Happy New Year! Wow, in March of 2013 I turned 30 and it was quite possibly the best year of my life. Everyday I need to pinch myself just to make sure I am not dreaming. I am so incredibly fortunate and I thank God everyday for all of the blessings he has given to me in life. Hopefully I can give back as much as is given to me. In February of 2013 I quit my day job so I have almost been a full time wedding photographer for a year. I live in an amazing apartment in an old mill building where I have my office and workspace. Leaving my day job was scary because it allowed me to build a great savings plan and provided me with health care. However, leaving the day job has also opened up new opportunities for me….In September I was able to join the board of directors for the Maine Professional Photography Association, this summer I was able to have coffee and lunch with other vendors, I could meet with clients and schedule shoots with clients on work days, and it allowed me to instead of working all day and all night be able to quit work at a normal hour and have a social life. This summer was amazing! I was able to get to a couple of concerts, go to the beach, and still turn around my weddings within a week so I didn’t get behind. In October of 2013 I met a wonderful man who is an amazing boyfriend 🙂 In November of 2013 I rescued a kitten 🙂 I photographed weddings starting in January of 2013 and going all the way into December. My studio Kivalo Photography photographed 50 weddings this year. I myself photographed 40 weddings, my associate photographed 5, there were five elopements as well as 2o engagements and a variety of portraits. I attended my first WPPI in Vegas, I photographed a destination wedding in the Dominican Republic, photographed a destination wedding in Maryland, traveled all over Maine and into New Hampshire for weddings, photographed my first wedding in Boston, and I vacationed in Italy with my two best friends 🙂 I upgraded my gear, am working on a new website, and even rolled out a couple of inspiration wedding shoots. It was truly an amazing year. Looking forward to many more amazing Maine Weddings in 2014!! Below are the weddings and engagements I photographed this year….many of them are Maine weddings but there are the two destination weddings in there as well. It is a post of some of my favorite images for a variety of reasons. It could be an emotional connection, it could be composition, lighting, or just a wonderful moment.