Our Personal Top 12 Moments of 2020
January 22, 2021
Over the years, Sarah and I have developed a January tradition of using this slow season to write a few more reflective blogs, aimed at recapping the previous year. In case you missed it, Behind the Scenes 2020 was a goofy and light-hearted look at what last year was like from our side of the cameras!
And now, we’re turning toward an even more personal reflection. Earlier this month, we noticed an Instagram trend where our friends were posting one photo to describe each month of 2020. While this blog doesn’t work out quite so neatly, we felt like it gave us an excuse to expand to our top twelve personal moments from last year! Despite the lockdown, COVID-19, and a myriad of other insanities that 2020 brought, there are still nuggets to be celebrated and remembered!
1. Boston/Vermont Ski Weekend with Friends
Ah January, 2020. We were all so young, so innocent. No idea of the world-changing, history-making global pandemic that was headed our way. Sarah and I kicked off 2020 by making a trip up to Boston to visit my best friend Caleb and meet his then-girlfriend (now wife!).
We spent a little time in Boston, then hopped in the car and just barely made it to Stowe, Vermont ahead of a snow storm with some of their Boston friends! Of course, we couldn’t visit Vermont without stopping at THE Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory! Sarah and I do love us some B&J 😋
2. Shooting a Wedding in Miami with Eric Kelley
The following month we were on a plane again, this time to travel to Fisher Island, Florida to shoot an absolute blowout of a wedding alongside our mentor photographer, Eric Kelley. Although I had gotten to travel to Colorado and even Mexico with Eric in the past, this was our first time assisting him together! This meant that we got to enjoy Miami as a couple when we weren’t shooting this breathtaking wedding.
On the wedding day itself, we were part of a 7-person media team (4 photographers, 2 videographers and a drone guy!). That may sound like a lot, until you realize that this was a 350+ person wedding with easily a $1M budget. To give you a sense of the grandeur, the guests were transported to Fisher Island from Miami Beach via a 200-ft yacht, complete with red carpet and everything! This was definitely one for us to remember!
3. We Started Going to Petite MarieBette
When the Pandemic reached the shores of the US and everything began to shut down, we went into lockdown on March 16th just like everyone else in Virginia. Our one joy (and often the only time we left the house each week) was a Saturday morning trip to a local french bakery, Petite MarieBette.
Their coffee, their croissant breakfast sandwiches, their pastries, their bread — you name it, we probably tried it during those months in lockdown. Grabbing a bite then walking the (almost totally empty) Downtown Mall was literally the only time we left our home some weeks. Since the lockdowns ended, we haven’t been there every weekend, but it’s still a favorite of ours, and you can still find us stopping in for take-out breakfast once or twice a month!
4. We Started and Finished the Basement Renovation
We broke ground on our massive basement renovation on January 6th, and by April 19th, our first guests checked into our new AirBnB! Although the pandemic slowed some aspects of the project, it also gave Sarah and I more time on weekends in March and April to work on the finishing touches ourselves.
Although it was a bear of a project, we feel so proud of what we accomplished in just 15 weeks. This was also our first taste at renovating anything, and now we feel like we could conquer the world! As you’ll notice from this blog, this unleashed our inner Chip & Joanna Gaines in a way that we’re still reckoning with 😂
5. We Took to the Streets to Join a BLM Protest
After the murder of George Floyd in late-May, Sarah and I were just two of the many Americans forced to reckon with the history of racism and white supremacy in our country, as well as in ourselves. During the weeks that followed, we organized a matching donation drive through Instagram and ended up giving just over$2,000 to EJI and Color of Change, largely thanks to our incredible followers like you!
However, in June, when we heard of “A Protest for Black Lives” from our church’s pastor, we knew that this was our opportunity to share not just our money, but our voices. Since June, we’ve continued learning, discussing with friends and neighbors, and having conversations between the two of us about how we can continue to be a part of the fight for equity and justice in our country.
