobody could have planned.
And sometimes the photographs we take don't look anything like the photographs you thought you were supposed to have.
I think that is exactly why I love what I do.
I'm not interested in creating a picture-perfect version of motherhood.
I want to photograph your version of it.
The way your daughter reaches for your hand. The way your little boy still crawls into your lap even though he is getting too big. The chaos of everyone getting dressed. The baby who won't cooperate. The grandmother who insists she isn't getting in the picture and then ends up being one of the most important people in it.
Those are the things that become your family history.
And around here, there is a little more family history being built of another kind, too.
The studio is coming together.
The roof is on, the walls have been going up, and this week it should be fully shingled. Every time I walk by it — which is multiple times a day — I have one of those moments where I have to remind myself that this thing I have been talking about and planning and dreaming about is actually becoming a real place.
A place where your family can come and make something that will eventually live on your walls and in your albums.
I have been thinking a lot lately about how quickly all of this moves.
Summer turns into back-to-school.
Back-to-school turns into fall.
The babies who were in your arms last year suddenly have opinions about what they are wearing.
And before we know it, we are pulling out Christmas decorations and wondering how another year managed to disappear.
So if there is a photograph you've been meaning to make, this is your reminder not to wait until everything is perfect.
Your children don't need to be perfectly behaved.
Your house doesn't need to be perfectly clean.
You don't need to have the perfect outfit figured out.
You just need to show up with the people you love.
I'll take care of the rest.
Fall is officially open on my calendar.
September is almost completely spoken for, with September 19 being my last Saturday currently available.
And now I'm opening up October.
I will have Moon Township Minis available October 3.
October 10 and October 17 are open for full Heirloom Sessions or special events.
If you've been waiting for the right time to update your family photographs, document this season of motherhood, or finally create the artwork you've been talking about making, I'd love to help you tell your story.
It doesn't have to look like anyone else's.
It just has to look like yours.
