10 Years of Weddings
There have been so many emotions going through my head the last couple of days. I may or may not feel like crying as I type this. Today marks 10 years since I attended/photographed a wedding with my old boss Joe DeGrandis & his assistant Shelly Watson. That is a really big deal to me. I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude. Gratitude to the Lord for allowing this, gratitude to the people who have believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself. Here is a little bit of my journey through the years...
I was a weirdo 19 year old girl working at the photo lab at Wal-Mart with a dream of becoming a wedding photographer. I had decided that was what I wanted to do when I was 16 years old.
I ended up meeting Joe DeGrandis (Milledgeville’s finest photographer) when he was picking up photos at Wal-Mart. He asked me to go to a wedding with him and his assistant Shelly. He said he wouldn’t pay me for the first wedding just so he could see what I could do. I had NO clue what I was doing so I just watched them, asked questions and attempted to take some photos with my Nikon D70 & pop up flash. After the wedding Joe used one of my images on his blog. That really encouraged me & I've been hooked ever since. Haha! Joe continued to train me and then hired Shelly & I out together to photograph weddings on our own. We got a LOT of experience though that. It was pretty hilarious because brides & grooms would freak out a little bit when we showed up at weddings because we looked even younger than we were.
Left - Me and Joe in 2007 & Right - 2014 - Yep! We still hang out. He's the best!
I actually saved the program from that first wedding.
A little over a year later (March 25, 2006) I photographed my first wedding on my own for a friend. I wasn't actually supposed to but the person that was helping me got sick at the last minute. I freaked out and told Elizabeth(the bride). She actually gave me a pep talk & said she knew I could do it. I was terrified but it all worked out. Thanks for that Elizabeth!!!
