Thank you 2016 – welcome 2017

I am sitting here at our dinner table in our 1950s house that still feels like our new home, though we already live here 7 months. The table is covered in envelopes and cards for the family and Conrad is packing all our Christmas gifts in blue paper. This year has been more than a whirlwind, it has been a tornado. Two times moving, two times renovating, rebuilding, packing, unpacking, cleaning, gardening, decorating, feeling home again, a wedding and a webshop that grew so quickly that it took over our lives the past six months. I don’t have words for these past months, the past 12 months as it all started last year Christmas with the decision to move the office into an industrial hall and to move our home into my grandparents home. Actually it all started October 2015 when Conrad proposed to me…. But anyhow… My heart is full:

With all the people that helped us this year and showed their unconditional love and selfless help during all the renovations, the movings, the gardening, the christmas markets, the sewing for the monogram shop, the packing and shipping for the shop … we needed a lot of support and help this year and without those people we wouldn’t be sitting here today by our fireplace with those goofy smiles on our face.

With all the people that thought of us on our civil wedding day. We thought it is JUST a civil wedding as we still plan our BIG wedding next year that we were blown away by so many people coming to our home that day, the cards, the messages, the presents…. we felt so so so loved.

With all our wedding clients in 2016. As you know I didn’t even blog one wedding from this year and I won’t be allowed to share all of them with you but you can be sure the ones that you will see are all beautiful, unique days that make you want to get married (again). Thanks to all our 2016 couples – you all made this year extra special to us.

With all our clients from the meinmonogramm.de webshop. As you know we run this shop since May 2015 and as it is part of me and my life now it will also be part of this blog. To run a webshop with personalized products is something so different to being a wedding photographer and it demands a lot from us but we love this challenge so much.

With my husband who is brave enough to marry me with all my flaws and edges, who is structured enough to get all orders embroided, sewed, packed and shipped right on time for Christmas, who builds me a walk-in closet and feeds me peanut butter when I am sick in bed on a Sunday afternoon. 2016 has been so special to us and brought us even closer together, I could have never imagined.

Looking at our nordic fireplace, my feet on 60 year old wooden floorboards, with the old sliding doors of my grand parents behind my chair and my husband packing our Christmas presents next to me I just can say … 2016 you have been such a wonderful, whirlwind to us and you brought me home. Cheers to 2017 and what it holds for us.

At the same time I have been to way too many funerals this year of people that died too early…. way too early. Seeing the news and what is happening in this crazy world out there makes me sad and frightens me. We can be so lucky to live save and sound in peace and prosperity. If you are reading this before Christmas Eve I ask you to stop a second and think about everything that you are grateful for this year. I am sure there are many things.

I wish you all wonderful Christmas days with your family and friends and a happy, healthy and beloved year 2017.

julia_schick_fotografie_hochzeit_jennifer_conrad_189

image of us Julia Schick