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Personal

Thank You So Much

Personal With a Touch of Sappy

It's officially that time when the holidays start gearing up, and we take a break from being behind the camera. It's the end of the 2016 wedding season and we feel great. Our level of enthusiasm isn't because we get our weekends back, but from a place of thanks. This year, 15 couples let us in to their lives to capture the start of their forever. I never in a million years thought we would be at this place, photographing wonderful people on their gorgeous day. My heart is unbelievably full today, which is why I need to say thank you. I'm starting to tear up a little bit just thinking of every smile, laugh, and (obviously) tear that occurred over this season and all the ones prior. Over five years ago, I shot my first wedding. It was for a good friend, and I had no idea what I was doing. I called upon all my schooling when it came to posing and lighting, and I practiced so much. However, nothing could prepare me for that day. The weather was rainy, I couldn't figure out my flash, and I didn't know how to assert myself. I felt like a complete failure, and as I packed up, I told myself I would never do another wedding. But then my friend came up to me and wrapped me up in the biggest hug in the world. It was in that hug and through her excitement having me as her photographer...

Introducing AudioShelf!

Adventures in Podcasting

I am all sorts of excited to finally be announcing AudioShelf, a new podcast all about audiobooks! AudioShelf is hosted by me and my best friend, Brad, and we discuss everything from the production quality and style of narrators to where we were listening to our latest conquest, ultimately answering the question: will we Shelf it or Shove it? Brad and I have very weird and unique personalities, so putting us together is always the best time. I find that my stomach hurts from laughing so much after every recording. Is it conceited to say that we are hilarious? It probably is, but I can't help it. We are hilarious. Why AudioShelf? While I could talk forever about the podcast, I really want to share why we are doing this. About a two years ago, Brad introduced me to this book called "The Selection". I kept telling him that I didn't have time to read it. Shawn and I were just getting back from our honeymoon, and I was planning a massive overhaul of Britney Clause Photography. It was a fun and stressful time that, unfortunately, left no openings for reading. Brad eventually just told me, "Download Audible, it's free right now. Do it." I think it's safe to note that I never thought I was an audiobook person. I'm too easily distracted, and I felt having someone read to me made me would make me feel like I was in Kindergarten. However, I discovered my...

Harpers Ferry Campground Adventure

Our Anniversary!

For our second anniversary, Shawn and I went a little more rugged. Instead of a hotel stay somewhere exotic, we decided we wanted to snooze under the stars. We settled on Harpers Ferry Campground as our spot because we love the area. There are gorgeous trails that lead to the most amazing scenery, and we knew we couldn't go wrong with this location. After arriving to our campsite, we realized was even better than we imagined since we were directly on the water. Every morning, we could eat breakfast right next to the Potomac River. In the evening, we could watch the sunset dip behind the mountains. I mean, seriously, this place is stunning. If I have to think of a downside to the Harpers Ferry Campground, it's that we can't live there. The reason we decided to do camping for this anniversary is because we wanted to just be with each other and no other distractions. With big trips, there is so much hassle with flights, hotels, and worrying about the car. Often times, you don't even realize your conversations only pertain to traveling. We wanted this anniversary to be calm. Even with knowing each other for 6 years, we still found ourselves talking around the campfire until midnight. It's a sigh of relief to just be in a space with your partner and not have to worry about anything. We have created a lot of wonderful memories from this trip. Some of them are goofy like trying...

To Shawn on Our Second Anniversary

October 10th

I think this anniversary blog posting is going to be a thing I do each year. The second anniversary came quicker than the first, and I love being able to talk about Shawn anywhere I can. It's fun to give him center stage on the platform that he spends a lot of time perfecting :P. I don't want to be too sappy because I still have an anniversary card to fill out, but no guarantees. Shawn, the time we've had together this year has been even greater than the last. I don't take for granted a single second we've had together. Whether we are hiking in Virginia, or just taking Pony to the vet, my favorite thing in this world is to be with you. You are my safe place that I can laugh at the strangest things, binge watch any tv show, and party rock in the car with. You have the ability to make me feel at home no matter where we are. This year especially, we have been cursing the smallness of our apartment, but one day we will miss the close quarters. I'll miss us bumping our office chairs into one another, swaying in the kitchen because there isn't enough room to dance, and eating dinner on the couch since a dining table is too big for the tiny space. We look at these things now as negatives, but soon they will be some of our favorite memories. I look forward to being 90...

Overcoming Social Anxiety

Personal

I have struggled with social anxiety since as early as I can remember. Any time I've been in situations that require me to interact with people, I become nervous, I stumble over my words, and my hearing starts to feel like I'm in a tunnel. I became afraid of talking to people because I have this overwhelming feeling that they are judging everything I say. My attempts to communicate with people can best be described as a car trying push through through a concrete barrier. The car is my words, and the barrier is my brain blocking my voice. How social anxiety has affected my life Social anxiety has made me a doormat over the years. Someone who can't defend themselves because they are terrified of speaking up. I've lost potential friendships because of this fear, and I don't want to be like this anymore. I'm envious of the people that can freely chat with someone who they haven't met before. People who can make a phone call without needing a script. Even people who can write a blog post without having to psych themselves up. I want to show my goofy and fun personality to people, and I want to make friends genuinely. But my normal interactions are seriously stunted to the point I just clam up and stay quiet. It's been especially critical in my job as a business owner and photographer. There's no way I could continue to grow my business and be successful if I wasn't...

