My 27th birthday was fantastic. I spent the entire day with my fiancé who took the day off from work. I had dinner at my favorite restaurant in Bremerton and took a rare day off to relax. But the highlight was actually a belated surprise the next day…I won my first Fearless Photography Award for a photo from Kara & Jon’s wedding.

The moment in this photo happened during Kara and Jon’s wedding ceremony. The three flower girls were pretty active and restless as the ceremony began. They were moving around and not sitting in their seats. Being aware of this, I figured it was likely that something unexpected could happen. I noticed one wander off during the middle of the ceremony and she started picking up the petals she had just thrown during the processional. The vows had not began so I knew I had time to run and capture this photo. I ventured around the long way to remain unnoticed. I crouched down and took 10-15 photos of the flower girl gathering her petals. I love this image because it is not one of the most obvious moments during a wedding. It is also something the family can look back on and laugh about for years to come.  

It is exciting to have won my first Fearless Photography Award, but more importantly, I think it is cool for the couple to know that one of their wedding photos is truly recognized as award-winning. It is a fun gift to share with both Kara and Jon.

Of the 10,000 submitted photos, only 218 were selected for Fearless Awards. That means that around the world,  only 2% of photographs received awards. To put it short, it is extremely hard to win a Fearless Photographers Award. I’m still a little in shock – but more-so, motivated to earn another one! For those not familiar with Fearless Photographers Fearless Photography Awards are awarded to the best award winning wedding photographers in the world for couples who truly love wedding photography. It is a worldwide competition open to all wedding photographers.