Palm Beach, South Florida, Miami wedding photographer portrait photographer: 2011 A Year in Review

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you are running away from something or to something, and you know you need to run faster but somehow you just can't? In fact it even seems as if somehow you are getting slower and slower. 2011 was a lot like that kind of dream: running my short kid legs off, and never catching up. So at the risk of sounding like an over- dramatic teeny-bopper, last year was definitely one of the hardest years of my life.

photo courtesy of Shea Christine Photography

2011 was a milestone for me, in that, I completed my first full wedding season. I shot 20 weddings(including being a 2nd shooter for 2 weddings) and of those 20 weddings, 10 of them were out of state. So the average wedding weekend for me was getting off of work from my day job, flying to another state, shooting a wedding, hopping back on a plane, and plopping back at my desk at my day job. So I've said all of that to say this: last year was busy- like busier than Walmart on Black Friday busy.

photo courtesy of Kristin Neumann

On top of shooting like crazy, I was also learning like crazy. But learning in the bad way-in the "from my mistakes" kind of way. And just when one mistake was resolved and my lesson significantly learned, another lesson to be learned would come rolling in, waiting to smack me silly with the rod of correction.

photo courtesy of William's Creative Images

The ray of sunshine in this rainy parade picture I've just painted for you? I was blessed with saint brides. Seriously it was if angels descended from the heavens, got engaged, and then hired me. So for all of your immeasurable patience and understanding and mercy, dear 2011 brides, I want to genuinely say THANK YOU! Thank you for hiring me. Thank you for letting me be a part of one of the biggest milestones of your life. Thank you for trusting and believing in me, even when I was faking that I believed and trusted in myself. Thank you for being the most beautiful guinea pigs(or lab rats, take your pick), I've ever encountered. Thank you for being beautiful people, both inside and out. I adore you, ALL of you... probably more than I should! Thank you for choosing me, because without you, I am just a girl. Just a girl with a fancy camera.

Just about every wedding there is that one person who comes up to me all aghast that no one has taken a picture of the photographer(aka yours truly). Well there's a reason for that, kids. Most wedding days, I look a hot mess. I mean, I start out the day with the best intentions of looking nice and put together. You know, way profesh and all that. But then the wedding day crazies take over my good intentions and throw them into the blender and whip up something not even that cat would own up to having dragged in.

So like the thinking ahead person that I am, I avoid the cameras of others on the wedding day, for fear those pictures will surface somewhere(cough:facebook:cough) and provide me and young children with enough nightmares to last until we are both eligible for social security.

But in spite of my stealthy camera dodging skills, a few photos of me usually weasle their way onto the cameras of bystanders. Hence the photos included in this post. And just to further prove to the public at large, just how cool I am, I am releasing these exclusive photos to my blog readers first. Before they hit the tabloids, and all, ya know.

Here I am discretely checking my camera settings while waiting for the groom and groomsmen to walk in...

photos courtesy of Shea Christine

...and the moment that I realized that they already WERE walking in...BEHIND me, and I was right in their way. Oh yeah, I am way cool.

caught red handed trying to make off with the bride's bouquet

♪ "shall we gather at the river, la dee da dee dah..."♫

"wait up for the short kid!"

photos courtesy of William's Creative Images

"uh, I'm pretty sure that's not the pose I told you..." (<--just kidding, kids. I don't make faces at you if you get confused. I really have no clue why I was making that face)

At the end (or near end) of the wedding day, I try to catch a quick photo with the bride and groom. I had about a 75% success rate with making this actually happen. Kids, if I didn't get a photo with you, it's not because I don't love you, it's because you got lucky and I forgot.(The noggin' ain't what it used to be). Also if I've gotten your wedding date wrong, same thing applies. If you happened to miss any of these blog sneak peeks or merely want to relive the memories, just click on the bride and grooms names to be taken back down memory lane.

angela+jonathan 01.01.11-Florida