I am SO excited for this blog post to go up today! Not only do I LOVE this family but I LOVE this woman right here!! She is a PHENOMENAL photographer, wife, mother and friend! I have been so lucky to have her in my life for the last two years and I truly don’t know how I lived 31 years without her!
How We Met
Kaitlin and I met after I stalked her business page and KNEW I needed to talk all things business with her to get my business running the way I wanted. She is creative, savvy and incredibly organized! Then again she has to be with 2 kids and shooting 40+ weddings a year! So, I emailed her and inquired about mentoring with her via Skype since we lived about 2000+ miles apart! From the moment we were on Skype, I knew I liked her! Although we got off of on so many tangents and she talked a million miles a minute that my hand couldn’t keep up, I liked her! We skyped a few times that first year (aka I paid for her friendship that first year) and I learned a TON from her! Then, she had a wedding out west that she needed a second shooter for and I was SHOCKED when she asked if I could join her in Maui to shoot with her! I honestly to this day don’t know why she asked me, because she has no shortage of talented friends, but I am SO glad she did! But keep in mind we had still never met in person at this point and we just decided to spend almost a full week in Maui together! What if she ended up being annoyed of me? What if my shooting didn’t hold up my end of the bargain? I was NERVOUS! But shooting in Maui over my birthday, instead of staying home in the cold, I was willing to risk it!
I think you can guess how it turned out….we fell in best friend love! 🙂 I have never laughed SO hard in my entire life! We had the best time and it was a trip I will never forget! It was like finally meeting the other half I never knew existed! And now, countless phone, Skype and airline miles later we are more like sisters! It’s weird to have a few days go by where I don’t talk to her. We plan trips and vacations around and with one another. Always scheming on how we can see each other without one of us actually moving our families across the country. But don’t doubt that I have thought of it at least once or twice! She is loving called Aunt Jersey Kait, because if you know me, you know my sister is also Kaitlin and they spell their names the exact same way! My kiddos adore her, and the surprises she sends them in the mail, and even my man loves her (and if you know my husband you know this is HUGE).
So, on one of my trips back east Kaitlin asked if I would shoot some family pictures to go one their walls of their beautiful new home. Well, let me rephrase that. She TOLD me I was going to shoot their family pictures, showed me the frames they were going to fill and then told me not to F it up! HA! True Kaitlin form. No pressure! Lucky for me, her boys are not strangers to having a camera in their face or someone bossing them around! I absolutely adore her littles, the special relationship she fosters with each of them and the way her handsome hubby seems to make her melt right into his arms. This session, although nerve wracking, was so much fun and I mean could they BE any more beautiful?? I die.
HEY-HEY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY
Kaitlin, I love you to the moon and back, with my whole butt (because let’s be real you and I BOTH know my butt is bigger than my heart), and I cannot imagine my life without you in it! You make me laugh constantly, you feed my soul, you help me strive to bet a better mom, business woman and person. The way you are always putting the needs of others before your own is inspiring and I have learned so much about who I want to be, just by being around you. You truly love SO big, and everyone that knows you, knows you are the type of friend that would give the shirt off your back if you knew it would help them. Kaitlin- you are an amazing human being! I hope you have THE best Birthday today! I wish I was back there to celebrate you, but just know I am thinking of you and the Bakken’s love you so much!!
XOXO