these two have the grace + style of royalty matched with the kindest sweetest personalities. this blustery june cape cod wedding started my 2019 wedding season in all the right ways. sam + sarah have an effortless type of love + created, with the help of cape cod celebrations, such an intimate, unique, emotional, + dance floor packed celebration. the ketubah signing was full of funny + touching stories as well as the western ceremony full of beautiful + reverent jewish traditions. sarah + her mom even wrote out personalized conversation starters for each table setting to encourage a deeper connection between their guests. it was a large wedding of over 300 guests but felt cozy + intimate in only a way these two could pull off. their love for each other, family + friends is palpable.
my 2019 new year’s chalkboard held this mantra; “sort out your own shit”. boy, did this year come with a lot of shit to sort. it started with saying goodbye to our 16 year old shiba inu, rocco + only picked up steam with my husband’s cancer diagnosis in may. in the thick of it, it seemed like a year marked only by trips to boston, medication schedules, hospital + doctor visits. funny how these yearend reviews make me realize it was so much more than that. it was a year of love, generosity, travel, gardening, family vacations, portraits, weddings, laughter and self reflection.
i came across this post on you are luminous’ instagram account + it stopped me in my tracks:
“what if you were actually very blessed because you got to experience something hard that you now have a depth and understanding, an awareness, an overcoming and strength that not all human beings get the opportunity to receive.”
even amongst all the shit sorting, there can be gratitude. i do feel blessed. i still falter, absolutely, but this year has taught me to be compassionate, to accept the generosity of strangers, to remember that you have no idea what someone might be going through. be gentle with each other + with yourself. i am learning to breathe through the chaos + i do believe that all i have experienced in 2019 has forever changed the way I live, the way I see, and ultimately it will change the way I photograph.
