Orlando Vacation 2020 (Personal)

You know what the strange/weird/amazing thing is about vacation? In my life, God always, always uses it to teach me something. Which I find to be comical, considering that I struggle with actually taking vacation and rest without feeling guilty for doing so, or like I’m falling behind!

A few years ago, there was a series of events that took place on vacation to teach me a little (read: big) lesson about grace. This year, the theme that kept popping up while we were in Orlando was the idea of not being guilty for resting or taking time off of work, which, if I’m being honest, has been a HUGE struggle for me on past vacations.

But this vacation - it was a gift in so many ways. It was a gift to walk slow, just for the fun of walking, instead of having to walk with some sort of purpose.

It was a gift to take the photos below (well, except for the ones of me! 😉), just for the fun of being a photographer.

It was a gift to be able to do things just because they were fun to do.

It was a gift to give my mind a break from obsessing over the next task that could be done, or the next thing that could be improved.

I think the real question here is: how do we make time to do all of the things above not just on vacation, but in the midst of our every day lives? How do we make the time to enjoy wherever we are present (without worrying about the future), and find joy in doing things that are just… well… fun?

Truth be told, I don’t know the answer to that question. Sometimes, in my heart of hearts, it feels like the only way to be seen or recognized as “valuable” in our world today is to be admired for how much less rest we need compared to everyone around us - or for how much more we can do than everyone else.

But what a gift it is to press pause, to relax, and to come back stronger - mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically - than before. It’s a gift to recognize each moment in each season for what it is - whether it’s a season of rest, or of hustle.

And below are a few of my favorite images from our time of rest 💛 Some images are from Disney’s Boardwalk Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Resort, the Yacht Club, Beach Club, and the rooftop Coca-Cola store at Disney Springs!

Wedding Photography Bucket List

We all have those crazy, far fetched dreams - bucket list items, if you will - that don’t seem real until you put them out into the world. The more I’m alive the more I realize how much of a team sport life is - I’m learning over and over that I can’t do it all on my own. Sure, that might seem obvious to some who are naturally awesome team players, but the control-freak inside of me wants to do it all on my own. I think starting a business points to the fact that, sometimes, you have to be willing to do it all on your own.

But that doesn’t mean you have to stay there.

And it doesn’t mean I have to stay there.

So today, I want to share one of my huge wedding photography dreams with you! If you’ve been following along on the blog or over on Instagram, you might’ve caught onto the fact that my husband and I are BIG Disney fans. We’ve gone a total of three times since we’ve been married (don’t worry, we’re still big time killing our debt!), and we’ll have only been married for three years in August. We talk about going other places for vacation, but somehow, we always seem to end up asking each other, “what if we just went to Disney?!?”

You might be wondering, what does Disney have to do with your wedding photography dream?

Well… the current biggest item on my wedding photography bucket list is to photograph a wedding on Disney property. At one of the resorts, or in the parks - but, the ultimate dream would be to photograph a wedding at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort!

We recently went down to Orlando (February of 2018) and for the last few days of our trip, we treated ourselves to a few nights at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. It wasn’t the first time we had stayed there (actually, it was the third!) but every time we walk away loving it more and more. And GUESS WHAT:

One evening as we were strolling around on the Boardwalk at twilight, eating some free ice cream samples (we might be able to afford staying at the cheapest room at the Boardwalk by a hair but affording the food is a whole ‘nother story!) I saw a white vision out of the corner of my eye and whipped around to see a bride, a groom, and a photographer all walking towards the “Dance Hall” reception venue on the boardwalk. I immediately told Nick “we’re following them” and as he started to protest how much of a creep I was being (which, I totally admit, I was) I pulled him along with me and we walked behind the threesum all the way to their venue, watching as they stopped to take photos against the gorgeous Boardwalk Bay along the way.

I was being a little bit of a creep, but I realized something that night: how much I want to photograph a wedding at the Boardwalk. It seems a little silly to even type because I know how much of a long shot it is without family or friends in the area to pass along my name, but nonetheless - it’s still a dream, and if it’s meant to be, it will be!

I also thought this would be the perfect time to share a few of my favorite photos from our anniversary photo session at the Boardwalk for our first year of marriage (taken in November of 2016). Enjoy (and see some of the little reasons why we love the Boardwalk so much!)