I think it is fair to say that every single person who has had to write an "About Me" section or paragraph on their website dreads it.  If you haven't, just try it! It's the one post that causes you to stare at the blank screen with the curser blinking.  So please bear with me as I try my best to show you a peek into my life as a Boise wedding photographer. 

First off, that's me! I have long blonde hair and brown eyes. Growing up, I always was so upset that I didn't have blue eyes, until Carrie Underwood came around and rocked the blonde hair and brown eyes trend!  Chances are you will catch me smiling 98% of the time, so I count that as another defining feature of mine.  

I grew up being best friends with my little brother, Bryce.  We spent our summers outside riding our bikes, riding horses, and playing in the river.  We also played baseball together! My dad was our coach and we played for about three years together, and won the Little League championship game one year! One of my proudest accomplishments of adolescence was when I hit a home run off of a boy and he cried. Talk about some serious girl power! 

My childhood was also defined by my love for dance.  I started dancing at the age of three and continued classical training until I was 21 years old.  Dance defined me.  I trained in Celtic, which is Irish step dancing, ballet, jazz, and dabbled in tap.  My real love was in classical ballet.  I auditioned for a ballet company called Ballet Idaho when I was in my junior year of high school, but decided to not further my career in dance and instead accept some academic scholarships to pursue my degree in business.  I continued to share my love for dance by teaching younger students until I was in my junior year in college.  

I met my husband in my senior year of high school.  I was very focused on my job at the time, and wanted nothing to do with boys.  I was a radio deejay for a local radio station and did the behind the scenes music programming.  I was in charge of following the Billboard music charts and coding music so that it would play at certain times based on its levels on the charts.  It was a blast and I loved it! One night I was in doing what is called boards, and Kasey walked in and asked me if I wanted to go snowboarding at Brundage Mountain in McCall, Idaho with him.  I laughed, told him no and to please shut the door.  Yet, he was persistent. He texted me again a couple days later saying that a group of them were going and that if I wanted to join I was welcome.  I did have a season pass for Brundage, so honestly the free ride up there didn't sound all that bad! I told him that I would go, but asked who was all going. He hesitantly told me that everyone else backed out so it would just be the two of us.  I politely declined, but said that if my brother could come that we would go.  Kasey invited my brother without hesitation, so off we went! 

I fell in love with him the first day on the mountain.  I can't explain how it happened, especially that fast, but it did! He was the perfect match for me.  We talked for hours without any awkward silence, we laughed like we'd never laughed before, and by the end of the weekend we couldn't imagine a day without each other.  Fast forward six years, and we are now married and parents to two Miniature Australian Shepherds named Chloe and Daisy.  Our love and admiration for one another has only grown stronger from that first day on the mountain.  

We spent most of our early dating life growing our love for one another over coffee dates.  We quickly realized how much we loved coffee!  We started to explore different shops, taking notes as we went.  With my degree in Business Administration, Kasey's love for entrepreneurship, and our shared love for coffee, we took the leap and opened a coffee shop.  It has now been four years since Brie'sta Coffee Company has been open.  Owning and operating a business has been the best life lesson that I could ever receive! I look back on the woman that I was in 2013, when we opened, and can only smile at how much I have changed.  

Because of the coffee shop, I met my best friend Liza James of Liza James Photography.  She came through to get a drink and she asked me to model for her and a few of her photography best friends.  I am forever grateful for Liza reaching out to me that day, because she is who I can thank for helping me become a photographer.  You see, I always had a love for photography.  I took a film photography class in high school two years in a row, I asked my dance classmates to model for me and took images at class all the time, and I followed photographers on social media almost religiously.  What Liza provided for me was the confidence and the knowledge to take my love for photography and turn it into what would become my passion and the business I have always dreamed of owning.  

My life now revolves around my husband, coffee, film photography, and traveling.  And to be honest, I couldn't be happier.  I have found the woman that I was meant to be, and I am finally sharing my passions with those around me.  Most week days you will find me at the coffee shop, helping my customers and mentoring my employees.  On the weekends I am photographing love stories.  During down times, Kasey and I travel to as many places that we can.  It's a busy life, but it's the best life.  

I hope that helped you get to know me a little better and show you an inside peek at my life!  There's too much to write on just one blog post, so if you want to know more we should grab a coffee and get to know one another! I'm an open book and love to connect with those around me! 

Until next time, 

Brie 

Images by Jenny Loose Photography.