To say that the last 365 days have been an absolute blur would be an understatement. 2015 brought so many wonderful things in to my life. It was a year full of so many changes, being the year I was able to leave any part-time job and become a wedding photographer full time, the year I shot my very first roll of film, and the year that Stephen and I left condo life behind and found our new home outside of Guelph. It is so hard to narrow down all of the things that made this year unlike any other, but here is a little breakdown of how I spent my year, and all of the memories that put 2015 on my shortlist for “best year ever.”
TRAVELLING brought me to Calgary, Alberta where I got to explore my best friends new home for her birthday! We hiked through canyons and mountain passes in the ice and snow for the first time, I fell so hard on my back that I was embarrassingly bruised for over a month, we met a National Geographic photographer who has hiked Mount Everest multiple times, and then relaxed in hot tubs in the snow. Lake Louise made me fall in love with my country again, and I’ll admit I developed a bit of a Sam Hunt obsession after a few nights at a country bar. He still remains number one on my Spotify playlists and I’m going to receive countless messages from friends who can’t believe this as soon as they read my blog post.
Stephen and I were able to sneak away to Ireland and England for two weeks spent driving narrow roads, drinking tea, and visiting his family. We started it off with a few days exploring Dublin and Cork while shooting my very first solo styled-shoot thanks to a few local Toronto wedding vendors who were kind enough to lend me some of their incredible work to use abroad. [Calligraphy below by one of those vendors, All Things Lovely Paper Co. | Dress provided by Sash and Bustle | Necklace and Ring by Anouk Jewelry]
After my twenty-fourth birthday we hopped on a flight to London where we then hopped in a rental car and drove out to Suffolk to stay with Stephen’s family friend Gus in his newly restored loft. Yes, this is the man we named our dog Gus after. Yes, it was my first time meeting him. Yes, he was even better than I expected. We caught up with some relatives, enjoyed the English seaside, and I ate the best fish and chips I’ve ever had in Aldeburgh.
After enjoying our time in England, we went back over to Ireland for another few days of exploring the Dingle Peninsula and Galway. We stayed on a working sheep farm in Dingle with two herding border collies named Scout and Flossy who happened to be a mother and her puppy. I almost cried when we had to leave them behind and part of me still wants to sneak Scout into my luggage so he can be Gus’ new brother.
DESTINATION WEDDINGS brought me to the Dominican Republic in May with my mom for a week of sweltering hot beaches. I was reminded immediately that I am incapable of applying sunscreen like an adult; I have the awkward permanent tan line on my arm to prove it.
Stephen, Gus and I packed up our bags at the beginning of September for Ashley and Ryan’s intimate lakeside wedding surrounded by some well needed mountain views in Lake Placid, New York. We drove down a bit early before the wedding to get in some relaxation, stayed at an Airbnb that was really just a second story of a garage owned by the kindest hippie lady and her beagle, and hiked Whiteface Mountain before returning home
MOVING is still on the horizon for us with our official move into Fergus coming on Monday! We officially left our condo behind in September right before leaving for Ireland and are already so much happier because of it! I can’t wait for all of my Guelph and Cambridge weddings to be local for me next year!
EDUCATION was a massive goal for myself in 2015, with the insane idea of mine to teach myself the art of medium format film. I bought my first film camera from another photographer on a whim back in May, and by June I had packed my bags to head off to California for a week long workshop taught by fine art wedding photographer Erich McVey. I can’t even begin to express what a life-changing experience my time in Northern California at Cuffey’s Cove Ranch was, but I assume that you can imagine what it would be like to spend an extended period of time surrounded by the industries top influencers and twenty-seven other film photographers eager to learn from them. This week changed my life, and I am forever thankful for this massive step in my business and all of the incredible friends I made because of it.
The COMMUNITY OVER COMPETITION movement was one of the biggest changes in my life this year with the Rising Tide Society forming back in May, and subsequently creating Tuesday’s Together groups all over the world. I attended my first Tuesday’s Together meeting back in August and immediately felt the most welcoming, warm presence in this industry that I hadn’t felt once since becoming a wedding photographer. This profession has always come along with a ton of negativity towards “competition,” but the Rising Tide has done such an incredible job at calling out how insane of us it is to spread so much hate to people we have so much in common with. I now have a ton of amazing and talented friends who all spread positivity all over my life like it’s nobodies business and I am so beyond thankful for them. This group has become my family, and I’ve become a better person because of it.
This was definitely the year of INSTAGRAM and I’ve loved looking back on my year through the “Top 9 of 2015” feature! It has been so incredible to meet so many people this year through social media and between this community and my mom’s new Roomba, I really do feel like we’re moving towards living in the world from the Jetsons. Feel free to follow along with me @kaylayestal!
Lastly, here are some of my FAVOURITE IMAGES from this year. It was so hard to narrow these down into a post that wasn’t irritatingly long, and I feel so lucky for all of the weddings I was able to photograph this year. 2016, you have a lot to live up to! Let’s do this!
