Nobody ever said starting over would be easy …
I met the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with and yesterday we started towards that “forever” when he proposed under the fireworks at the National Harbor in Maryland.

I’m a Jersey girl who fell in love with a Michigan guy who is a United States Marine. We met 2 years ago, dated, and fell in love. He left for Afghanistan last January and returned this past August [hardest 7 months of our lives but we made it through!]

When he returned I left my amazing home state of New Jersey and joined him in North Carolina for a brief stay until we moved this past October to our new home in Stafford, Virginia [Norther Virginia]. The comforting thing was that I was never scared to go and sometimes I can be a scardy cat about new things but not this! I can’t remember one moment of fear as my mom and I packed my boxes to leave the state I called home for 34 years of my life…the place where a majority of my family and friends still reside…home of the amazing JERSEY SHORE [no, no...not that horrible excuse for a television show...the sandy beaches and boardwalks of New Jersey!]

I never feared because I was excited to start my life with this most amazing man I know. My true love and HERO. A stand up guy who loves me and supports me, a hard working man who volunteers his service to this amazing country…the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The hardest part of the transition of moving away from home wasn’t the moving itself but the starting over in a new place where you don’t know a soul and you’re unsure of where to begin. I’ve never felt this before so it’s like walking blindly through a new experience until you find your way. I had a successful photography business back in Jersey and now I’m starting the journey of figuring out how to build that business back up here in Virginia. I have a lot of work to do and a lot of pavement to pound to get there and that’s a whole new ballgame for me! Something I never had to do when I started this business back in 2007.

But as this quote from my friend Julie’s gorgeous photo of the two of us says: “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” That’s what I wanted. I wanted my life I’ve always wanted to finally start and it finally has. I have confidence that I will build my photography business here…because no matter what I’ve always been able to FIND A WAY to do the things I want to do in life and this will be no different! When you love what you do – nothing can get in your way!

If you are in the vicinity of Stafford Virginia and are looking for a photographer to capture your life’s fleeting moments then take a look at my work and contact me to book a session!
Special thanks to Julie Lawson of Julie Lawson Photography who’s four photos of C & I are above. They were taken during her visit to New Jersey this past September at my favorite Jetty in Avon By The Sea and on the boardwalk in Point Pleasant. They are what has turned into our official Engagement Photos and I know she will have many more to share from the day on her blog. Thank you Julie for capturing these beautiful moments we will treasure forever!











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