our Christmas 2014 pics and a thank you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! bring on 2015, i say! ;)

but first...
i totally forgot to share the Christmas pics we had taken just days before the big day! ;) so here they are!

thanks to the lovely and talented Christine Donovan for taking these and being so accommodating! you're a GEM! Xx!

ps - and yes, it was cold. ha! i think we took all of 10min! ;)

and...

To my amazing couples who trusted me with their wedding days in 2014...

Lydia & Jesse, Sarah & Danny, Vicki & Ben (my Ghana couple! ;), Ellen & Mark, Chrystel & Alex, Sarah & Nathan, Amanda & Denys, Jenna & Jake, Jenn & Nick and Sarah & Stephen...

THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!!!!

i am sooooooo grateful for all of you!

Xx!

~

To my 2015 couples...

i cannot WAIT to rock your wedding days! we're gonna have a blast together!

THANK YOU for blessing me already!! Xx!

~

To all my wonderful clients...

THANK YOU for hiring me! it is an absolute JOY getting to know you and shooting your

sweet selves!

~

To all my second-shooters...

Christine, Randi, Emily & Kim...

THANK YOU for assisting and being so sooooooo incredibly helpful and kind to me on my wedding days!

Xx!

~

To my friends...

THANK YOU for your supportive and encouraging voice in my life! Xx!

~

To my family...

THANK YOU for allowing me to do what i love!

i love you more than words can say!

Xx!

may 2015 be your biggest and brightest yet! Xx!

all my love!

--H

#2014BLOG2015 CHALLENGE!

saw this awhile back on jamie delaine's blog and thought - hey now! you haven't done that yet! ;) so TODAY'S THE DAY! ha!

i've enjoyed a most amazing year - both personally & professionally! excited to work through these questions and renew & challenge myself for 2015! thanks for this, jamie!

LOOK BACK
what are you most proud of this year?
i'm proud of the way our party of FIVE has managed to have a supper meal together each night. not easy, but easier now that the kids are young. :) i'm hopeful we can continue this!

what was the biggest risk you took?
i would have to say traveling by myself out to lydia & jesse's wedding out in alberta. ha! for a maritime girl who has NEVER traveled alone - i think i did pretty well! definitely caught the travel bug - would LOVE to do more! :)

what did you learn this year?
what did i ATTEMPT? and am CONTINUING to learn? haha. that would be off-camera flash. this will be on my list. ALWAYS.

what do you wish you had made more time for?
i wish i had made more time for relaxing and just 'being'. and running. i LOVED running and did really well at the beginning of the year...but fell of track when wedding season hit. a 2015 goal, perhaps? ;)

what are 3 highlights (business or personal) of your year?
1. celebrating 15 years as joe's wife!
2. shooting 10 amazing weddings with 10 incredible couples (which included more traveling than i've ever done before...  alberta, northern new brunswick, nova scotia...). Yayyyy!
3. our summer vacation on PEI! always a highlight - and, smack dab in the middle of wedding season, i'm proud that we pulled it off!

LOOK FORWARD
what “word” do you want to define 2015?
STRONG.

what are 3 big goals (business or personal) for 2015? 
1. to refresh my brand - with a new logo, website/blog, marketing materials, etc. including custom HOLLYHOWEphotography USBs! DVDs have become obsolete.
2. to outsource more! i did this with my album design (to Align Album Design) in 2014, but i think that in 2015, i need to outsource a good chunk of my editing!
3. to blog more. more specifically, to blog weddings and sessions more frequently. like, for instance, i still have almost ALL of my 2014 weddings to blog. :( boo me. i promise to be better this year. :)
...and i think i'll keep going. ;)
4. to lose a significant amount of weight by the time i turn 40! (which is NEXT january!) Eeeeeeep! not putting a number on it...  i just want/need to be healthier. :)
5. to be in bed by 10pm.

what do you want to stop doing in 2015?
i want/need to stop all the negative self-talk. :) i am worthy of a better life and lifestyle. and then on the flipside of that, to not be lazy and to WANT to make some changes.

what things excite you about the upcoming year?
i'm excited about...
1. possibly attending a workshop/photographer retreat!
2. possibly vacationing to NF again this summer! we went 3 summers ago and vowed to go back as soon as we could! (joe's sister and her family are there!). Oh! and seeing some icebergs for the first-time ever! :)
3. all the weddings i've booked so far for 2015! it's gonna be a GRAND year! :D

what do you want to learn in 2015? 
to say NO and not feel badly... haha. had to put that there.

peace out, 2014!
2015, i look forward to YOU!!

--H

All is well.

Christmas is about Jesus and celebrating His birth.

So thankful for my Saviour.

All is well.

It's December 1st! Time for Some Giveaways!!

Christmas is a time for giving so get ready for the 3rd annual December of Christmas Giveaways! (haha! couldn't i come up with a better title?!) ;)

It's all happening on my Facebook page! Be sure to get in on all the fun! :D

...and because this made me BAWL my eyes out earlier this morning... ;)

Happy Monday! :D