It has been a year. We started off 2020 with some lofty goals, lots of excitement for all our couples tying the knot, and then we got sucker punched. Coronavirus burst onto the scene and threw all our best laid plans into total chaos and disarray. Instead of reviewing final timelines and family formals with our couples, we were reviewing second and third backup dates. Instead of charging our gear and packing our wedding day snacks, we were listening to press conferences and trying our best to figure out the latest restrictions and what they meant for us and our fabulous couples.
2020 has been a hard year. We know we aren’t alone in feeling gratitude as we turn the calendar to 2021 in just 36 hours. However, we don’t want to end the year by miserably recounting the hard times. We’d rather take a look back and find the bright spots.
Bright Spot #1: YOU!
First and foremost, one of the brighest spots in our year was all of you – our 2020 and 2021 couples who have made the most of the giant bag of lemons that 2020 handed everyone. You have made changes, postponed plans, worked with us with such cheerful spirits, and allowed us the opportunity to serve you in above and beyond ways as we all navigated these uncharted waters together. So many of you expressed concern for our health and for our business, and sought to make sure that we were comfortable with your updated wedding arrangements.
We hope that you felt supported by us as much as we felt supported by you. Thank you for being the best couples we could ever ask for!
Bright Spot #2: AGP Families
With the shutdowns and quarantines, we found ourselves out less and having more time to think about our clients after the wedding day. So many of you have added to your family with a child, a new home, a rescued fur baby and more. We thought a lot about these milestones and even experienced some of them as a team in 2020 – congrats Tonya & Matt! As we thought about these things, the importance of capturing these moments was thrown into sharp relief. You never know when life is going to change, so celebrate all the great moments and preserve them forever!
So we set about to reworking our family portraits branch of our photography. We thought about what we value as people, and the genuine moments of life kept coming to the forefront. So we launched Day in the Life sessions which are completely unscripted, true to life moments, captured artfully and candidly. These photographs are your real life. These are the moments that matter most, even if you don’t see it at the time. Giving these precious memories to our clients is such a privilege and definitely a highlight of our year.
Bright Spot #3: Intimate Weddings
We discovered a love of intimate weddings this year. It drove home just what a special day we get to be part of for so many folks. When you have to be included in the guest count for the day, it really gives you pause to consider just what we do for our couples. Watching our intimate wedding clients say their vows to the few in attendance, or sometimes just us and their officiant, was a sobering yet joyful experience. The indomitable nature of the human spirit was time and again put on display, and we were honored to capture it.
So, while we have high hopes for 2021, we don’t expect something magic to change with the flip of the calendar page. But we do hope that this upcoming year brings back many of the joys of life that we have all gone so long without. However, we won’t simply kick 2020 to the curb without mining it for the bright spots. And we’ll take those with us into the New Year and be better people and better photographers because of it.