White Water Adventure

Weekend Getaway

The trips that Shawn and I have been able to have this month have been amazing. This past weekend, we took a weekend adventure with friends up to Confluence, Pennsylvania. We were able to camp and white water raft in the cool Yough River. It was a great time to get away to relax. With weddings about to pick up again, having a chance to get outdoors and hangout with friends is exactly what we needed. The Trip We left on Friday afternoon, spent most of Saturday white water rafting with Laurel Highlands on the Lower Yough River, and came home Sunday. Of course, the weather did a good job at scaring us. With the forecast calling for thunderstorms on Saturday, we weren't sure if our white water adventure was going to happen. Lucky for us, the storms stayed far away, and we were able to show the river who's boss. In fact, the sun gave us a very hot and sunny trip on the water. Our sweat drenched us before even touching the water. Thankfully, the water was a refreshing chill we got to enjoy during the calmer parts of the river. The immense humidity, though, gave our two Eagle Scouts a surprisingly difficult time trying to light our campfires. With some perseverance, we managed to get the damp wood lit and a nice fire going. All of our meals were done over the camp fire. We had ground beef foil packs with vegetables for dinner the first...

Wine Making at Brews Up

Berlin, Maryland

Oh, what a weekend it has been! On Saturday, we went to Berlin, Maryland with Brad and Eddie to make wine at Brews Up. And no, we did not stomp on grapes like in I Love Lucy. Instead, the wine making class at Brews Up guided us on the steps we needed to follow when using a wine kit at home. It was incredibly informative, and we all got to participate in the mixing, bottling, and corking process. The owners, Tony and Molly, are super kind. We were able to ask them any and all questions. It was awesome, since we had a lot, haha. While making wine was great, my favorite part was the tasting we got to do. The flavors at Brews Up range from full bodied reds to basically Jolly Ranchers in liquid form. I'm a sweet wine kind of person, so when the owner mentioned their Black Cherry tasted like candy, I was totally on board. Mine and Brad's favorite, though, was the Cucumber Melon, which was described as "a day at the spa." It's a super light and fresh tasting wine, and the perfect drink to melt away stress after a long day. The total experience lasted about two hours. By the end of it we were all extremely happy along with slightly tipsy :P. Our day finished up in the adorable town of Berlin. We went to lunch at a diner that was in the movie Runaway Bride, Rayne's Reef. As you...

Still in a New York State of Mind

Adventures and the City

I've been so crazy busy with my June weddings and gearing up for gorgeous engagement sessions that I completely have been neglecting an amazing, fantastic, out of this world trip to NYC that me and my best friend, Brad, and I took in June! Let me set the stage for you: I had just gotten back from my May trip to New York and was settling in back to home life when I get a text from Brad asking me how the city was. I started filling him in on all of the new experiences I got to try (subway system and taxis). At some point in our text stream, Brad sent "I wish we could go adventure in the city together." While reading his message, I shrugged and replied "Let's do it!" Once a discussion of dates happened, I immediately got on megabus.com and booked us two tickets for a day trip on June 16th. Saying that we were excited is a total understatement. Brad and I had this "New York City life" dream since we visited the big apple 10 years ago for my 17th birthday. This impromptu day trip was going to be the best part of our year. We arrived in the city at 10:00am, which gave us 12 hours to walk around, hail cabs, and - most importantly - eat lots of different food. Our first stop was Cafeteria, a super modern and trendy restaurant in Chelsea. Even...

Fun Birthday Memories

DIY Celebration!

When it comes to my birthday, I usually think up a few different grand ideas of what I want to do. However, as the day approaches, I always get so busy that I just never follow through with my own plans. This year was different, though. I wanted to have a party that could be relaxed, fun, and give people an excuse to eat lots of food. As Shawn and I racked our brains figuring out how to get all three of those things into one space, a message from my best friend about a BBQ acted as a lightbulb moment for me. Shawn and I have a unique living situation. We live in a house that has been converted into three different apartments, and my parents own the house that we are currently staying in. They also live next door to us, so we currently share a huge backyard with them. It's a beautiful space, and last summer they put in a fire pit so we could gather as a family and hangout. With all of this and also the idea of a BBQ in my head, I just dove right in to wanting to have a backyard bash. The biggest challenge was figuring out where everyone would sit. I found that 84 Lumber sold picnic table blueprints with the wood for just $97 (compared to tables at other stores which were around $300). It did mean that we had to cut and build the tables, but Shawn...