We want to be authentic. And being real is a wonderful place to be.

This has been a week in the nitty gritty.

Do you ever have those weeks?

For the last few days, I’ve given myself permission to totally immerse myself in learning and discovering. In the business world, you talk a lot about the difference between working in your business and working on your business.

The whole heart of our wedding photography is to love and serve our couples well. When I get up in the morning and head to the office, I always start by writing my to-do list. I’m a obsessive list maker. (I’m also one of those people who get totally distracted doing something else – and then I add that thing I’ve already accidentally done just so I can cross it off my list.)

There is so much satisfaction in crossing things off the list, isn’t there? :)

So because I’m slightly obsessed with being busy, I fill my list with all kinds of busy work that I think will love and serve other people well. Sorting through wedding details, creating the perfect timeline, building the albums, writing a note and dropping it in the mail, encouraging other vendors.

But sometimes it’s scary for me to step away from the “busy work” and let myself truly work on our business.

So last week, I filled my Monday with as much busy work as I could cram in. Then I let myself start dreaming. Discovering. Thinking.

Why are we truly here? What is the point of all this? Are we loving and serving our couples, their families, and other vendors to the best of our ability? Can we do more?

Are we honestly being authentic and true to ourselves in what we put out to the world for everyone to see? Are we trying so hard to look “perfect” (is there really any such thing as being perfect?) to show brides how great a J&A Wedding Experience can be that we forget to let them see our hearts, our souls, and what our life is really about?

Is it scary to step away from trying to be perfect and step further into authenticity? A little bit. Is it scary for you?

This week, I’ve learned that it’s okay not to be the right photographers for everybody. If our pictures don’t make you start dreaming of your own wedding day, or if getting to know us on our blog, website, and social media doesn’t make you feel like we should be friends, then maybe we’re not the ones to walk this journey with you.

But if making ourselves real connects with where you are, and if you understand why we want to spend our lives pouring our hearts into blowing you away with an experience that impacts you far beyond getting your wedding pictures back, then we want you.

We want you to be in this family.

This J&A Family is why we wake up at 5:30 every morning. This family is why we spend our Saturdays working instead of watching football (we are in the South, y’all!). This family is why we want to show you our hearts, with all our imperfections, and focus instead on encouraging and loving well. Why we spend hours every week educating ourselves on our craft, our business, and how to serve better.

And the other scary part? Knowing that being truly authentic and honest will show some brides that we aren’t the right photographers for them.

But that’s okay. Because we know that the brides who get us, the ones who find our blog or come across our Facebook page and feel like we could totally be friends, are going to be just right. The ones that we will be able to love with our whole hearts and pour ourselves into serving well.

And that is a wonderful place to be.

*hugs*

Amber

 

 

A shout out to our fabulous assistant, Kerry, for snapping these shots of us during our J&A Family mini-sessions this year! (It was hot this year! Shorts and Christmas card sessions – only in the South!!) And photo credit to our sweet J&A Couple Meghan and Emory for taking that picture of Joel with their sweet puppy dog Sevo. Thank you for sharing your lives and your puppy with us! <3