Happy FIFTH year to my best wedding photos annual post! I’ve been doing these posts every year for the past five years (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016), and boy have I come a long way. Choosing my best Maui wedding photos of 2020 was pretty easy this year. Why? Because, ya know, pandemic and all.

 

The year started off with a bang

Honestly, 2020 couldn’t have started off better. We had our family documented in an epic Day in the Life Session with Life By Brea.

Then in February, I was off to an amazing workshop by my friends Jos and Tree, followed by my first ever WPPI in Vegas! Not only was I going to catch up with all of my friends, but I also had the opportunity to speak at the MagMod booth – a kickass company for which I am an ambassador.

Interested in seeing my talk? Here ya go! (PS – how’s that still for ya?)

I returned home from WPPI with a fire lit under my ass to get to work and to outdo myself from 2019.

 

2020 wasn’t the year I thought it was going to be

Going into 2020 I had a nearly fully booked wedding schedule. I was even going to travel to the Big Island for a wedding AND Mackinac Island in Michigan (a dream spot for me as I spent many summers there as a kid). There was a ton to look forward to. But then March rolled around. And I had to write THIS article (yikes).

2020 was supposed to be my year to boom. I had all my dream clients lined up and it seemed the stars were aligning. Of course how many of us said that about 2020? This was going to be my year.

But as it turns out, 2020 ended up being just wanted I needed to reevaluate my priorities and make new goals.

 

Making another Nelson

It was one of 2020 goals anyway: to complete our family. We had our first daughter Evelyn Sue in 2017 and it felt like the timing was right. If we timed it all out, Baby Nelson #2 would come somewhere between December and March 2021 – right before the busy season for weddings.

When the shit started to hit the fan in March of 2020, Anthony and I sat down and had a long and hard conversation about whether or not this was the best idea for our family. A pandemic complicates things and left a lot to the imagination. But we decided to move forward with the plan anyway and just let the cards fall as they may.

Our second daughter, Claire Maire was born on January 3, 2021 – two weeks before her due date. I’ll be writing about that soon! But you can read our pregnancy announcement post here.

 

But 2020 wasn’t a complete wash

A lot of good things came from 2020.

I was nominated again for Rangefinder’s 30 Rising Stars. I didn’t win, but it was cool to be nominated for the second year in a row.

I also got one more Honorable Mention and one Finalist from Fearless Photographers. One of these days I’ll get the coveted Fearless Award. For now, I’m trying not to put much stock into it. Would it be cool? Hell yeah. But it also doesn’t define my worth as a wedding photographer.

I taught a website course with my friend – and now business partner – Dave Moss. Then in May, we launched Business as an Adventure! If you are a photographer reading this and want to up your photography business game, join our FB group for free education weekly!

And, of course, I had the absolute sweetest couples from around the country trust me to document their special time here on Maui. I typically don’t include engagement and sweetheart sessions in my best-of roundup, but since 2020 broke all the rules last year, I’m going to break them too.

 

Best Wedding Photos of 2020

 

There are SO many more photos I wanted to include in this post – but here’s the thing: I worked hella hard on the slideshow below (and had it ALMOST completed on January 2…but SOMEONE decided to come 2 weeks early…) – and I’d much rather you watch that!

The last thing I will leave you with:

With all the cancellations of 2020, it looks as though the end of 2021 and all of 2022 is going to be hopping and I’m already booking up!

If you’re looking to get hitched and are considering me as your photographer, let’s chat!