As the wedding season picks back up again, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the road. Particularly driving back and forth from Phoenix to Pinetop, documenting weddings at one of my favorite Arizona venues, Ivory + Grace. And while I savor those sweet, simple days editing your photos from the comfort of my couch surrounded by my fur babies, I can’t help but marvel at how lucky I am that I get to (occasionally) live a life on the road. Driving through pines and rolling hills, smokey blue mountains I thought only existed far from here. Dodging hail and rain so thick it somehow permeates my raincoat. Lugging (very heavy) bags from trunk to cabin, surviving on coffee and beef jerky. Becoming so familiar with the lay of the land that it’s starting to feel like a second home.

It makes me reminisce back to 2019-2020 when I was constantly traveling. Back then, I advertised for weddings everywhere. My weeks looked like driving from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Chicago to catch flights all over the US, then landing back in Chicago and driving back home, or maybe not, maybe just flying off to the next destination. Or long roadtrips to Asheville, NC, NYC, Wisconsin or UP Michigan. Back then my bags were always packed (how I got my laundry done is beyond me), and I was very much alright with that.

Now, things have changed a bit. I’ve got two cats and a dog now (pet tax paid below) and we’re all attached at the hip. I’ve got my closest family all living just 20 minutes from my downtown Phoenix apartment, and I try to make as much time for them as I can. I think it’s safe to say my priorities have shifted a bit, and maybe this is a sign I’m getting old (sigh). You start to slow down, not because you’re tired, but because you realize what you have right next to you is most important.

So now, my main focus is on weddings all around the American Southwest — places I can get to relatively quickly and that take less out of me. But don’t get me wrong, that old itch is still there. I’ve got some weddings lined up back on the East Coast and Chicago, my old stomping grounds, and I couldn’t be more stoked. If you’re reading this and thinking “ugh, so she’s not available for my Boston wedding?” Hold your horses, I absolutely am (as long as I’m not already booked that day, of course). This is simply a reflection on how much my life and priorities have changed after almost eight years of documenting love stories under Twin Flames. It’s not better or worse, just different, and that’s ok.

And now all this reflection has me nostalgic for the “living out of a bag” days. Ugh. I guess it’s all about balance.

I hope this makes you think about getting out there more, too. Even if it’s just driving an hour away from wherever you reside, that little shake-up in environment can be the rejuvenating shift you needed all along.

x,

Savanna

Pet tax (I didn't forget):

And while I'm at it, here's some old photos I took on a roadtrip to Asheville, NC that I found while trying to find the pet tax photos. Taken on a Holga 120 with Ilford HP5 and Fujicolor Pro 400H: