Ahhhhh....weddings

It has taken me all week to figure it out. I have had a sense of something all week long. I've been distracted, anxious, even a little nervous, and I could not figure out why. Even this morning, I had a vague sense of something tickling the back of my mind. I wondered if it was the 26 days of rain that we've had; or maybe it was the jerky photographer that ripped off our slogan this week; or maybe it was that my oldest child just turned 6 and I was feeling nostalgic.

And then it hit me - just now. I'm photographing a wedding today! I haven't picked up my camera for a professional wedding shoot for almost two months now and I am so excited that I can hardly wait. I'm watching the time change on the clock in my kitchen and it is moving so slowly right now. All the gear is lined up on the counter, the iron is plugged in, Steve's in the shower, my make-up is done, when can we leave? Now? Now? Let's go!

I've always known that I love my job, the same way that I know I love my kids - it's just there. Ok, it's not the same exactly - I could never give up my kids, but it's something fundamental to who I am. I am a wedding photographer. Say it with me people - Jen is a wedding photographer. How great is that?!? I get to walk into a room full of strangers, introduce myself with a "Hi, I'm Jen and I'll be one of your photgoraphers today", pick up my camera, bring it up to my eye, focus, compose...wait....click...and we're off. I lose all sense of time and duty to anything but the folks in front of me. All those issues that come with being a mother, a wife, a business owner, a friend, they all sort of fall away while I'm at a wedding. I get hit with a rush of adrenaline, I see light with so much more clarity than on other days, I witness commitment, and joy, and the bittersweet moments as parents watch their children take this huge step. And I get to make pictures of it all!

I don't think I've been this excited about the season starting before. We have two weddings this weekend and I have ideas that have been churning in my head these past two months, and I'm going to hear stories and see moments I haven't seen before. I am going to photograph a wedding. How incredible is that?

Can we go now?