It is hard to believe that 2015 is already over! I think people all over the world are saying this right now 🙂 I photographed 24 weddings and finally found a bit of balance between my business and life. And with the help of awesome weddings, clients, Dan, and family and friends, 2015 was a great year 🙂 I don’t blog often about personal things, but I thought I would share a recap of 2015 and some Instagrams from each season. I hope everyone has a wonderful, healthy and happy 2016!
Winter
Last winter Dan and I lived by the quote. ” Winter is the new summer.” We are always so busy during the summer, we really have to embrace winter and slow down. The winter of 2015 was filled with fat biking, skiing, a few nights camping here and there and lots of campfires.
We took a trip to Tulum, Mexico for a week, which was also wonderful. We like to explore when we can and stayed at a couple different hotels, tried new food, hung out at the local beach and enjoyed margaritas.
Spring
This spring I did a website rebrand with Angie Webb Creative. The rebrand was inspirational and really helped me focus and get ready for the upcoming season.
I also took a trip with my mom to England to surprise my sister. She has lived there for almost 12 years and has three kiddos. I am not sure how we kept it a secret, but we did. She arrived at the airport to pick up my mom and then I popped out of a nearby bookstore and said “Hi!” At first it didn’t register … she kind of ignored me. And then she did a double-take and was like, “Laura?!?!?” We spent a bit over a week there, going out to eat, hanging out with my nephews and niece, walking around London, and visiting Chartwell and the English Channel.
This spring was warm early and we spent a lot of weekends at Levis Mounds biking. Spring also officially started my wedding season and it was fun to get back to work feeling refreshed and inspired.
Summer
Summer was a busy blur, but in a good way. We had visitors from Kansas City for a week in May and we road bikes to the lake and tromped through the woods. It was a great way to start summer by vacationing at home.
This June I also rode in my first mountain bike race. I did the WORS Red Flint Firecracker. It was really fun and I won! But there was no one else in my category … so … oh well 🙂 I had to stand on the podium alone 🙁 It was something I have always wanted to do and the timing worked out well with my wedding season.
I planned my wedding season this year with a weekend off about every month. This gave me more time to enjoy summer, stay creative and relax. We had a few weekends to spend with friends by the water, canoeing down the Wisconsin River, and taking a plane trip to a cabin in Minnesota.
We had campfires at the Hiller Homestead whenever we could, fit in a few canoe rides at new lakes and biked.
We had some British visitors for a week when my sister and husband came with their kiddos. We rode bikes, roasted marshmallows and enjoyed summer.
I also got to spend a week back in Iowa with family at the end of July and met friends in Des Moines for the Hinterland Music Festival.
Fall
Fall is always my busiest time as a photographer. Senior sessions are in full swing as well as family sessions. The leaves this year were totally gorgeous, and lasted quite long into October. In October I only had one wedding, so we were able to road bike a bit and spend my birthday weekend with a giant fire and friends.
I finished out my wedding season with two November weddings. I sent those off in December, caught my breath and celebrated Christmas in Marshfield. We met my sister from Kansas City again and her family up in Lutsen for the week after Christmas. This was a great way to wind down and get ready for the 2016!
Oh! And we also acquired a kitty!