We are in the heart of engagement season, my friends. It seems like every day, I see a friend showing off her new bling on Facebook or Instagram. I read the other day that 30-40% of proposals take place between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day.

I know it can be stressful picking the images from your wedding or boudoir session that you're going to display throughout your home or put into an album. The task seems daunting--how are you supposed to pick just a hundred of your favorite images from the best day of your life to grace the pages of your wedding album? 

In order to be successful in business and in life, I think it is important to ask ourselves why we do what we do. I believe we should evaluate what it is that drives us, why we wake up each day and make the choices we make, and what gives us joy and a sense of fulfillment. 

There are some couples and love stories that give you warm fuzzy feelings from your head to your toes. As a wedding photographer, if you're lucky, you might get to feel this multiple times in a year. 

Friends, we've come to the end of 2017. Each year, I'm mystified as to where the days went, pages of the calendar flipping by. It seems like just yesterday I was writing about 2016 being the most challenging year of my life, and now here we are. New Year's Eve 2017 is just days away, and it's time to write another Year in Review post. I wanted to close out this year by sharing a bit of myself with you and leave you with a few thoughts. 

The late afternoon sun peeked through tall trees, casting warm, dappled light on the ceremony site Michel and Emmanuel had created for their intimate wedding. Set in the backyard of Michel's childhood home, Michel and Emmanuel surrounded themselves with their closest friends and family as they pledged their lives to one another.

I just love this time of year. Snowflakes float through the air on a regular basis, Christmas lights twinkle through windows, and presents are neatly wrapped under the treat. It's also ENGAGEMENT SEASON!

James Cash Penny said, "Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together."  The past few months, I have been quietly focusing on growth and how to make the KLEM Studios photography experiences bigger and better. 

When I first talked with Valerie about her's and Dylan's wedding plans, my heart started beating faster. She painted a picture of a gorgeous fall engagement session in Door County leading up to their early fall wedding in Kewaunee a year later.

When a couple wants to personalize their engagement session and use locations that mean something to them, it lights up my soul and my inner self does a happy little victory dance. Sure, couples that are in love are going to look great no matter where they decide to stage their engagement session.

"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." Helen Keller said these famous words, I'm sure we've all heard them before. As I've gotten older and grown in my business as well, I've learned the truth in that saying. If we aren't taking risks in life, or seeking the unknown, or wandering off the popular path, are we really living? 

After a loss, it can be difficult to traverse the dating world. Many thoughts may go through your head, from wondering if you're being respectful to your deceased loved one, to doubting that you will ever love again. Cindy had experienced tragedy, but found a flicker of hope when she met Stacy. 

When couples ask me for wedding planning advice, I always recommend doing things that will make your wedding uniquely yours. 

Let's be honest, planning your wedding isn't all sunshine and rainbows all the time. There are a lot of decisions to be made, and it can be really stressful. Pinterest inspires so many ideas, it can be hard to have it all come together. 

As a wedding photographer, I am blessed to work with incredible, in-love couples on a regular basis. But then there are some couples that reach down deep inside you and latch on, taking a special place in your heart because of the epic love they show each other. 

On a brilliantly sunny August day, Ryan and Kayla said "I do" at the Mary Ann Cofrin Hall Gardens at UWGB. Both alumni of UWGB (as am I, go Phoenix!), Kayla and Ryan wanted to tie in the place where they first met each other in their wedding festivities. 

The life that I have built has allowed me the gift of travel on a regular basis. <-- That sentence right there gives me goosebumps because this is something I have wanted for as long as I can remember. I took the plunge and went full-time with my photography career in December 2016, and man, was that a scary decision.

Friendship is a privilege to be treasured always. There are many different types of friendships--work friendships, best friends, the friendship you share with your parents and significant other...the possibilities are almost endless. 

Erin's dress gently flowed and sashayed with each step she took down the aisle towards her waiting groom, Matt. Matt gazed at Erin, sneaking glances at their daughter, Vivian, along the way. Matt and Erin planned a beautifully intimate affair at Sepia Chapel in Green Bay to celebrate their wedding day. 

How many of you stayed in your home town after high school and college? Did you put down roots where you grew up, or did you start fresh somewhere new? For Ali, the answer was hitting the road and settling down in a new place: Denver, Colorado.