Whew. Friends, it has been a crazy few weeks. My busiest month of the year has come to a close, and I am so excited to have a little more time in July and August to relax and enjoy the summertime!! With 5 weddings (including one destination wedding!), my first double header, a surprise birthday trip, a workshop, 3 seniors, mentoring sessions and engagement shoots…some may say it may not have been the best time to move into a new studio space. Buuuuut…I did it anyway 🙂

While I absolutely adored my old space, I knew when I moved in that I didn’t want to stay there permanently. The space was inside of a business building (so my clients had to find their way through the building to get to me), it had no windows (absolutely NO natural light), it was super small (especially for workshops + teaching),  and it just wasn’t necessarily ideal. When the one year mark started to approach and I was debating whether or not to re-sign the lease, I was walking through the downtown (paying slightly more attention than usual to the “for lease” signs) and decided to do a little Google-ing. I found this new space through a wonderful realtor and fell in LOVE with it. When you see before photos you might think I’m crazy for loving it…but I saw potential!!! I saw hard wood floors, tall ceilings and WINDOWS!! Hallelujah natural light!! The current tenant’s move-out date aligned perfectly with my desired move-in date and I prayed over it before signing the lease one week later. Friends, this space is my DREAM space!!! It is the perfect size + location in downtown Fredericksburg and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you!!!

A HUGE part of the heart behind this studio move was the Senior Photography Workshop. The very first workshop was hosted in March and, while we made it work, it was definitely super cramped (and the offices next to me weren’t overly thrilled with the amount of noise coming from the workshop! Oops!). With another workshop coming up in August (and hopefully more coming soon!) I knew that a bigger space would be necessary if I wanted to avoid having to rent a venue for each workshop. These workshops are a HUGE part of my heart and I hope to continue to teach more and more of them…so it was a huge deciding factor in the move. Additionally, I needed more space for shooting in-studio, more room for the Senior Styling Studio that was growing faster than I could keep up and I wanted nothing more than to have a DOOR. Seriously…as silly as that sounds, having a door to my own space with street access makes such a HUGE difference in my client’s experience!! Instead of trying to maneuver through a business building to find my little office space…they can just find my bright aqua door!!! 🙂

Needless to say, the last few weeks have been filled with SO much joy, excitement and love but also with stress, long t0-do lists and overwhelming projects. I cannot thank my parents and best friends enough for their help and support to make this happen!!! While I was shooting weddings in another state, my parents were at the studio overseeing painting and moving furniture. My dad was putting together desks and my mom was putting final touches on details that I wouldn’t have even thought about. My family is seriously the BEST and I could not be more thankful for them.

So, what does this studio space mean for my #htpseniors!? Not only are there MORE boutiques in the Senior Styling Studio for you to shop before your session, but there is now a private dressing room, a BEAUTIFUL solid gold sequin backdrop for studio portraits, a new and improved Beauty Bar/makeup room and, my personal favorite, a kitchenette with tons of yummy snacks to enjoy between shooting! YAY!!

We’re almost to the pictures, I promise!!! 🙂 But, I also want to say a HUGE thank you to the amazing boutiques who sponsor the studio + allow me to offer such a unique experience for my clients! Monkee’s of Fredericksburg (which is now RIGHT around the corner!), Peacaloo Boutique, Boutique on Caroline Street, Devin Ashton Designs, Seneca’s Bridal and Pink Ivy Boutique: THANK YOU!!

Before we get to the pretty “after” pictures…I have to share just a few “before” pictures of the space right when I moved in!

Okay…now for the big reveal!!!!

AH! SO many options from the boutique partners!!!

Helloooooo double desk for mentoring sessions!!!

Thank you so much to Erika for the rest of these shots!!!

YAY! If you are ever in downtown Fredericksburg and want to come say hi, my address is 213 George Street Fredericksburg, VA 22401!! Come see me!!! 🙂

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy these:

HTP Studio | The Big Reveal (last year’s reveal of the old studio!)

Overcoming Jealousy and Comparison 

Birthday Surprise