I Loved Weddings Until I Didn’t
For ten years, I photographed weddings.
I photographed families. Newborns. Maternity sessions.
I built my business from the ground up. I went full time in 2010 and poured my heart into it.
And I truly loved weddings for a long time.
But somewhere along the way, something shifted.
When I was pregnant with my second daughter, I started asking myself a hard question.
Do I want to spend my weekends away from my family?
Weddings are beautiful. They are emotional. They are intense.
They are also physically demanding, mentally draining, and long.
Very long.
And slowly, I began to lose the joy.
The Decision I Tried to Test
I made the decision to phase weddings out.
I sold my newborn equipment. I redesigned my website. I stopped booking new weddings.
I told myself something bold.
I will only photograph a wedding again if someone pays me $10,000.
At the time, that was far more than I had ever charged.
In my mind, that number felt safe. If someone paid that, maybe it would feel worth it.
Then a couple reached out.
I gave them the number.
They said yes.
What I Thought Would Feel Different
The wedding was rescheduled due to the pandemic and eventually landed on Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day.
The very reason I had stepped away from weddings was to protect my weekends with my children.
And there I was, booked on a day that meant everything to me.
They paid me $10,000.
And I still was not happy.
Not because they were not wonderful. They were.
Not because the wedding was not beautiful. It was.
But because I knew in my heart that I had outgrown that chapter.
When You Know, You Know
That wedding confirmed something for me.
Money does not fix misalignment.
Prestige does not fix burnout.
And just because you are good at something does not mean you are meant to keep doing it.
Boudoir was different.
Boudoir felt deeper.
More intentional.
More intimate.
More aligned with who I was becoming as a woman and as a mother.
I did not want to juggle dozens of personalities and timelines anymore.
I wanted to sit across from one woman and help her see herself.
That became my calling.
A Reminder for You
Sometimes we cling to something because we have invested years into it.
Sometimes we stay because we are good at it.
But the question is not whether you can do it.
The question is whether it still lights you up.
If something in your life feels complete, it is allowed to be complete.
Even if it once defined you.
Even if it once paid you well.
Even if other people do not understand.
Alignment is worth more than applause.
And peace is worth more than a paycheck.