As we say farewell to 2020, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite moments from weddings and couples like you that I’ve had the pleasure of working with this year.
First, kudos to my couples who made the bold decision to push their wedding back to 2021. It’s certainly not an easy decision to make, communicate with people or coordinate with all your vendors, so “congratulations!” is nothing short of appropriate. Of course I missed celebrating your marriage with you this year, but I’m really proud of you for prioritizing the wedding experience you wanted by pushing back your wedding date!
I am equally as proud of all you couples who decided to persevere through the evolution of COVID-19 orders and regulations to get married in 2020! Many, if not all, of the weddings that decided to press forward included masks, outdoor alternative plans, and lots of hand sanitizer. It wasn’t an easy decision to make to let the “show go on” or coordinate with all your wedding vendors throughout the changes, so an enormous job well done for getting married during a pandemic! You really should be celebrated!
Supporting you throughout 2020 in whatever decision you made is part what I believe it means to serve each couple well. Even though I wish I could have celebrated with all my original 2020 couples as we had planned, I’ve prayed that you each had peace and joy in the decision you made for your wedding day and the health of your loved ones.
Despite 2020’s finest handiwork, I’ve enjoyed an innumerable number of fun and beautiful moments this year with you all. My memory doesn’t always serve me well, but I did want to highlight some of my favorite wedding memories of this year:
Photographing Megan & Tyler’s gorgeous fall wedding. It meant so much to me that their families, especially Megan’s family, trusted me to capture the day.
Emily & Lucas being incredibly easy to work with to capture their bride and groom portraits on their wedding day despite the rain! They were both so obviously captivated by the meaning of their special day that I think it could have been raining spaghetti and they would have been just as happy together that day.
Getting to meet Sophia & Brandon! Sophia graciously helped me craft a blog post to help other brides, after she hosted her Zoom wedding in April on her original wedding date. Then in September, it was a pleasure to help her keep some of her original wedding plans by photographing their first look on Pitt’s campus.
Michelle & Jordan’s beautiful outdoor reception that was organized just weeks before their wedding day after their original venue had to shut down. I couldn’t even imagine their wedding celebration being hosted anywhere else now! Yinzer Valley Farms provided a gorgeous space for celebrating Michelle and Jordan and an amazing sunset to boot!
Getting to photograph Alex & Ryan’s perfect fall wedding day at the brand new Heritage Barn, the newest addition of The Hayloft venue in Rockwood, Pa. The leaves were in peak fall colors for photos and the evening ended with a fun sparkler exit! As always, the Hayloft staff coordinated and managed everything to run perfectly.
Traveling to Charlotte, NC to capture Savannah & Taylor in some of their favorite places to spend time together and celebrate their engagement in picture-perfect style!
Helping Kristie & Christopher capture fairytale moments with a change of wedding date and change of venue to accommodate an outdoor ceremony and reception and meet COVID orders. I also got to work with my family friend Pam Watkins that day, as she filled several roles for the day-- planner, coordinator and decorator!
Getting to meet several four-legged family members during weddings and photo sessions was SO fun! I loved that couples like Jen & Joe, Erin & Joshua, Dominique & Joe, Rachel & Jake, and Leah & Jeremy planned to include their playful pups in their photos.
Running into Katelyn & Robbie, whose wedding I photographed in 2019, at a hotel while shooting another wedding!
Helping my college friend Nate capture his adorable Christmas Will you "Merry Me?" proposal to Casey.
Meeting new, amazing couples like Courtney & Tommy and Amy & Garett for engagement photos, and looking forward to their 2021 weddings!
Seeing couples Kathryn & Chris and Kayla & Taylen keep such positive attitudes and have an absolute blast for their COVID-adapted wedding days!
Working with other talented photographers Kate, Hannah and Nic and videographers Harry and Paul to cover each wedding without a hitch!
But seriously, I have no complaints from 2020. 2019 also didn’t go according to how I planned, so I won’t be bitter at 2020 for being a little “extra.”
To each of my couples, thank you for being the best communicators, the most understanding, honest, and so sweet throughout this past year! Even throwing in some updates from me and my growing belly, you’ve been incredibly understanding and authentic. I really wouldn’t be in this role as a wedding photographer if not for getting to meet and get to know truly wonderful people like you.
Have a very joyful Christmas and a fun New Year celebration with friends, family or however you choose to celebrate this year! Stay safe, and I look forward to exploring 2021 with each of you.
Blessings,
Kimber