Santorini is about as quintessential Greece as you could imagine. White washed walls, bright pops of color, fresh seafood eaten al fresco next to tiny fishing boats rocking back and forth in the sea. If you ever have the chance to go, rent a car or atv to get out of the “city” and explore the small chapels dotting the landscape and relax on the black beach. Or, feel free to spend a lazy afternoon sitting on your balcony, watching the ocean, and drinking a bottle of the local wine {as we did }. A tour of the volcano and the Santorini brewing company should also not be missed!

Someday I’ll go back. Until then….

All photos taken with Kodak Portra 400 & 800 35mm film.

**please note that I don’t condone the mistreatment of donkey’s or any other kind of animal and that I didn’t pay anyone to take those photos. thanks.**

These two are spending their summer away from teaching, in Belize, Greece and Spain!! {all places I hold dear} I am unbelievably jealous

 And a special thanks to my second shooter, Quyen!

dear B. i know you know how strangely perfect that band of horse’s lyric is, coming from me to you. i don’t think i could have said it any better if i tried. but i’ll try.

it’s hard to believe that this crazy world that we’re trying to travel our way across has made another little trip of it’s own around the sun already again. this second year of marriage has been so very good to us in so many different ways {we have a new kitchen! we collected another capital!} and we’ve had the opportunity to do so much traveling both near and far, which is always my very most favorite version of us.

i think it really hit me as we were driving all around turkey, lost on purpose or not lost at all, just how exactly right you are for me. you probably think that sounds weird. but for most of my twenties, i wanted it to be true. and on that june saturday two years ago, i hoped against everything that it would be true. but this year is the year that it really, honestly felt true. and oh. how beautiful that feeling is.

not that i need to tell you. i’m certain you’ve known this all along but sometimes these things take me more time to figure out. you know. just like when i asked you when you knew that you wanted to marry me and you looked at me all crazy like it was the weirdest question in the world. because i, i would have labored over that decision for months. analyzed every square inch of my heart and our relationship searching for the answer to that huge, life altering question. and you, you apparently just woke up one day and knew you wanted to buy a ring. and that right there is the summation of every reason why i need you in my world.

i, for the life of me, cannot imagine anyone else on this planet that i could spend 25,000+ consecutive minutes with, in small spaces in foreign countries. and then miss like crazy the minute we get home and are back to regular life. i sincerely hope that we always have the means and the ability and the desire to travel together. and to walk through this insanely imperfect and beautiful life together. i wouldn’t wish it any other way.

i like you a lot. and i’m endlessly grateful that i am yours and that you are mine. cheers to year three {and all the ones after that too}

xo, m.e.

———————-

last year’s letter.

———————–

Over the weekend my sister and brother-in-law welcomed these two sweet little girls, Quinn Elise and Reese Lauren, into their family, growing it from three to five just like that. I love being an aunt and am so excited that little Quinners and I share a middle name! Can’t wait to watch them grow and learn their personalities. Also fun is having three year old Paige tell me about her “baby sisters”. So super cute.

See you two lovebirds so soon for the best day ever. xx.

More than anything, I walked away knowing that, film or digital, I want my pictures to have more weight and meaning. In this current age, it’s so easy to be a photographer. To rapid fire off pictures onto a memory card and never consider if they’re good or meaningful or whether you would actually print them. Hold them in your hand and save them for a future generation. When I shoot film, I am painfully slow {just ask Brent} because I want to be absolutely sure that what I’m capturing has value, that it’s worth developing. This is how I want to shoot all the time – film, digital, or iphone; weddings or personal work – not slow necessarily, but conscientiously. And I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to be part of this workshop that has pushed me to do that and learn more of the technical aspects of film.

Since I’ve been back, I bought a used Mamiya RZ Pro II that I can’t wait to learn and incorporate into my weddings and personal work. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorites from my week in Austin {shot on a Nikon N90S and various Kodak film}. A super huge thanks and hugs to Jon Canlas and Catherine Abegg and all of the other photographers {including my roommate, Anda!} for making the week the raddest. xo.

{self portrait on the morning of my last day of 29}

I remember my twentieth birthday clear as day.

I had just returned home from a semester of studying abroad in Sevilla. A semester that was fun and crazy and confusing in the way that only a few months in college really can be. I had gained 12 pounds on paella, pan and tinto de veranos and was suddenly thrust back into my high school bedroom at my parents house after months of absolute freedom on a different continent where I had showed up knowing absolutely no one. The night before my birthday, I was finishing up a sixteen hour shift at the hospital that I worked at and I remember distinctly thinking – “this is my last hour of my teens” and feeling instantly terrified and really really sad at letting go of such a substantial piece of my life. How was that even ten years ago??! It seems almost impossible.

Today is the day before my thirtieth birthday.

I wanted to take a quick picture this morning to remember the last day of my twenties without putting too much emphasis on /what it all means/. I could over analyze and write all day about this whole age thing and what I’ve accomplished and learned in my twenties and what I hope for and expect from my thirties but honestly..

I am here. And with this guy.

And I’m not terrified at all.

“be brave enough to break your own heart.”

_

Part I.