2022 was an incredible year of weddings, events, photoshoots, and I met some amazing women along the way. When I have the opportunity to hear about women's lives, accomplishments, and milestones, it really makes me love what I do.
Read on for a few of my favorite stories from this 2022!
Meet Melanie.
Melanie is a hair stylist at Shear Vintage in Beaufort, South Carolina, and she always looks like she has everything together! From her hair, to her makeup, she is always stunning. But she was noticing her daughter becoming more and more critical of herself, and she wanted to send a message that you don’t need makeup to be “together” and “beautiful.”
This makeup session was a first for me. I spent about an hour and a half on a detailed, flawless glam look all for the purpose of makeup removal! It was powerful to watch her wipe every once of makeup off and then pose confidently for photos with her bare, beautiful face.
Talk about sharing an important and beautiful message.
Connections.
They’re a major reason why I love my job. I loved working with Jolie and her family, and I had the opportunity to do the makeup for several family members on the big day, including Jolie’s mom.
Jolie came to me already as a makeup connoisseur, so her final bridal appointment was a fun collaboration! She and I both brought ideas to her trial, and we had fun merging them to create her ideal wedding look. She wanted something simple and timeless, and she fully trusted my skills to make her vision come to life.
Jolie and her husband were married in April at the picturesque Beaufort Inn. She and her bridesmaids got ready at the downtown Bangs Salon and Spa, and you can browse the rest of her amazing pictures by Caleb Everard Photography here.
Forty over Forty.
I met Sonia through a photoshoot with Nadia Hurtt Photography. She wanted to have a professional portrait to share with her granddaughter.
She is an absolute beauty both inside and out and we instantly connected over our common love of travel. She has been all over the world, and she actually brought in an outfit from Greece and jewelry from all of the little towns she's been to.
Sonia really wanted to make sure that Latin women were well represented in the 40 over 40 project, a portrait revolution by Nadia Hurtt meant to show the joy and beauty of being over 40. Sonia wanted to join the project to show the graceful aging in diverse women of all ages. She was so much fun to talk to and she is seriously one of the sweetest clients I’ve ever worked with.
If you’re interested in celebrating the strength, beauty, and wisdom of that comes with maturing and growing through life, it’s not too late to apply! All selected women and their stories will be showcased in a gallery style exhibition in Beaufort, South Carolina. You can follow this link to apply.
Motherhood is Beautiful.
I love working with new and expecting moms at Nadia Hurtt Photography— there are so many beautiful women with great stories.
Amanda came in for her maternity session after she and her husband had been trying to have a baby for over 10 years! They had almost given up and decided to just adopt fur babies instead and eventually stopped trying for a baby of their own. Little did they know that they were in for a big surprise!
Amanda soon found out she was going to finally be a mom, and she chose to surprise her husband on his 40th birthday by telling him they were having a baby!
Working with newborn and maternity photographers we hear these stories often and it’s important to know you’re not alone. It was an honor to be able to give Amanda the glam look she was going for during her maternity and newborn session with baby Asher.
2022 came with so many amazing opportunities, and I look back on it with a smile. These women. These stories. These are the reasons I have my brushes ready to keep creating beauty in 2023!
- Shaelyn