Social media platforms come and go, but the one thing I still really enjoy about Facebook is the memories feature. It’s probably one of the only reasons I still log in to Facebook every day! Admittedly, a 10 year old status will occasionally make me cringe, but largely I really enjoy the throwback photos! And it’s nice to have a reminders of events or jokes I had with friends that i’d have otherwise forgotten. Then there are times, like today, that you see something that makes you say “wow”. Without even realising it, today, Facebook gave us a reason to celebrate.
Scrolling through my memories, one little status from 8 years ago popped up. That status said:
“Really happy with the wedding photos from yesterday, can’t wait to get them up! 🙂 Congratulations Princess Consuela Banana Hammock and Crap Bag* thanks for having us!”
* Not the couples actual names.
Celebrating 8 years as Sam & Louise photography
And that’s when I realised that today marks 8 years to the day that we decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it. Today is 8 whole years since we made the decision to start our wedding photography business together.
In many ways it feels like forever ago. We’ve never really known much else. Virtually our entire adult lives have been spent running the business. Sam was pretty much fresh from college when we set up shop, and i’d only graduated from University a year previously. When we were starting out one of our genuine concerns is that we wouldn’t be taken seriously because we were too young. Everyone in the wedding photography game at that time seemed to be much older.
And now, i’m in my 30’s and suddenly many of our couples are younger than me! How can that be, when it all feels like yesterday too? I still have such vivid memories of both being sat at our computers editing photographs from that first wedding. I still remember hand drawing our original logo with the Royal wedding (Kate & William’s) on in the background. We can so clearly remember launching our first website and thinking it was the bees knees. We’ll conveniently over look the fact that it was in fact actual garbage! Those memories are so crystal clear though that the idea it could have been 8 years ago feels alien.
The first few years in business
I remember how intense those first few months and years in business were. For 18 months after starting our business I was still working full time at a secondary school, whilst Sam kept on at his college job at Waitrose too. The days were long and at one point we worked 81 days straight without a single day off, but all those extra shifts and all those “just get it done” moments led us here. They helped us invest in equipment and ultimately grow our business to the point that we could both quit our jobs within 2 years.
Although Sam doesn’t miss anything about his old job, there are days where I really miss the kids I used to work with. Some of whom are in their mid twenties now and doing amazing things. My old year 7 form group will all be 19/20 now. Sometimes I wonder where they are, what they are doing and how they’re getting on. Did their dreams ever come true like mine did? I hope they’re happy.
But do I regret leaving that job to pursue wedding photography? I don’t. I would have always lived with the lingering thought of “what if?” To me that is more scary than jumping in feet first and starting a business.
Today is a good day. Today is a reminder of how far we’ve come and all that we have achieved. It’s a reminder that if you want something enough and if you work hard enough for it you can achieve it.
8 years really does fly when you’re having fun.
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