a year in review || 2015 || Sonja K Photography

wow.  what a year.

what a year for the biz.  what a year for my life.  if you receive my newsletter (*coughShamelessPlugToSignUpcough*) then you know 2015 started off a little rough in our house- we had a teeeeeny tiiiiny leak in our (very very very old) water heater that led to a small house disaster, including a month-long stay in a hotel (thanks Comfort Suites, I loved your hot tub and fresh sheets every night!) and a total reconstruction of our kitchen and bathroom (which, in a house as small as ours is, that's pretty much the entire thing).  

we got back on our metaphorical feet just in time for the busy wedding season to begin, but with working a full-time day job, and growing the photography business, it quickly became too much to handle (I mean, it was handled, it just couldn't keep going like that).  I made the decision in September that I was going to leave my day job and focus on photography full-time (woooohoooooo!).  My husband (the backbone of the biz) left his day job also, after 12 years at an amazing company, so that we could fully live out our dream of working for ourselves, and work together toward our future.  It's scary taking the leap, but the only way for the invisible bridge to show up is to take that first step, (um, explanation on that here, if you don't know what I'm referencing) - and we took it!  Together!  

2016 lies ahead, and I couldn't be more excited, but I'm also a sentimental sap who revels in nostalgia, and while 2015 isn't officially over yet, I can't help but get a little weepy when I look back on all the people I've met and photographed over this past year.  

for me it was a year of being brave, of being vulnerable, of getting rid of the old and making room for the new.  I focused on two words this year- COURAGE and PURGE.  The courage to leave the comforts and safety of an 8-5 (let's be honest... 9-4:30), the courage to make art and put it out in the world, the courage to do what I love as a business.  I purged old habits, I purged old things (like, lots of things - carloads and carloads of things... I may still have more to go *hoarder*) and I am lighter now.  I'm ready to move into the next phase of my life, filled with less "stuff" and with more room to grow- more room to live.  

you all have brought such joy into my heart, and reaffirmed my decision to keep doing what I'm doing and make photography my livelihood.  Thank you for everything you have given to me this year.  Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for being you.  

weddings, families, people- I loved every moment I was photographing this year, and I can't wait to do it all again next year!!  

cheers to all my beautiful couples who got married, or engaged, or had a family, or started a business, or whatever you did this year- congratulations every one of you!  And cheers to all my friends who believed (and still believe) in me, who have encouraged me, listened to me, and given me the support through this transition.  I couldn't have done it without you!  

bring on two thousand sixteen!