Allow me to share a little bit about my love with you. I have three cats (Jean Jacques, Newton, and Piedmont) who share a place in my heart and home with my mostly fabulous boyfriend Andrew. I met Andrew (aka my pinky promise partner and meal-prep pal) in high school through the debate team and our mutual love of a really nerdy argument.

Before you share your love story with me...

So I took the scary leap, quit my day job, and worked tirelessly to build a business and life that gave me as much sustained joy as I felt when capturing others most special memories.

Fast forward to today and I'm proud to say I've run my photography business full-time for two years and the little camp Andrew and I started now boasts a staff of 21, and hosts 150 students from across the country for a week every summer. I'm a big fan of growth (in my business, my partnership, and myself) and I love following anything in life that can truly impact those around me. Even better if I can do that work from the comfort of my PJ’s next to my three favorite adorable but very sleepy kitty co-workers.

While our love story has plenty of fairytale-worthy moments, I think it's more honest to admit that it actually took me telling him I liked him three times before we moved from best friendship to a partnership that's lasted for four years and counting!

After that third year of camp, I kept learning what I could about photography, taking photos of anyone who would pay me any sum of money through Facebook groups and word of mouth. After a year of building a photography business as a side hustle, I discovered that there wasn't any job that I loved as much as running my own business and capturing moments couples could cherish for generations. 

When we started MDI it was just me, Andrew, and 12 students following a love of debate and trusting that two 19 year olds could grow the camp we wished we had when we were high schoolers. It was actually three years into MDI that I first picked up a professional camera to document our experience. 

What I love most about Andrew is his love of learning, his unending kindness and generous spirit, and the fact he only gets a little irritated when I remind him that I won the last debate round we had against each other in high school. Andrew and I are still involved in the debate community, coaching high school debate during the fall and winter and co-running the Minnesota Debate Institute (MDI), an accessible debate camp that we co-founded around the same time we co-founded our relationship.