It’s not every day that I step back from the world of capturing other people’s moments to reflect outwardly about my own (although my blogs about my maternity experience & welcoming Rhys have been two of my favorites). But there is just something about this holiday season that has me feeling the magic deep down in my heart. As the team and I have stepped out of the office for the next few days to spend time with our own families before an insanely exciting New Year’s Eve weekend of weddings, I wanted to leave you with my reflections on this December and truly, this entire year! While you indulge me as I look backwards this week, I’ll also warn you that next week, I’ll be right back here in my personal post world, sharing the exciting hopes that we have for a 2024 beyond belief!
So I’ve broken this blog into three parts – our couples, our team, and my own year. . . While I know that it’s not every day that I write an incredibly personal post on this blog, it is my hope that you’ll scroll through this one to see that photography is not just what I do for a living, but it is truly an integral part of the way I live my own life. Reflecting back on this year, all the memories that I’ve captured, both my own and others’, has left me with the warmest of fuzzy glows as I walk away for our holiday break.
Want to jump right to the personal stuff? Here ya go!
How We Celebrated Our 2023 Couples:
What We Were Doing Behind the Scenes:
What I Celebrated in My Own Life:
This is the best part of the blog for me. For so many years, I lived to work. And when your work is something that fills you up with a fire, it’s easy to live that way. But if 2020 taught us all anything (& parenthood has reinforced any idea), it is that our time is so finite and unpredictable. So although I love photography, I wanted to really pull it into my every day life more this year.
2023 was a roller coaster year and while it had many challenges for our family, it also was a year of amazing growth, adventure, and love. We welcomed our new au pair to our family, traveled to Disney and England together, celebrated a second birthday (and a pair of 38ths), adopted a new dog. We also lived through a lot of quieter but equally significant moments in our lives – first day of (pre)school, first haircut, first attempt at container gardening.
Being a photographer has allowed me an incredible perspective on my own family, from both the inside and looking in from the outside when I separate myself with my camera. What follows is a mixture of my own photography (anything not credited otherwise) and the professional photography that I have commissioned this year to allow me to be a part of the story being told in our family’s archives.
I hope that you’ve made it this far and that my reflection of 2023 might inspire you to do your own year-in-review or possibly even motivate you to seek more opportunities to document your own lives in the upcoming year. If you want me along or the ride, just send me a message and I’ll be there.
xo Ashley
PS Learn more about the photographers credited in this blog by visiting their websites:
Aaren Lee Photography
Julia V Photography
Cool Yule by Silver Orchid Photography
