If 2016 was the year of change, then 2017 was the year of travel! So many of my favorite memories of this year wouldn’t have been possible without my adventurous couples and some pretty amazing clients turned friends that brought me with them to document some exciting moments all around the world! I love being able to do this post every year and be reminded again how thankful I am for this life and this job. There aren’t enough words to really describe it so pictures will have to do! Hope you enjoy scrolling through my favorites – in chronological order 😉
#1. Couldn’t start my favorite memories without reflecting on all the amazing weddings I got to document this year! I feel like each year gets better and better and I love working with the best couples in the world! Here’s a few favorite images from my 2016 weddings 🙂
#2. Traveling to Seattle for these cutie’s engagement session!! It was the first time my clients had ever flown me out to their location for a destination engagement shoot, and I was so excited to visit Seattle for the first time! I was only there for a short time, but Howard and Ragan were great tour guides and showed me all the sights, as well as taking me to the first ever Starbucks!! So much fun!
3. Honestly this Europe trip could have been all 16 of my favorite memories, but I did try my best to narrow it down 😉 Another amazing opportunity from one of my sweet brides that flew me over the ocean to shoot her wedding in ENGLAND making CLP official international destination wedding photographers! YAY! I loved being able to bring my little sister as my second shooter, and of course had to take advantage of our time there to shoot some senior portraits for her (at DOWNTON ABBEY!), explore Harry Potter studios and tour London together!
4. Still pinching myself that this happened – shooting an anniversary session at the Eiffel Tower in PARIS!!!! This was a huge bucket list moment for me, and I loved meeting Andrew and Ann! They are the sweetest couple, and so talented (Ann made that beautiful dress on the left!). Waking up at 4am was so worth it for the portraits we took around the Eiffel and the Louvre and it will forever be one of my favorite photo shoots. We stayed in Paris for a few days and loved exploring the city – from Angelina’s hot chocolate to lunch on the Eiffel Tower it was amazing! Can’t wait to go back this summer!
5. Getting to celebrate my birthday in Florida with my best friend and her sweet new baby! I was able to photograph the birth of baby Jackson in the winter, and as a thank you Kait took me with her to Florida for a fun resort stay and an evening at Downtown Disney!
6. Outer Banks Heckman Family Vacation! Such a fun week! My parents rented a house for us all to stay at, and it was so relaxing. We took all the puppies and had some great quality time together – including some family pictures of course! 😉
7. Nashville Girls Trip! I’ve loved getting to know the ladies at College Park this year, and it was so fun to take a weekend getaway to one of my favorite cities! We stayed at a cute Air BnB and enjoyed shopping, eating, and more eating 😉
8. Lukasiewicz Family Vacation to Jamaica! Tim’s dad spoiled us this year by flying us all to an all-inclusive resort for family vacation! Jamaica is where Tim and I honeymooned, so it always has a special place in our hearts. It was so fun to catch up with the siblings, relax at the pool, spend time with the cutest niece ever and go on a catamaran cruise!
9. Family Time! This year we got to spend more time with our families than we ever have before which I LOVED. I think a big reason that happened was because we’re no longer in a one-bedroom apartment and people actually have places to stay now 😉 The Lukas came out for a week in June and we got to meet Grandma’s cute new pup, Aimee, and my family came out for 2 weeks in August while Abigail looked at local colleges, and then we had a visit from Aaron and Shanika in November and both Tim’s mom and dad came out before Christmas to visit as well! Lucy loved all the snuggles she got 🙂
10. Anniversary Getaway! Tim took me on a surprise weekend away to celebrate our anniversary – starting with a dinner at St. Elmo’s! We had never been there before and channeled our inner Ron Swanson while we were there! Then it was off to an adorable B&B with a delicious breakfast and horse back riding!!
11. DISNEYYYYY!!!!!! It’s still pretty unbelievable to me that Disney was able to be a part of my highlights 2 years in a row! I’m one spoiled girl 🙂 Again – the best job ever took me on an all expense paid trip to the happiest place on earth where I got to take Haley’s senior pictures, see my besties Ariel & Elsa, and cry at the fireworks shows (lets be real – there were happy tears the WHOLE WEEK.)
12. Traveling to New Orleans!! I’ve never been to the south part of the US (Florida doesn’t really count as the south right?) and it was just as beautiful as I imagined! I ate my body weight in beignets, the music was incredible and the spanish moss was my favorite! I loved traveling with Lindsay, and she spoiled us with a few nights at the Ritz and staying at Oak Alley Plantation! Seriously – I have the best friends!
13. Visiting Washington DC for the first time! It’s kind of sad that both Tim and I had never visited our nation’s capitol before this, so it was high time for us to go! An extra bonus is that my brother and his girlfriend live there so we had fun hanging out with them and taking some gorgeous portraits around the city in-between playing Top Golf and trying Ethiopian for the first time!
14. My goal was to submit to more publications this year, and I was thrilled to have my work featured in print for The Knot twice, featured for the first time internationally on French Wedding Style, and also a feature by Wedding Chicks which reaches more than 2 million viewers! An exciting year for CLP for sure!
15. Hosting Thanksgiving for the first time! I was a little nervous to cook a turkey for the first time, but I’m happy to report that nothing was burned, and it was edible!! Success! Loved having Danika, Ty, Ryan and Piper with us to eat lots of food together and getting to introduce Piper to the wonders of Frozen! And yes – those are Christmas decorations in the corner. Our tree goes up on November 14th every year and I am not ashamed!
16. Last but not least, our annual Christmas weekend getaway that we plan in lieu of gifts for each other! This year we had a ton of Expedia points (thank you Papa Luke!) and were able to fly to NYC for the weekend with our flights and hotel totally free! It was my first time to the city at Christmas and it was seriously SO MAGICAL. All my chick flick dreams came true when we took a carriage ride around Central Park, skated at Rockefeller Center, shared a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity and saw Wicked on Broadway! Tim’s favorite part was seeing Jimmy Fallon live and visiting the Met! We packed a ton into our time and I loved every second of it! One of Tim’s requests was that I not bring my DSLR, so we used a disposable camera for the weekend and I can’t wait to get the images back soon!
God is gracious and faithful, and I’m so thankful for another year to praise Him! Cheers to 2016!
