Over the past couple of years, though, the business has slowed way down for me and I have spent a lot of time searching and praying and asking God why. This year, I have put a lot of my focus on my family and spending time with my kids, who really took a backseat more often than I’d like to admit because of all the time devoted to editing photos. I have felt for a while now that this little business of mine may have run its course. This post has been such a long time coming, so here it is … I am officially stepping back from A Picture’s Worth photography. I’m embracing my kids, my husband and our life as it is right now and turning my attention to other things. There will always be a love of photographing weddings and I’m leaving that little place in my heart open to the possibility of doing this again someday, but I truly believe this is the right decision for me at this time.

THANK YOU so much to all of my wedding couples. Thank you for choosing me to capture your most important day. And to the dozens of families whose pictures I took along the way, too. It’s been such fun getting to know all of you. THANK YOU all from the bottom of my heart.

I will be keeping this blog up indefinitely since so many couples’/families’ pictures are here, so feel free to browse through all the posts. I may check in every once in a while, so keep me on your RSS feeds and Google Readers just in case.

Happy New Year!

Here are some pictures from Kelley and Chris’s Texas wedding in their own words:

“I love this pictures of me getting ready … the lighting gives it such a “retro” feel.

“Everyone always comments on this one. She looks so cute peeping out the door at all the guests before the ceremony…she had no idea the photo was being taken, yet it’s so beautiful. It also really shows how pretty the back of her dress was.”

“I didn’t even know that I could look like this. It doesn’t even look like me, but something out of a magazine! It’s my favorite photo of ME that you captured. I remember this moment well, too. It was right before the ceremony, and I was so stressed out. My hair wasn’t doing what I wanted and I was starting to freak out a little because we only had minutes left. And yet the photo turned out so beautiful somehow.”

“This photo of the wonderful man who married us is very special. Plus, he’s one of those who never smiles for the camera and hates to have his photo taken. And yet every shot you got of him looks so distinguised and happy.”

“The posed photo of all of our guests will always be special to me. I love that we have one photo of every single person there for our special day.”

“This is one of my very favorite photos of the two of us. The doorway just lends such an effect, and we look so into one another.”

“This is one of Chris’ favorites. It’s fun, and is very much who we are. I love all the sky around us too…”

Thanks for sharing, Kelley!!!

“I remember this moment so well because I was so excited and so nervous for Kevin to see me for the first time. I loved how everything came together so perfectly and was so excited that he loved it to.”

“I love this picture because I just remember being so happy that this day had finally come and how excited we were to celebrate with all our friends and family. The fall colors that day were perfect and we were so glad we were able to walk around town. Oh, and Kevin especially loves #105 because “it’s just good”.”

#105

“Just one of the many little details that you captured so perfectly. You captured all the small things about the day so beautifully and helped make this unforgettable for us.”

“There were so many of these amazing pictures of our family and friends. It was wonderful to see these moments and we will treasure these forever as will our family and friends.”

“The end of our first dance! We were so excited and happy that we made it through our first dance and (for the most part) had successfully remembered the choreography. We had such a great time dancing this.”

“We love this picture because it was just a quiet moment for us and it captures the love that we have for one another so well.”

“This is a photo when we are at the salon and my mom sees my hair done-up all princess-like for the first time. She looks so happy in the picture. It is rare to get a photo of my mom and so I will certainly treasure this one.”

“When I came down by the pond for pictures, Erwyn had his hand over his eyes so he couldn’t see me until I was all the way down there. It is such a cute photo and very indicative of his personality and his ability to make me laugh.”

“This is a picture of the ceremony right after the Reverand pronounced us husband and wife. I said “Yay!” and hopped a little, which caused her and Erwyn to laugh. I was just very caught up in the moment.”

“A photo from our first dance. Just one glance at this photo reminds me of the immense love and joy we felt that day.”

from the engagement session:

“We were so cold that day, and Alex was trying his hardest to warm me up… I like that we weren’t meaning to pose, and that our smiles are so genuine. To us, this pose is both romantic and fun.”

“It is a great candid moment that shows both of our personalities so well. Alex is always trying to be the goofball, and as usual I’m laughing at him . Plus we love that we were in the sand next to the water. I’ve been going to the Grand Haven beach since I was a baby, and there was no better place to have our engagement pictures taken, even if it was freezing!”

from the wedding:

“I remember that moment vividly- I was both excited and nervous for the ceremony to start, and I was taking in everything that was going on around me. And I also remember that I could barely breathe because my dress was so tight!”

“My two best friends had met each other for the first time that weekend, and this photo is really meaningful to me. Anne was a little upset about a situation that happened while setting up the church, and it means a lot to me that Amber was there to give her some support.”

“As soon as I saw this picture, the moment came right back to me. My dad had not seen me (or my dress) until the moment before he walked me down the aisle. The minute he saw me, he lost it. I was trying to calm him a little because we only had a second before we walked down the aisle. This photo captures that moment perfectly.”

“This picture is so cute! Will is my first nephew, so of course he is the cutest baby ever! And he’s always got a smile on his face like this one. Because our family was so busy that day, he was only at the wedding for a short time. He looks so handsome in his little suspenders, which were brown of course… my sister bought them especially to match the rest of the wedding party ”

“This was one of the most meaningful moments of the night. Poor Alex- he’s usually all smiles, but the day of our wedding he was having a hard time keeping it together! He was especially moved by his best friend’s speech- Brent is a really close friend of his, and we were both very honored to have him as the best man.”

I was incredibly blessed at their wedding. Becky’s mom was the one who hired me since Becky & Philip were living in China, so I met them that morning. They were wonderful. Their ceremony was so full of love … for each other, for their families and for God. There was this awesome time of praise and worship and you could feel God’s presence there. I have had many moments this year where I was just filled up and reminded how God led me to where I am and hand picked my couples for me. This was definitely one of those weddings and I thank Becky and Philip and their families for being so wonderful and kind.

Here are some of their favorites, in their own words:

“Both of us really like the expressions on our faces, the innocence and beauty of that moment…”

“I like this one because it shows how shocked i was when my new husband sang the song “the Prayer” in English and Italian (without me knowing til then)”

“My nephew. He was trying so hard to be good…. but in 146 you can see that he’d been caught…”

#146

“When I look at this one, it brings back so many memories from that day.”

“I like this one because it echos back to a photo my parents took at their wedding – which was also a silouette style.”

So … if I photographed your wedding, engagement or family pictures this year, email me with some of your favorite pictures and why each image meant something special to you. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

This is a really great family that I took pictures for last year. Michelle sent me her favorites and then wedding season hit and I stopped doing this feature for a while. So I thought I would let their photos be the first. Here they are, in Michelle’s own words.

This is a rare moment where my children can be in such close proximity to each other and still enjoy themselves. Who knew a pumpkin possessed actual magic power?

This photo is special to me because it represents the wonderful love that my parents have for my children. My mom is trying to calm down Andrew as any great Grandma would do and my Dad is just smiling away at how unpredictable the kids can be. They are the best Grandparents!

Here is a nice photo of my family, everyone is smiling and cooperative…well almost eveyone!

Here are their favorites: