Six Years…etc

A wonderful six years it has been of being married! I won’t go into all of the great details of married life…if you care to hear it all over again, you can click here. I think anyone that knows me well enough knows how much I adore spending time with my husband. And I have nothing but good things to say about married life. Celebrating this year was a bit different for us considering I’m a human incubator and I have sweet Baby Finch (what I like to call him) growing inside of me. (I’ll update you and talk more about this in a bit.)

So yes, 6 years ago……

A few weeks back, we went away to celebrate our anniversary by doing what we did last year–visiting Florida and spending time with my best friend and her husband. We spent a day in Saint Augustine, Amelia Island, and just good ‘ole Jacksonville. (See last year here)

*On our way….

 

We spent our first evening there going to see The Hunger Games (no haters please,) which I loved. First morning there, we got up and went down to a lovely cafe on the water where we sipped coconut lattes and laughed together.

Spent some time on the beach…..

dipped our toes in….. brrrrrr…..

We then set out to Amelia Island, where we drove along the coast blaring Michael Jackson and letting the breeze make our hair beautiful. We spent time walking the city, looking in antique shops, eating fabulous Mexican food and hanging with our friends. <3

That evening our friends cooked us the most amazing venison meal I have ever had. Wow! A poor little Bambi that Ferrill killed…. he was yummy.

We ventured to the Winn Dixie to pick up Ice Cream and stumbled upon this…..

Let’s just say our ice cream run took an hour or so, complete with a Ferris Wheel ride. (It was my first carnival ever!) So amazing.

We got rained out the next day but spent time shopping and sipping coffee while watching The Office together. ;D

Sunday was Brandon and my day together…. Saint Augustine. sigh. Mossy trees, cobble stone streets, street musicians, sail boats, yummy food, carriages, horses, sweet shops that make me fall in love…..

This is one of my favorite Italian places there….

Gelato?

So we found this coffee shop….. ummm… can we say amazing!?

When I go to Saint Augustine, I never want to leave. ah!

That evening we spent time watching the sunset on the beach, eating pizza. ;D

So yes, a fabulous trip…… <3

 

The weekend before (I have to tell!) the son of some of our closest family friends got married, which was pretty much epic for me. I’ve known Jamie for 12 years and have been super close with his sisters. (They were in my wedding.)

I always shoot weddings, so to get to attend and dance and eat and be “normal” was quite the treat.

It was one of the happiest weekends for my heart…to spend time with friends. (Two of them (below) live in Kansas City and one lives in Argentina.) The Webb family is seriously my second family and some of my closest friends. Love them.

My Molly. <3

Lilly, Ashley, Jessica, Molly and me…

beautiful front camera iPhone photos always win! (The hot blonde is my mom.)

Me!

 

So, an update on me…. well… I’m 26 weeks pregnant today. I work out a few times a week, growing bigger and bigger. My belly button is trying to poke it’s face out. (Time for some tape!)  It’s definitely taking time for me to be secure in the fact my body is looking completely different than what I’m used to. It has been the biggest struggle for me to see “pregnancy” as a whole as a beautiful thing. (Not the baby part… the outward part.) My sweet son kicks me often and makes me smile. And seeing my belly pop up and down is pure joy. I’m not going to lie when I say it’s hard to “feel” excited in the unknown. Although we are excited, it’s definitely scary. My husband has been an amazing encouragement and is very proud of me. I’m hoping in the next three months to be able to snap into the confidence to share more about my pregnancy. It’s going fast. (Thank God!) I feel great! I’m still shooting weddings and working often. The baby room isn’t coming together yet… lol…. not gonna lie. Oh well, I have time.

We are planning on naming our son “Laef Owen Fancher.” “Laef” (pronounced Layf) means “heir” and “beloved.” Another form of it is “Leif,” as in “Leif Ericson,” the great explorer. “Owen” means “well born,” “born of nobility,” or “noble.” <3

I’m having to take from June to maybe Octoberish off from weddings. It’s bittersweet turning people down, especially when it’s what I love doing. So I’m sorry I haven’t blogged a ton of non-personal stuff yet. I have a few weddings I’m hoping to blog about here in the next few weeks.

Thanks for looking and reading! <3

Kyle & Christy Wedding

I’ve been second shooting with my friend, Tara Mauldin, quite a bit this year, and we still have a few weddings to go. As a learning photographer, I’m taking the time to get a a solid foundation by second shooting about eighteen or more weddings this year. I’ve already shot seven so far, and with each wedding I either feel like I’ve almost got it or I feel like I don’t know a thing. Since I have an intense justice side in me, I want to give people the justice they deserve in hiring me to do their wedding or portraits. I can’t charge people $3000 for a wedding when I haven’t taken the years to learn. And so that’s what this year is for me. Its my “years” of learning.

I’ve been extremely blessed to be mentored and loved by an excellent photographer based out of Minnesota. (Shelley Paulson) She tells me what’s trendy and what’s timeless. She tells me what’s right and what’s wrong. She tells me if my picture is too yellow, blue, red or green. She helps me see “right.”  It’s rough and tough at times, but it’s incredible love. I sometimes spend hours after I learn something from her trying to put it into practice and trying to get it right, and then I add my touch of “me” to it. I’m learning to find my style and be consistent in my work.  I’ll be talking about Shelley Paulson for probably the rest of my life. haha…

I’ve been getting quite a few emails from old friends and random people asking me photography questions the last few months. When I get asked what “they” should charge to do a wedding or a portrait session, I get extremely frustrated. I’ve been trying to grow in photography for the last three years or more… and even I am feeling like I do not have the “best” to give people for what their money is worth. As for someone who just picked up a point and shoot camera and has created their own photography fan page/business, my advice in the most gentle way is: “learn for a long time, and then you can ask people to give you money for the best work you have to offer.”

With all that being said, here is some of my journey with each wedding I shoot.

Kyle and Kristi are such beautiful people…very photogenic and extremely fun to shoot. Kristi was a bride that I had helped a time or two at the bridal salon I “used” to work at. We recognized each other, and it was a bit random that I would be helping shoot her wedding day.

Their reception took place on the 15th floor at the Bentley’s restaurant in Uptown Charlotte. It was quite a view overlooking the Queen City!

My struggle for this wedding was the dance floor. I’m learning how to use my flash. So with every wedding, I feel like I’m just experimenting with it throughout the dancing. Thank God for low white ceilings where I can bounce the flash!

The thing with second shooting (which can sometimes be frustrating) is that I can only capture so much of the story. So, here is my side of their day….

Enjoy….