Saying Goodbye to CGP

Caitlin Gerres Photography has been a wild and crazy adventure that I never expected. Just a few months after we got married, I started learning about photography and researching what it would take to run my own business. Four years later, Ryan agreed to become my 2nd and I started training him. And although we loved working together on wedding days and we knew many couples who turned their photography business into something they both did full time, we never felt like that was the right choice for us. Ryan loves the business world and trading his job in business intelligence for bookkeeping, marketing, and web maintenance wouldn't have made him happy. So we kept my business small. And we knew at some point, we would reach the end of this season.

When we got pregnant with Darcy, I stopped making a 5-year business plan. I had no idea what having a newborn would be like. I didn't know if Darcy would be an easy baby or a difficult baby. I didn't know how I would handle work and mom life together. So we started taking things one year at a time in our business.

God told us at the beginning of this year that our time with CGP was over. I was surprised. And to be honest, I was not happy about it at the beginning. We had JUST gotten back from Disney. I wasn't pregnant. There was no reason NOT to have another great wedding season. Maybe wedding photography with two kids and all the extra stuff Ryan has going on and our increased service at church would be too much, but we had time to make that decision. We didn't book that far in advance. 2019 could be a great final season for us before we added another child to our family.

But God was still saying no. I wanted one more wedding season. I wanted to celebrate our 'last wedding'. I wanted to go out with a bang.

God gently said, “You're already done. You've had your last wedding. And you loved and served that sweet couple without any of the attention being on yourself. And now I'm calling you to other things.”

A few weeks after making our official decision and sharing the news with our close friends and family, we found out we were pregnant. And then I got horrible nausea that lasted for 3 weeks. (And minor nausea that's still lingering and annoying me every day.) It has been such a GIFT to have a very short weekly to do list right now. Instead of working during Darcy’s naps, I’ve been resting and watching The Great British Baking Show, because feeding him lunch and getting him in his crib wipes me out.

So here’s our official announcement. We are stepping away from our photography business. We've loved it. We're going to miss it. We love all of our couples and the amazing vendors we’ve been able to work with. And now it’s time to set CGP aside so I can focus my time on caring for our growing family.

I Am Not A Hustler

Many successful small business owners have stories that start something like this: “I dove into my business headfirst and HUSTLED for 3 years to make it happen. I worked 7 days a week. I poured all of my profit back into my business. I barely spent time with my friends and family. Every spare moment was focused on building my business.”

But inevitably this story is followed by: “And then… I reached a point of burnout smack in the middle of my busiest season.”

My story is not like that. And I have to continually remind myself that I have (so far) avoided burnout when I start to feel jealous of others and how big their businesses have grown. Because the people with full calendars and full bank accounts are often the ones on the brink of burnout or still trying to recover.

My business is SMALL. My wedding calendar is spread out. My schedule almost never feels too hectic. (Which is good, because I'm a mad-woman when there's too much on my calendar!) And to be totally honest, people are surprised when they hear how few weddings we do each year.

Hustle is a buzz word that I refuse to adopt for my life. And because of that, our family is in a really healthy place, but my business isn’t where I dreamed it would be.

And that means it’s time for some new dreams.

Why I Photograph Weddings: Telling Your Love Story

I grew up wanting to tell love stories. I created two characters, placed them in a make-believe world, and introduced them to each other, all with my pen. (My keyboard, actually, but that’s less romantic.) In some way, every story that I wrote was a love story. Because there’s something so special about two people falling in love. But I discovered that while a fictional love story is powerful, it can’t compare with the power of a real love story.

A love story lived out, day by day, with purpose and heart and commitment. Not just falling in love, but committing to stay in love. That kind of love is inspiring. Encouraging. Powerful.
There’s so much beauty in a love story that’s real and not fiction. There’s beauty in the laughter, in the sacrifice, in the pain, and even in the anger.

This is the kind of love story that I want to write. Not just with words, but with images as well. Because this love story needs to be told. 

One day your children and grandchildren will ask about your love story. And you’ll reach for your wedding album, the book that will help you tell that story, and you’ll start from the very beginning.

I photograph weddings because I want to tell your love story.

Want to see me in action? Check out my behind the scenes video.

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The Gift of Photography

Photographing weddings is about the love that two people share for each other. It's about the promises they make to each other and the joining together of two families. That's the quick and easy answer. But over the last few years of shooting weddings, I've realized wedding photography is so much more than that.

It's taking a photo of a bride or groom's parents: all three or four of them... in the same photo for the very first time.

It's celebrating the moment a dad walks his daughter down the aisle... And not finding out until later that he has a terminal illness.

It's when the bride chooses a special song to play for her mother and when all three of them cry during the father daughter dance.

It's when the bride and groom take a moment to honor loved ones who have passed away.

It's capturing the small but oh so special moments like the proud dad carrying around his father of the bride mug in the morning or when grandma sees the bride for the first time.

It's when the bride and her grandfather dance... on the corner of the dance floor with slow creaking steps. And everyone around them tears up.

It's that moment right before the kiss when the officiant proclaims them husband and wife.

It's taking a generational photo and hearing a few months later that it was the last photo they had together.

It's when the ring bearer steals the show begging candy from one of the groomsmen during the ceremony, one m&m at a time.

I could go on and on. I have witnessed each of these moments play out on a wedding day and each one of them has touched my heart. Every wedding has so many special moments like these and we capture all of it through our lenses. Sometimes I don't even realize the significance of a moment we photograph until I get a sweet thank you note from the bride after she's received her photos. And some of them I'm sure I'll never hear about. 

As wedding photographers, we get to witness love every wedding day and go home and love our family even more. Being your wedding photographer truly is a gift. 

So from our hearts to yours, thank you!

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:
How to Choose Your Wedding Photographer
Am I The Right Photographer for You?
Comparing Photographers: Budget, Style, & Experience
Why is Wedding Photography More Expensive
Why I Photograph Weddings
What We Wear to Weddings
The Gift of Photography
Whatever It Takes
Things I've Learned Being Photographed