It has been on my heart for a long time to share a little piece of my heart with you… I know.. always getting mushy gushy… sharing feelings… blah, blah…

BUT, sometimes things just tug at your heartstrings like crazy until you share them and my heart is just about burst so instead of allowing that to happen, I decided it was time to share some thoughts!

I am blessed to photograph some really amazing memories for folks… mostly weddings right now (since having our daughter, Ainsley, not as many families and children… but I do plan to ramp that up again this year!) but regardless…. folks trust me to capture some pretty important days/chapters in their lives…  It is such an honor. A really amazing honor.

Weddings… these are sweet days… of new love and excitement….of adoration… of future plans and goals…. and all of the good things in life.

Families… these are also sweet days… exciting days… days full of laughter , exploration…the joy of raising children that goes incredibly too fast…

But, on the flip side I know that these joyous times also bring hard times… marriages aren’t always blissful…. actually quite the contrary… husbands and wives fight… have struggles… get disconnected… and families aren’t perfect either… there are struggles and hardships here as well….

So, because this is something that is near and dear to my heart because I am a wife and my marriage isn’t anywhere near perfect… and now I am a mom, and everyday I bring my best but am pretty much clueless about being a mom….. I wanted to have a series of posts about “Real.Life.”

As your wedding photographer, I not only stand behind you at the alter to document your wedding day, but I stand beside you as a witness and  to support to you in the ups and downs of marriage. I am 100% behind you and your new marriage commitment and I mean that with all sincerity. Call me for coffee… shoot me an email when you are frustrated…. cry  on my shoulder….call me with amazing news… I am here.

As your family photographer, I spend time with your family to document what makes your family unique and special… and what you love to do together and what you love about eachother… but, I also come as a mom who has questions about parenting, who wonders if I am doing the right thing on a daily basis… and so I stand beside you as a parent… who needs support and who has questions…  I’m here to share in the joys and frustrations of raising kiddos and would love to grab coffee to chat about parenthood… to learn from you, encourage you, and be encouraged by you.

Bottom line is… Life is beautiful… and it is also messy. I want to be a part of your beautiful AND your messy.

I want what I do to be deeper than just taking photographs.

So I plan to regularly blog about the messy in life…. to share  books, circumstances,&  people, who have inspired me, challenged me, & encouraged me in my marriage and in my  family… I want to share resources with you that have been helpful to me… I would love to have guest bloggers who have great info and insight to share…(email me if this might be you. meaghan@mephotography.com).

So with that said… stay tuned… and check back often. The reality is that we all stand at the alter in love with the one we are marrying…we say for better or worse, in good times and in bad… and nobody ever intends to get divorced. But life gets messy… and sometimes the obstacles we face become larger than the vows that we said. Let’s not let that happen… let’s be real about the messy…and walk alongside eachother… because none of us are alone.

Happy Monday! Thanks for reading.

m.e.

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Happy New Year all! A bit belated, yes…. but better late than never! We had such an amazing 1st Christmas in our new home in Pittsburgh, and had company in town for almost 2 weeks…. and so we have really just enjoyed this time together as a family…just as the holidays should be.

And, to start of the new year of blogging, I wanted to highlight someone super special in my life… and share a little bit about my favorite part of the wedding day when I am shooting….

I get this question a lot…. and I have to admit, it is kind of hard to choose…but when folks ask me what my favorite part of the wedding day  is, I would have to say that it is watching Dads give their little girls away…  I love watching them walk down the aisle together. Sometimes it comes with tears and sometimes it comes with smiles… I love watching the father daughter dance at the reception. Sometimes I can barely keep the tears back, and other times I have laughed out loud.

I think I love these moments at weddings because I have such a special relationship with my dad. There is just something so unique about a Father-Daughter relationship…. And I wanted to write this post because my dad just celebrated his 64th birthday this past Friday. But, 64 is just a number… and the man behind that number is really worth celebrating. My dad is one of the hardest working men that I have ever met in my life, and he is such a huge part of who I am today, and that I am doing something that I love. He always told me that I could do anything I put my heart into… He told me I was smart, successful… that he believed in me, that he supported me, and that you have to take risks in life to get anywhere. Risk big, win big. If you fall down, no big deal…. just get back up and move on. He was an entrepreneur and I am proud to follow in his footsteps (on a much much smaller scale!). He is a man of integrity and honor…and I am so proud that he is my dad.

I feel so blessed to have spent so much time with him growing up… I know not every kid gets to do that…. Growing up he was my hero, and in so many ways, still is. When I was little he killed spiders and checked for monsters…. He was big and strong and protected me. He made me laugh until my stomach hurt… and I will forever cherish the times we went fishing, walking the property… playing basketball in the driveway…. He taught me to play golf and loved when I beat him…. We played until dark until we couldn’t see the ball anymore… He was the best caddie when I played in tournaments… As I got older, I started to understand the sacrifices he made for our family… and how hard he worked to take care of us. He started to teach me about life and what was important. He told me it’s all about your family and the people you love…and that money doesn’t matter. So thank you dad for all you have done for me, taught me, for how much you have encouraged and believed in me. Thanks for loving mom so well. Not a day went by that I ever doubted your love for her, and that gave me  such an important sense of security. I knew you would do anything for us,your family.

And thank you for helping me discover this path in life…for encouraging me to be an art major in college when every other art students parents told them to get a “real major.” You knew that is where my heart was, and you knew I could do something with it. I am so thankful that I get to document special moments between Dads and Daughters like these…..

I love capturing those moments…and I hope that my brides will forever cherish those images like I cherish these…..

an image from my wedding day captured by Garry Weber

And, I love when our little sweet pea gets to spend time with grandpa so that she gets to know the first guy that I loved… and that I admire so much.

Happy Birthday to the best dad in the world…. and here’s to MANY more years!

Love you lots.

Your little girl,

m.e.

Day 18…

Yup, getting closer!

How about some of these for her stocking?

Super cute, handy, and won’t break the budget!

Thank you notes, or cute little blank notes always come in handy and are great to have on hand!

Hallmark, paper source, and Target usually have an awesome selection….

m.e.

Day 19….

How is Christmas coming so fast?!?!

Here is another stocking stuffer idea for you this season…

I just adore these little wallets! I know it seems excessive…. but one is for my business (the yellow one), one is for everyday life (the b/w one), and one is for when I am feeling fancy (the silver one)!

I love that they are small…. easily fit in my purse… they don’t hold very much change… they don’t let me stuff them full of receipts (or they don’t close)….

they have just the right amount of pockets to hold the cards, money, etc. that you need and it is never bulky!

It has a pocket for your id.. that you can just flash when you need to show it…. now this feature has recently made me quite sad, because I have not had anyone ask me for my id in quite awhile. We all know what that means… I look old!

Hmmm…. that might mean I have some new stocking stuffer ideas…. age defying beauty products anyone?

ps. I forgot to mention that they always have these little gems at Target!

Happy Wednesday!

m.e.

Day 20…

Stocking Stuffer Idea…

A Gift Certificate from yours truly!

You can get one in any amount, and it can be used towards products or services! Thought I would share this idea now… in case you wanted to get one for a loved one! Wanted to make sure that I culd get it to you in time!

m.e.