Today I am marking a big milestone that has been years in the making. As of 4:30 this afternoon, I will officially be a full time wedding photographer and business owner! Since January 2017, while Dillon and I were engaged, I’ve had a rewarding career in higher education by day. And for the past three years, I’ve had two careers as I’ve built KSP on nights and weekends. While I’ve been honest anytime someone has asked “Do you do photography full time?”, I never openly shared about this “double life”, until now. I think that many business owners get their start by burning the midnight oil while holding “day jobs”. Even still, I have always wanted my couples to know that I was fully committed to serving them well and creating an exceptional experience for them regardless of what else was on my plate. Sharing this side of my life online didn’t seem relevant until now, but I hope that I can inspire someone to pursue their dreams by sharing a bit about how I worked toward mine.

As I celebrate this milestone, it’s important to me to share that my “day job” was never just a job to me. While my goal has been to be a full time business owner since before I ever stepped foot into this organization, my time here was never merely a “means to an end”. I have had the *most* rewarding time here, holding four different roles over the past seven years, finishing my degree, growing into a leader, and finding my voice. It was here that I developed the confidence to pursue my dream of being a wedding photographer. In the forty hours that I worked each week, I was poured into and built up to be the person who I am today. Through incredible peer relationships, mentorship, and the example of strong leaders around me, I found a very rewarding career that is difficult to part ways with. It’s such a gift to have been part of a place that is hard to say goodbye to! 🙂

As I prepare to step full time into KSP this afternoon, I want to first take a moment to remember where I came from and some photos from the best memories I have from the organization that quite literally transformed my life.

Since July of 2021, I’ve balanced KSP with a full time job. All the while it has been my heart to always give 100% in each of my roles, serving others well despite how much was on my plate. As our most recent season picked up and our business began to really grow, I started to feel the nudge in my heart that the right time to take KSP full time was quickly approaching. I’m blessed that I was given time and space to wrap up my time here in a way that feels complete, pouring into my team and building a legacy that I’m proud of before closing this chapter. The past several months have been rewarding and challenging and refining all at once, as this place and the people here mean so much to me and it’s hard to prepare to walk away from the place where I started. But closing one chapter means making room for another one, and God has made it clear to me that now is the time!

By balancing both KSP with my roles here for as long as I did, I was able to gain skills and experience that will continue to serve me and my clients well for decades to come. Dillon and I were also able to accomplish some huge financial goals that may have otherwise taken years longer to reach. I gained friends here who are precious to me and I got to impact others in a way that my mentors and leaders had done for me. I’m so grateful that I got to have this chapter and for the memories I’m taking with me!

It is a true gift to be part of an organization that celebrates your outside interests and pursuits. Never once was I encouraged to hide KSP from my peers and my team. Instead, I was championed and encouraged in it and given the work/life balance I needed to build it from the ground-up. I am incredibly thankful that I got to have the best of both worlds for as long as I did.

I’m so excited to now have all the time in the world to pour into KSP and building the vision I’ve had for it from day one. I’m thankful for every couple and family who has invited me to capture the most special seasons in their lives. It is because of them that I get to take this leap and be a full time business owner! But before I officially close this chapter, I want to thank those who have become my professional family at the organization I’ve long called home.

Thank you to every single person here who has believed in me, championed me, and supported me from the earliest days, when KSP was merely an idea that lived in my little spiral notebook. It is because of each of you that I stayed here as long as I did, even as this business grew. Thank you to this organization for modeling what it looks like to radically care for others, put people first, and be anchored in a meaningful mission and values. The business practices that I learned here will fuel KSP for years to come. I believe in this organization so much and would probably have a lifelong career here if I wasn’t called to start my own business. I will never ever forget the place where I got my start, the place that served as a safe landing place for me as I began to step out in faith and build the business of my dreams. It’s been a heck of a ride and I am so grateful that I get to carry the memories from this chapter with me forever! 🙂