One year ago today my darlingest niece Evangeline made her grand entrance into the world. Before she arrived, I thought about what it would be like to be an aunt. I imagined a sweet, gentle love for someone who was now a member of our small family of 5. I had no idea. The first time I saw Evie, my soul shook with a brand new emotion. My older brother, and only sibling, stood beside me as we looked through the hospital glass. I found myself glancing back and forth, from Michael to Evie, from Evie to Michael. She was his daughter! This fully formed, fully alive tiny person, once invisible was now here with us. Her beautiful and brave mother had worked tirelessly to bring her safely to us. And, just like that, here she was! 10 fingers, 10 toes, and a full, floppy, jet black, soft as a rabbit, head of hair. And, to my surprise, my love for her was anything but gentle. It was fierce. It ached as it ran through my body. It swam up to my eyes and rained down my cheeks. I've never felt love like I've felt for my niece. It is giving without a thought of receiving back. It is treasuring like another second and it might all be over. It is hopeful in the face of life's bitter heartaches. True, powerful, unabashed, silly, giddy, dancing, squealing love. This is the love I have for you, Evie.

Yesterday, I made the same trek I did a year ago to Indiana, Pennsylvania. Only this time it was bittersweet. Next month I won't be spending the Fourth of July in Pennsylvania like I typically do. Next visit they make to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Maryland, I won't be living in the room across from theirs. Next hug I get from my niece, she'll be walking. In just a few weeks I'll be packing up my car and my cat and moving a thousand miles away to Minnesota. I'm ready, I know that. But that doesn't make the goodbyes sting any less. I love that dear town in Pennsylvania. It's where I made some of the sweetest memories growing up. It's where Michael met Jocelyn and fell in love. It's also where I met my sweet Stefan. It will always hold a special place in my heart. So, it only seemed fitting that I take a few last photos of my brother, Jocelyn, and Evie on the steps of Jocelyn's parents' house in that sweet town. I love you three. Come visit me soon!

You are my precious niece, Evie, now and always. Happy 1st birthday! Let's be friends forever.

Love, Aunt Lydia

Hello and welcome to my best kept secret! Lydiajane.com has finally received a much needed facelift and complete rebrand. I've spent months (actually years) trying to decide what direction I would take my photography business in. I still love photographing weddings but I wanted to open up my website to showcase more of who I am as an artist. I've rebranded Lydia Jane to give a more modernized, artistic feel as a whole. This is hugely thanks of my designer Breanna Rose who I will talk about a little later. Besides the overall "look" there's a page with some non-photography related art that I've done. I hope this this will be just a taste of what's to come in the future as I aim to show off more of my non-wedding related photography as well as art in general. It's also my goal to create a page where you can easily order prints of my photography. All projects for the future.

But, speaking of the future, I have another big announcement. And that is that I will be moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota this summer. That's right, Lydia Jane Photography will be based out of the midwest! I'm moving so I can (finally) live in the same state as my boyfriend. However, I will still be back on the East Coast to visit family and friends pretty frequently. So if you were hoping to book me in this area definitely still drop me a line. This has been a scary decision to make. My primary client base has been in MD/DC/PA for 8 years now. But, even while living here, I've been blessed with work far and wide. I hope for more opportunities like that, just this time based out of Minneapolis!

(PS - The quote above is from Little Women and it's one of my favorites.)

With so many new things on the horizon it seemed fitting that my new website and brand would debut on the dawn of all this excitement. I've put a lot of work into deciphering my thoughts and ideas and dreams for my little bitty business all grown up. But the majority of the actual *doing* belongs to someone named Breanna Rose. I first approached Bre over a year ago. I was a little ahead of myself but I knew I wanted to hire her. Her work is wonderful and I really connected with it. The ball didn't start rolling until the beginning of this year. Bre gave me worksheets and I assembled Pinterest boards and we exchanged dozens and dozens of emails. Confession: I'm a hands-on crazy perfectionist. I knew this about myself before, but good lord, it showed in all sorts of new colors through this process. Bless Bre for putting up with my tweaks and adjustments to the most minor things. Initially we came up with a moodboard to embody my brand.

As a self employed business owner based out of my house, I'm kind of used to talking to myself a lot of the time. I wear pajama pants for most the day, don't shower until 2pm, and eat potato chips right out of the bag. Exposing my business to a third party to rebrand was about the most uncomfortable, vulnerable thing I've done in 8 years of running my business. Every email I exchanged spun me into a minor panic attack. How does one even decide what colors and fonts you're going to like for years to come? What if I don't like end result? And, more importantly, how am I going to convey my style / approach / artistry to a complete stranger?

After a short time getting to know me and my business, Bre came up with this description: "Lydia Jane Photography is a studio that captures lifestyle, portrait, and wedding imagery in an artistic / documentary style. Being that Lydia is personable, friendly, and passionate about what she does - clients often feel comfortable and at ease in front of the camera, which makes for the perfect atmosphere in capturing ordinary life, beautifully. Through thoughtful composition and the ability to accurately portray subject matter, Lydia is a storyteller. Her work speaks for itself and provides clients with a wonderfully inspired look into their real life. Lydia Jane Photography's branding should be innovative, yet modern & clean, to ensure her work stands out."

It felt like someone was understanding me for the very first time. It felt WONDERFUL. I couldn't believe how quickly she *got* it. (Bre, if you're reading this, thank you so so much.) With my beautiful new brand in tow, I threw together the website myself. No, "threw together" makes it sound fast. It was not fast. Perfectionist Lydia doesn't do anything fast, haha. But I'm really happy with it and I hope you are too!

So, tadaa! Here's my baby all grown up! I'm so nervous and excited and happy it's finally public. Go explore the site! I have more pages and information to add but I just couldn't wait to launch any longer. I leave early tomorrow morning for Hawaii for 2 weeks but keep your eye out for a pretty awesome giveaway when I return!

Thank you all for your support and love all these years.

xx Lydia