GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // JULY 17, 2018

Gratitudes

It’s been a full two weeks and I have so much to share! I missed last Tuesdays post for two reasons. 1. I got really sick on Sunday and didn’t actually feel like myself again until Friday. Almost a whole week of chills + upset stomach. 2. The Taylor Swift concert at FedEx Field. So now it’s time to play catch up and share what has been going on!

The weekend of July 6-8 I had an amazing wedding scheduled with Kaity + Michael. I’ve been wanting to spend some time in Richmond for a weekend and their wedding was the perfect excuse. I booked a double room at Quirk Hotel and I had my favorite second shooter + travel buddy with me, Alicia Bruce. What had originally started as a girls weekend/wedding weekend quickly turned into a girls brainstorm + work + wedding weekend. Before we even got in the car the two of us were talking about updated head shots, personal business goals and more. On our way down we stopped at Target + TJ Maxx to grab the appropriate details to style flat lays to help release some new and exciting offerings from our business. From there we trekked down 95 and made it to Quirk – seriously the most adorable hotel in Virginia. This place is bold and bright, decorated with modern art, velvet pink couches, a barista booth, fancy restaurant and an art gallery. It was the perfect place to really be inspired. We shot some flat lays and decided to head to the bar for a cocktail before we ordered pizza. If you don’t live within the town/city limits that offers delivery, delivery pizza is definitely a benefit when traveling. We ordered from my favorite college pizza place Chanello’s and got “inspired” by watching Bridesmaids before the wedding on Saturday. Saturday morning we woke up early to shoot a round of head shots for each other because, well <photographers>. From there we prepped and left for Kaity + Michael’s wedding at The Boathouse at Sunday Park. Their wedding day by far had the perfect weather. It was warm with sunshine but not hint of humidity. These two planned a coral + navy waterside wedding with a cocktail hour style reception. They focused on optimizing their time with friends and family, and choose to do that with heavy hors d’oeuvres + speciality cocktails. There was a killer sunset so we grabbed some additional portraits and then danced the rest of the night away. I was excited to try a night bubble exit and it didn’t disappoint! I can’t wait to share their full blog post soon!

I was able to get up and get hyped for the Taylor Swift concert after being on ginger ale and crackers for just over 48 hours. My sisters and I planned for this to be a sisters-night-out date but oddly enough like 100 of my wedding industry friends scored tickets for the same night so we planned to tailgate together. It was so fun spending time with Bethanne Arthur, Kim Newton, Kir of Kir2ben, Brett Denfeld and Stephanie Messick!!! We had floor seats and had an up close view of Taylor! She put on a hell of a show!

Back in April I was selected to work with Whitney Smith of W. Designs by Whitney, for a styled shoot at Rust Manor House in Leesburg, Virginia. I was so honored to be asked to work with such a strong team of vendors and Whitney had the vision for an elegant cherry blossom inspired shoot with touches of deep navy + black. Rust Manor House had the perfect feel for a hunt country wedding in their dining room with huge windows, a fireplace and two antique mirrors. An intimate table was set for dinner with gorgeous lush florals which was followed up with tea in the library. This styled shoot was picked up by Whimsically Wed a blog dedicated to weddings with style + design. I’m posting the link below and I’ll share my full gallery with you guys on the blog on Thursday. I also wanted to share that I shot hybrid again – so a mix of film and digital!

Virginia is for Lovers // Whimsically Wed

To continue with an already busy week my family gathered to celebrate Katlyn’s baby girl due in September. She is a lover of tacos and warm weather so we thought it would be cute to do a succulent themed baby shower. We created a menu based on tacos, nachos and margaritas and decorated with a huge blow up banner that said “TACO BOUTA BABY!” I thought it was adorable. Katlyn was showered with so many gifts and well wishes from family + friends. It’s exciting to see our family grow and to know I’ll have two nieces that will be able to grow up together, I’m already planning elaborate sleepovers in my head. #auntkrystastatus

Speaking of nieces, Sunday I was officially named Evelyn’s God Mother! She is my first god child and I’ll be spoiling her to death. I realized how lucky I am to be able to spend so much time with her while I’m at my parents. I’ve watched her learn to crawl and now walk. I’m really looking forward to being “fun Aunt Krysta” and the voice of reason and encouragement when her Mom + Dad don’t understand how important it is when she needs the newest sneakers, electronics or dress for her big dance. All jokes aside I’m honored that Kellyn + Ken thought that I would be a great role model and spiritual + life guide for their kid.

Yesterday one of the coolest things happened to me, I got a DM on Instagram from OPI. I died. I can’t tell you how exciting that is for me, if you’ve been following me for a while you know my love for their polish and the healing/motivational powers of a fresh manicure. Later on that night they followed my Instagram, so – like – now I feel like I’ve made it. This week with all of the celebrations I decided to go for a bright punchy coral color, Live. Love. Carnaval.

 

Breakthroughs

This has been a month of learning to say no.

Opportunities especially for business tend to pop up often, but I have to make the distinction between a valuable opportunity and a distraction. It’s hard. Some of those opportunities come with a paycheck which is always tempting – especially as an entrepreneur – when I want to increase my salary. Some opportunities come with the promise of exposure which is a trigger word in our community and basically means work for free with the idea that at some point, someone, somewhere might value your time and your craft. Others present themselves as trade for services, but at the end of the day it all comes down to what will benefit my business. What will further my brand, my mission and better serve my clients? Those are the questions I’ve had to ask myself lately. I’ve accepted a few projects coming up like a styled shoot this weekend and also partnering with a local yoga studio, but others I’ve had to gently pass.

As I said this month has presented some interesting options and a few years ago I would have tried to take them all on, but it would have been a disservice to the client and to me too! I’m hopeful I’m making the right decisions and we will see how they work out! I’ll be sharing new work on the blog soon!

 

As always thanks for reading, xoxo.