Scheduling time off

As we approach Memorial Day weekend, we are wrapping up our to do list and getting through our inbox. You see, we have this weekend off! That’s right, we are not scheduled to photograph any weddings or engagement sessions this weekend, and that’s by design. This time last year, we were gearing up for a very full weekend of shooting. A year ago we photographed two weddings and two engagement sessions in 4 days. It was so fun and totally rewarding to fill the long weekend with so many wonderful memories and awesome couples, but there was no denying that a double header holiday weekend was a lot of work. We were pretty much exhaused by the end of the weekend.

So here we are today, the Friday before the long weekend and we are looking forward to a different kind of 4 day extravaganza. This time though, it’s all about family. Almost 13 months ago Maggie had just found out she was pregnant. On the very same day, we had our first inquiry for a Memorial Day Weekend wedding. A few days prior, we had learned that John and Mandy were considering moving to North Carolina. With all of these exciting changes coming our way, we had to start looking at our 2015 schedule. Where would we find time to just… be together? When could we sit back and spend an entire day with the new baby? When would we ever be able to fit in a good visit with John and Mandy? Did we want to run on full power for 4 straight months? Would we need or want a break? Quickly we came to the decision that we knew was right for us. We would have to close Memorial Day weekend to weddings, and send all inquiries out to our friends in the wedding photography industry. This year, we were going to keep Memorial Day weekend to ourselves.

It was difficult to turn away so many wonderful couples along the way. As this is one of the most popular weekends for weddings, we’ve lost count of how many we’ve had to say no to, and we were sad every time! But right now we know it was absolutely necessary, and for the best. In the next three days we will be fitting in a few seasons worth of family gatherings and celebrations. We’ll be visiting with John and Mandy as they are in town for the weekend, we’ll be doing much needed wedding planning for their November nuptials, we’ll have Chubby Cheeks baptized and throw him a party with the whole family, then we’ll celebrate Paw’s big birthday together, have a mini reunion with the extended family, and hopefully fit in a Memorial Day BBQ or a day at the pool. It’s going to be jam packed! But we’re so grateful we made the decision to take this weekend off. It’s amazing how much planning has to go into scheduling time to ourselves, and how far in advance we have to do it, but it comes with the job we love. Without having set this weekend aside, we’re not sure when any of these things would have happened! Pretty sure Chubby Cheeks would have been a toddler before we had a chance to have his baptism 😉

So, this weekend will be unlike our typical weekends this time of year. We will not be arranging rings on a bouquet, or arranging details on a chair. We will not be posing a happy couple, or “floating” a veil. We will not eat cake or dance at a reception with our cameras high in the air. We’ll miss all of those things, but instead we will look into the faces of the people we love the most in this world. We will celebrate the presence of one of the sweetest babies on earth. We will talk and get excited about John and Mandy’s wedding. We will sit on the deck, sipping lemonade, just being together. We’ll celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest men we know. We’ll relax. We’ll remember the men and women who were lost as they fought to give us this luxury. We’ll be taking this weekend off.

If you send an email between now and Monday evening, we will make sure to return it by Tuesday evening. So please give us patience as we spend this time with family. Because we have nothing to photograph this weekend, we’re going to skip the Monday Minutes post next week, especially since it is the actual holiday itself. We will return Tuesday with regularly scheduled blog posts and jump back into the work we love.

Have a wonderful weekend! We hope you get to spend time with the people you love, doing what you love. See you Tuesday!