Well here it is, the end of 2018. This was my 4th year in business, and my 3rd year in the Wedding industry. I have photographed 19 weddings of my own in the past 3 years. My goal was to photograph 10 weddings and I ended up with 13 this year! I am not just a wedding and senior photographer, I wear many hats in my life such as, a college student, friend, daughter, sister and (my favorite) an aunt. This past year has taught me more than I could’ve imagined. It has taught me patience, trust, time management, and confidence.

Reflecting on this past year, it was a year of growth. Which can be said for a lot of reasons. In the beginning of the year I got to be on a podcast with Remy from Big 95.5 in Chicago. Which was HUGE for me (You should’ve seen my reaction when he reached out, he’s only my favorite radio personality). In this podcast I got to reflect on my photography business and talk about how I started at a young age, link here.  In the summer I also got to photograph a wedding with Britton Felber, the guy who is the REASON why I started my business. He is winding down his photography career that he started when he was 17. So having the opportunity to be apart of one of his final weddings was an honor to say the least. I also went to Nashville in August for a Wedding and Senior Photography retreat. I was able to listen to a photographer who I had been following for a bout a year. That was a trip I will never forget as I learned more about the industry and got to meet 25 other photographers all around the U.S. This fall I was asked to photograph a young woman from  Kankakee whose story was going to be published in a magazine out of New Jersey. Here is the link. Finally, during this winter break I was able to be apart of a one on one mentoring session with my sweet friend, Kara Evans. This was an eye opening experience for me, as I am hoping to keep pursuing my business in the future. Kara is one smart boss lady, who kills it in this industry. I am so grateful to have been able to learn from her, and take on some new things for the new year. She is one of the many reasons for this year of growth, and I owe her and all of my other opportunities for helping me to have a successful 2018 year and inspiring me for 2019.

Some personal fun facts from the year:

•Bought a new Jeep in January

•Sisters trip in the Spring

•Deans List in spring 2018 (if you know me that was a HUGE accomplishment)

•Found a new health doctor in Wheaton

•Moved into an apartment with my best gal pals!

This year has been so wonderful. I can’t put into words how incredibly thankful I am to be healthy, and for my family of course. Speaking of my family, you know how grateful I am for them and their endless support. I can never say enough about them.

2019, has a lot in store already. New projects, and new adventures, and you will be hearing about it all so soon. All I can say is it’s going to be a GOOD year.  I was challenged to bring a word into the new year, and of course I really couldn’t pick just one, so here they are…

HOPE, hope into growing my business and excelling it even further.

COMPASSION, life is short- I’m going to spend it doing what I love, and doing it well.

CELEBRATE, I’m going to put my all into everything, but not going to forget to take time to appreciate the wins along the way.

I wish EVERYONE an amazing New Year, I challenge you to pick a meaningful word or two to take with you into this new year! 🙂

Ruby & I when I bought her! Britton Felber from Photography by Britton Hope Taylor from the Nashville Retreat My favorite people, my fam bam! My Favorite girls! (My roomies, + Charlie + Nora)