Here we go! It's the last day of the biggest year this little dream of a company has ever had and we went after the images that not only set the tone for entire wedding days but also affected us personally. After nearly 70 weddings in over 20 states this blog itself was a major undertaking. I'll explain all about our year and the way it has changed my vision for this company along with a little bit of where we're going in 2016 at the end, but for now - just soak up over 200 of our favorite moments from our favorite year yet!

I feel a lot of pressure these days about these blog posts. The reality is that I got into this industry because I don’t like words. I like to let a moment, an image, an emotion, a reaction all speak for me but ironically I’ve learned over the years that a little bit of articulation can go a long way to explain an image. And because of that I find myself somewhat of a writer from time to time. The truth is that a select few of you will likely read through this - but somehow those of you that do will comment on it to me so I will do my best to sum up a year completely packed full of moments that I don’t even know how to begin to describe.

Just shy of 70 weddings photographed by our team this year. Another 30 covered by our videographer and friend Dave. A combined 26 states traveled in and shot by our team. A new sponsorship by one of the biggest, and most respected camera companies in the world. One member of our team married, two other members with new babies. A new office inside a new home. I’m clearly not just saying, I have no idea where to start…

I suppose the most realistic thing to do here is not over write. The reality is that this year has been an explosion for our team. Seeing both Delyn and Max’s workload double and triple this year has left us with a crew of couples absolutely floored by the images those two guys produce and at the same time has allowed and perhaps even pushed me to be more creative and more tailored for my own couples. Adding video to our company this year via “Dave and a Camera” has added yet another bit of the experience that it seems like is above and beyond what’s expected. To say I’m humbled by all of this year’s successes is a huge understatement. But we’ve also learned some valuable lessons along the way. Trying to juggle editing, communicating, and scheduling my 38 weddings while supporting my team and continuing to train them has been a massive undertaking and yet these guys just seem to grow and evolve right beside me.

2015 was a year of first for us. We found ourselves published in two of the largest nationally circulated magazines and blogs in the world. Shot weddings from New York City to Seattle, Mexico and Florida to Vermont and St. Louis. But what I am most focused on for the sake of this blog isn’t where we’re going (that’s another blog post in the works already) and it isn’t what we accomplished (we’re all far too humbled to brag on these things like we deserve them) - but what I am most focused on is how grateful we are for these opportunities. Our brand locally has grown to a point that at times it’s hard to express our thanks and seem genuine but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Every wedding day starts with prayer for our team. Prayer that we would manage the pressure, prayer that we would represent our characters well, and most importantly prayer that this day would be full of memories and powerful emotions that can motivate a couple to stick through the challenges of the life ahead of them. We sincerely want our images to not only evoke reaction and emotion, we want them to be the glue that holds a couple together in a hard moment. A reason to remember a time when they committed to each other and an excuse to smile together. We love watching our couples find themselves in our cameras but more than that love watching our cameras find themselves in our couples. I know all of this is getting too deep but what I mean here is far more simple. We’re thankful. Thankful for all of you who read and follow, share and post. Thankful for those of you who refer us to your friends or just smile when you see our photos. We’re thankful that in a world where it seems the norm is to hate work and live for the weekend we get to love what we do, who we do it with, and work on the weekends. We’re grateful for the frequent flyer miles and the adventures. Grateful for brands like Lowepro and Bedford Camera who stand behind us and encourage us to accomplish biggest things in the name of art and adventure and perhaps most importantly - grateful for our families who sacrifice so much while we’re out working, creating, and exploring. I know my wife, along with all of the wives and girlfriends on this team and now 3 little kidos spend a lot of time watching our lives through text message photos and there’s no words for that kind of support and love.

We’ve got a big year ahead of us in 2016. We set the bar pretty high for ourselves but we are collectively up for the challenge and we’re honored to have the chance to keep pushing. THANK YOU ALL for a fantastic 2015, and for spending a few minutes reliving a few of our very favorite moments of one of our best years yet. No competitions, no give aways, no “best photo contests” here - this is about being thankful for what we DO have and for those of you who follow and support us… THANK YOU and Happy New Year!