Happy new year everyone! 2015 has been a wonderful year with ups and downs, mostly ups. God has blessed me with many opportunities, good health and genuine relationships. 2015 was the year of
Adele's Hello hit and
Drake's "Hotline Bling". I still can't get those songs out of my head. =) My favorite movie of 2015 was
Straight Outta Compton, you must see. I shot my first
surprise wedding, that was pretty awesome.
I'm thankful for my new and old friendships, my new hubby and my family. I celebrated my 5th year of being a full time wedding photographer and I'm blessed to still be doing what I love, every single day. I was honored to shoot 30 weddings with the most genuine and "In LOVE" couples. I started a new photography
instagram feed. It's titled "My life in color".
Our Christmas Card.
2015 at a glance:
Me and Stu tie the knot
1. This feels like old news but "I got married!" I married my high school friend and we couldn't be happier. I'm am a sucker for everyone else's love story but I'm a sucker for my love story more, teehee. Our wedding was published on
California Wedding Day! You can check out the feature
here, and see more photos
here. It was such a new experience being on the other side of the lens.
2. We said good-bye to my grandmother
If any of you know me, you know that me and my grandmother were extremely close. My 3 year old niece always said "Carissa and Nana are best friends". She raised me and my sister and I visited her 3-5 times a week. I will miss our weekly dimsum dates, her rosy cheeks and her heart of Gold. 2015 was a very tough year for her and our family. Her bad days were quickly becoming a frequent thing. I was there on her last night (new years eve) and I felt her spirits slip away. She no longer has to suffer and she is in a better place. It was her dream to see me get married to a great man and I'm thankful she got to witness that.
Annie Woo - September 15, 1927-December 31, 2015. Photos shot by my assistant Dipan Desai.
3. Awards - Finalist for California Wedding day Los Angeles Best Wedding Photographer
On a lighter night, I won 2015 The Knot Best of Weddings Award for the 3rd time. Woohoo! I have over (40) 5 star reviews from my wedding clients. I give my all to my clients and this award makes me so proud.
Also, it was a huge honor to be a top 5 finalist for California Wedding Day - Best Los Angeles Photographer. Thousands of people voted! California Wedding Day threw a huge party for us. I don't have a photo from the event but I will post this photos of my Christmas present from my assistant Jenny Phan.
My assistant had her fiance drop of this huge #girlboos poster at my house on Christmas day. When I came home and saw this infront of my computer, I was smiling ear to ear. Sophia Amorouso started Nasty Gal, a 1 billion dollar vintage clothing company and wrote the book #girlboss. I love her book and I look forward to her weekly podcast where she interviews successful girl bosses.
I posted this photos on istagram and Thy Sophia Amorouso commented and said "This is amazing” It was a true #girlbossmoment for me.
4. I was on TV! Love Wins!
My friend Slomique from
Carpe Diem Events reached out to me and said "I have a HUGE Opportunity for you." Do you want to be the wedding photographer for
David Tutera’s Celebrations?" As I jumped up and down, I said “YES”. David Dutera is a celebrity wedding planner and he is known for his over the top weddings. I shot this beautiful wedding at Epona Estates and you can check it out
here. Leslie Jones from SNL was a special guest at the wedding, she was hilarious. This wedding was broadcasted on
WeTV.
This is the first year that
same sex marriages were legal in California so I was honored to be apart of this union. Love Wins!
- New York - We visited Stu's Brother and his wife for Halloween. I was twin emoji's with my sister in-law and a black swan the next night. I love playing dress up.
- Palm Springs with my girl friends for some R & R.
- I shot a wedding in Mammoth Lakes and also got to enjoy the trip with Stu. You can see the wedding here, it's one of my favorite weddings.
- We took our first road trip. Day 1 // We brought in the new year in Phoenix Arizona. Day 2 // Grand Canyon - what breathtaking views. Day 3 // Zion National Park
- I started a Youtube channel
I’ve been wanting to start a youtube channel ever since I started my wedding photography company 5 years ago. I would have been famous by now, jk. I didn't have the knowledge or confidence back then. I’m extremely awkward in front of the camera but I know I will get more comfortable the more I do it. Public speaking is my biggest fear and this channel has helped me get over my fear. I finally took the plunge, please subscribe
here. I feel like there are many youtube channels catered toward wedding photographers but not many focussing on brides.
6. I got in Shape - I love to eat and I love sugary drinks, carbs, fried rice and pasta all day, errrvryday. I love to drink too. I posed this before and after photo and I got a lot of positive comments, thank you everyone. I filled the year with lots of activities. I ran my first half marathon at Disneyland,
Tinker run, I took a weekend long pilates workshop in San Diego with the youtube sensation Cassey Ho from
Blogilates. I also made minor adjustment to my diet, like drinking less beer and not eating past 7:30pm. It's the little things that helped me loose belly fat. I feel better than ever.
7. Boudoir Company taking off
I've been shooting boudoir for 6 years now but I finally got the new website running. You can check out the new site at
Little Miss Lace. My team and I have been shooting a boudoir/beauty session at least once a week. These women are empowering. The female body is a beautiful thing, all shapes and sizes and all ages. I also wanted to bring awareness to breast cancer so I featured to survivors on my blog. You can check it out
here.
Conclusion and what to look forward to in 2016 / my favorite books to kick off 2016
Thank you everyone for following my blog, it means the world to me. 2016 is going to be an amazing year for everyone. I want to leave you with some motivation to kick off the new year. I picked up this audio book the first week of the new year, The Miracle Morning. This book is about not living in mediocrity.. It's easy to get lazy and distracted being your own boss but this book had helped me get focussed and wake up like it is Christmas morning everyday. After I ready this book I started waking up early and going to soul cycle or crossfit and living each day with purpose.
I also love the book the Life Changing Magic of Tidying up. This book blew my mind. I decluttered my room and bathroom, donated 10 bags of stuff that weren't bringing me any joy. I feel so much calmer and happier. Cheers to a happy and healthy new year.