6. Our Phoenix/Austin Trip
On a lighter note, also in June, as case numbers seemed to be on their way down, we flew out to Phoenix in order to 1) surprise Tanner’s girlfriend Jess, 2) help Tanner secretly shop for an engagement ring and 3) get some time in the sun!
As an added bonus, while in Phoenix, we got to capture one of our couples in a desert engagement session! Then, we stopped in Austin on the way back to shoot another travel engagement session! The trip was a blast (and had its fair share of craziness) so read more about it here!
7. Sheldon Family Beach Week (Including Tanner & Jess’ Proposal!)
Just a couple of months later, the family was back together again for our annual Sheldon Family Beach Week in Corolla, NC! Thanks to lots of precautions ahead of the trip, our whole crew was able to safely gather for a few days and — if only for just a moment — we all seemed to forget about the craziness of 2020 life.
But the real highlight of the trip was Sarah and I “convincing” Tanner and Jess to do another practice engagement session with us (we had done one with them in Phoenix and in Italy in 2019 so Jess didn’t expect a thing). We captured a ton of gorgeous images, then at the end, Tanner got down on one knee!!
8. Sarah Joined HSP Full-Time
In August, Sarah and I finally achieved our biggest and most overarching goal that we had been working toward for years. For us, paying off student debt, buying a house, and renovating our basement were all sub-steps working toward this one goal: Sarah quitting her job and joining me full-time in our photography business!
Although Sarah and I had been shooting alongside each other for years, it wasn’t until August of 2020 – in the middle of the global pandemic – that she finally made the leap. She’s had a renewed vigor and passion for what we do that continues to amaze me! If you guys thought she was crushing it before you have NO IDEA what she’s been like since she’s been able to focus 100% on our business. Expect big things from HSP in 2021, and largely thanks to her!
9. We Redecorated our Living Room and Home Office
One of the most beautiful and unexpected byproducts of Sarah joining me full-time at home was the completion of our redecorating scheme. You guys probably know by now that when it comes to spending money, our motto for the first 3 years of our marriage was basically “balling on a budget.” So when we purchased our house in the fall of 2019, most of our furniture and decorations were dorm room leftovers, hand-me-downs, and (no joke) items that I pulled out of a dumpster in college.
But 2020 was definitely the year of, “Screw it — if we’re going to spend nearly all day every day working from home, let’s make it look GOOD!” We finally repainted the warm cream color that our house had come with, and replaced it with a bright and clean white. And thanks to Sarah’s impeccable style, a few trips to IKEA, and a watchful eye on Facebook Marketplace, we finally feel like we’re living in a “grown up” house!
10. We Had Our Own Photos Taken
As wedding and engagement photographers, we’re honestly a bit ashamed at how long it had been since the last time we had our own photos taken. So in November, our gracious mentor Eric captured some Christmas Card photos of us together!
This was also a great reminder for us about how strange it is to be in front of a professional camera! We’ve built our business on helping our couples feel confident and comfortable in front of our cameras, but this was a great firsthand reminder of how UNconfident and UNcomfortable it feels to have your photos taken. And we’re professional photographers! We’re so glad we’ve built our business the way that we have, because it was a strange and nerve-wracking day to be totally honest!
11. We Renovated our Bathroom
Compared to the basement reno, renovating our 1960s upstairs bathroom felt like a small project 😂 Although a COVID scare mid-project was about a stress-inducing as it gets, this month-long reno was also a huge success! We’re definitely taking a break from decorating and renovating for at least 6 or 8 months though 😴
12. Holidays with the Sheldon Family
Finally, Sarah and I felt SO privileged to be able to end 2020 almost like a normal year, and spend time with family for Christmas.
Although it meant hours waiting in our car outside an urgent care for asymptomatic COVID testing, once the family was together in Richmond, it was all worth it!
Here’s to hoping that 2021 is a MUCH better year than 2020! If you can’t get enough of Hunter and Sarah, click here to read more about life with Hunter and Sarah!
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In the mood for more “Best of” Blogs? Check out ones from other years!