Words can not express how thankful I have been for such a prosperous & exciting year. Big thanks go out to all of you who have in one way or another been a part of this amazing year. 2011 was the busiest year yet for Nicole Nichols Photography. We totaled 16 Portrait Sessions, 15 Engagement Sessions, 23 Weddings and a large handful of other random photo sessions, definitely enough to keep me busy all year long. I can’t tell you how great it is to look back at how far my business has come and to be beating the odds of making it as a full time photographer, certainly not an easy task! On a personal level, the year was full of adventures as well, and as 2012 begins I wanted to take some time out to share my 2011 Year in Review:
Mardi Gras in Denver
2011 was the first year since I was about 3yrs. old that I was not in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Those from New Orleans understand the cultural importance of this festive holiday….others are surprised to learn that “Girls Gone Wild” is not the standard and that Mardi Gras is really more of a family affair. So what did I do on Fat Tuesday in Denver? Well, I took the day off of work to edit my pictures of past Mardi Gras and my husband and I threw a huge party the Saturday before to teach our friends the real meaning of Mardi Gras….complete with gumbo, king cake, mask-making, costumes, and even a mini walking parade down our Broadway neighborhood! The night was such a hit that we promised to do it every year we are unable to attend the real Mardi Gras…..but sorry we couldn’t miss 2 in a row, so we already got our plane tickets for carnival 2012!
3rd Wedding Anniversary
In March my husband and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary with a fun editorial style photo shoot . Molly Plann, my 2nd photographer and a dear friend, documented us doing some of the things we enjoy the most – a good martini & a game of pool at our favorite neighborhood bar, Skylark (it takes a drink to convince my husband to have his picture taken) and cooking an Italian dinner at our house. We also both turned 30 about 6 months prior, so it was time for some new pictures to celebrate this milestone.
Weddings, Portraits, and Birthdays……
This year I booked more photo sessions then ever before! Boudoir portraits were big this year, as were birthday parties. I was honored to document a 1yr. old birthday, followed by the birthday of a (truly young at heart) 90yr. old woman.
From my perspective the recession scare disappeared as the whole wedding industry was seeing a large increase in bookings & money spent. Whether the Royal wedding had anything to do with it, we may never know…but it was a good feeling to see people feel confident enough again to plan large weddings…one of my favorites being a Steampunk themed wedding complete with Victorian era costumes, an incredible clock & gear hand built wedding cake…and a custom designed metal wedding album that I can’t wait to deliver to the bride any day now!
Venice Destination Wedding & an Italy Vacation:
However, it will be hard for any wedding to top the one I photographed in Italy Labor Day weekend. My husband Steven took time off of work to assist me, and while he still needs a lot of camera training, he did an amazing job as a bag carrier, body guard, and travel planner, thanks babe – hopefully more practice in foreign destinations to come soon!
I had the chance to play more with video this year, click this link to photo/video fusion of Talia & Kris’ wedding day in Venice, Italy.
Thankfully Steven was able to take 2 weeks off and after the work was complete we toured around Italy and enjoyed what felt like a 2nd honeymoon! And as crazy as it was to take 2 weeks off during wedding season, it was exactly what I needed!
Saints & the South
By the fall it was back to the South for warmer weddings in Florida & New Orleans, one of an old college friend which I got to simply enjoy as a guest instead of as staff, which is always a nice treat.
Business stayed booming till the last Christmas print order & wedding album of the year went out. Steven & I got to go home to New Orleans for Christmas to spend some quality time with our families. And before I left NOLA I got to enjoy an amazing Monday night football game where Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the all time passing yards record for a touchdown pass against rival team Atlanta Falcons!….. I have a feeling we may be looking at round 2 of the Superbowl for the Saints!
Now that its a New Year it feels good to reflect and remember all the positives of the past year. And with so many amazing new adventures in 2011, I can’t even begin to imagine what 2012 may have in store for us! But I do know that I will be continuing specializing in weddings (hoping for lots more destination weddings too…perhaps Hawaii or Greece, anyone?) while expanding my boudoir & baby photography line. I am also going to give back to the world, and start donating a percentage of all my sales to a non-profit I support in Africa, more details of that to come. And brides-to be, please come find me Sunday, January 29, 2012 at the Quality Hill Bridal Show at the Grant Humphrey Mansion.
And if you haven’t figured out your New Years resolution yet…why not make it a fun one and commit to a fun, funky, fine art photo session to document a special time in your life, or your growing family. We all have a story to tell, and we all deserve to have our lives documented with beautiful pictures. =)
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