Before I share a couple of beautiful winter weddings with you, here is a more personal post.
In September 2011, I gave birth to my beautiful little boy Cosmo. And whilst I had always imagined that I would be returning to wedding photography after a few months of maternity leave, things worked out differently.
Motherhood was a lot more intense (and actually more enjoyable) for me than I had imagined, both physically and emotionally. I don’t know whether Cosmo was a particularly challenging baby or whether I’m just a not very efficient mother and housekeeper but I basically didn’t get around to do any cooking or household chores within the first year or so (never mind looking after a wedding photography business). The house would be a mess until Steve would come home and start the tidy up mission and cook for us. I think living so far away from any relatives didn’t help.
But it wasn’t just the physical side. I was surprised by how emotionally attached I was to my baby. The thought of being away from him for a whole day and evening whilst shooting weddings, made me feel stressed and unhappy. It just didn’t feel right. I also felt I didn’t have the headspace to focus on the administrative side of being a wedding photographer (although I missed the photography bits).
So I decided to take a bit of a break and only shot a small number of weddings. Luckily being a wedding photographer gave me the flexibility to take out the time that I needed. Steve and I cut back so we could live on one salary and I was able to truly enjoy those precious wonder years and go with the flow of motherhood. I will always be grateful for that experience.
Now Cosmo is becoming more and more independent each day, and I can slowly feel myself becoming the old Annelie again (a little bit wiser maybe and with a couple more stretch marks) And I’m very excited about getting back to wedding photography this year.
So whilst I haven’t been shooting as many weddings as usual over the past few years, I have still been busy photographing the things around me and have been documenting Cosmo’s baby and toddlerhood. Here are some of my favourite pictures from the last 3 and half years…
You can find more of my personal work on Instagram.
Whilst I predominantly photograph weddings, I love shooting the odd family and newborn portrait. Get in touch, if you would like to find out more.
