Ahhh I can’t believe the first few weddings of the year are almost here…I’m a little nervous because I’ve been enjoying my free weekends with my husband and friends, but I’m honestly mostly just OVER THE MOON EXCITED to get to be a part of one of the best and biggest days of my brides and grooms LIVES! I am so pumped for each of the couples I’m working with as each of their weddings are FAST approaching…I remember that feeling…like suddenly you are actually starting to see all of the wedding and marriage planning paying off and coming together and it actually starts to feel really real. Woah.

Being on the other side of the wedding day, I can honestly say that marriage just gets better and better! Sure it’s not all flowers and romance and it’s really hard sometimes, but there is something so beautiful that comes with the depth of entering into a marriage and of promising to love and cherish one person forever that’s way more exciting and fulfilling than the wedding day itself. It’s that amazing feeling that happens when someone knows so much about you..the good and the bad…and yet they still love you and want to live life with you…so amazing. And THAT’S why I’m so excited for my couples….that soon they will be experiencing the joys of marriage.

So anyway, as I’m getting super excited for each of my couples to tie the knot, I’m also striving to help make their wedding day experience the best that it can possibly be! And part of that is making sure I have my stuff in order so that I can help eliminate stress for my brides and grooms by helping to make sure their wedding day runs as seamlessly as possible. Here are some things I’ve been realizing DONT work for me…these things are being changed this year so that I can run a more efficient business, help my brides and grooms to feel as amazing as possible, and maintain proper work/life balance so I don’t get burned out in the process…

A few things that dont work:

• Not giving myself days off. As a small business owner, the temptation to be thinking about the never-ending to-do list never goes away. I have to FORCE myself to turn my brain off so that I’m not spending every free moment thinking about what I should be doing when I’m supposed to be resting. Once I’m pretty sure of what my schedule will look like for the year, I’m going to mark off days in my planner with a red pen and that means I’m not allowed to schedule anything or think about my business on those days. I’m learning that BOUNDARIES are actually the key to FREEDOM.
• Over-scheduling. This goes hand in hand with the first point I think…Scheduling too many shoots in one week wreaks havoc on my workflow and stress levels because getting behind is never good!
• Not having a super consistent workflow. This one is self-explanatory I think…I’m working on nailing down a workflow that works perfectly for me!
• Ordering prints. This is why I love PASS which allows my clients to share their full resolution files with their family and friends who can download them and have them printed themselves through the websites that I recommend! Some photographers love being able to make extra money off of print sales, but for me I think this is easier for everyone! I will, of course, order prints for a couple if they want me to, but I’ve found that most would rather save money and order prints themselves, which saves me time!
• Not getting enough sleep. I’m an insomniac so this one is tough for me! But I want to make sure I’m taking good care of myself so I can enjoy work and life more! This means getting in bed earlier so that I can spend time reading until I fall asleep…
• Moving every year. I have moved to a different apartment or house every year since the beginning of college…I HATE moving…The stress and change that goes along with it is so overwhelming! I am so excited that this year we won’t be moving since we bought our house last year! HALLELUJAH!
• Not making daily time to pray and have a quiet time with the Lord. I think this will always be a struggle..But I am always so much more refreshed and able to keep my focus in the right place when I’m spending time daily with God!
• Believing that my path to building a successful business has to look like someone else’s…This is the biggest lie. I think that there is a lot to be said for emulating some things about people you admire…For example, I LOVE Katelyn James. I think she is the best and I look up to her in so many ways. But my goals for my business and life are very different than hers, so my “success” is going to look very different than hers.
• Not having a website. I think that just having a blog worked for me for a while as I was starting out..I’m very thankful for my little blog because it helped me get to where I am now…but I’m really excited to have a website soon to showcase my work and who I am as a photographer better!
• Not embracing contentment. If I’m always looking forward at what’s next, then I’m never going to be happy and fulfilled right where I am.

And I’m sure this list could go on and on and on…but these are some of the things that didn’t work for me in the past that popped into my head first! This list seems kind of negative, but really it’s a very positive thing because I’m learning to embrace the opposite of these things! And I’m so excited for how doing so is going to effect my life, business, and the positive experience that I am able to provide for my clients! So here’s to embracing the things that do work as I head into the 2013 wedding season! I’d love to hear some things that dont work for others in life or work and how you combat those things with what does work…

Thank you for stopping by the blog for the first official Coffee Talk Tuesday! And thanks to my wonderful friend Katie for asking me to be a part of this beautiful couples wedding day as her second shooter!