The Mouse, the Fairytale, the Dream come true.

Most of you who are reading this already know about my career at Disney.  Those of you who know me personally know that I recently decided to leave my position at Disney Fine Art Photography to be a better mom to my son Trey, and to focus on my 2 growing companies in Orlando Florida.  With that said, this blog is a farewell to the Mouse behind the magic. Three and a half years, over 800 weddings, countless bridal portraits, and amazing couples, made my experience at Disney one I will never ever forget.

October 2010 I stepped into the "magical" world of all things Disney.  This for me was a real dream come true.  Throughout my days I would wipe tears from my eyes as I would realize just exactly how much I had been blessed.  Remembering the first time I stood on the stage at the castle still makes me emotional.  I may have been wiping the water from the ground around a bride,  as I assisted my first bridal session but that didn't matter to me.  The fact was that I had made it.  I remember looking down Main Street from the stage view and soaking it all in. No crowds, no one but the photography crew and the night shift workers of the Magic Kingdom. Wow.  Just wow.

Regina Hyman, Rick Ferro, Stephanie Caldwell, Mike Strickland, and Joe Duncan soon became my role models as I assisted them on bridal sessions almost daily.  Waking up at 3 every morning to go to work actually filled me with excitement and made my adrenaline pump like crazy.  I watched them closely, how they did their lighting, how they interacted with the guests, and  their posing.  Learning from them was really fun.  Soon I began shooting small weddings on my own around the Disney properties, and a year later I shot my first bridal as a lead photographer.  I never dreaded work...because it honestly didn't feel like work to me.

Most people do not realize how many couples come to Disney from around the world to get married!  The majority  of my weddings and bridal sessions were in Japanese which really really fascinated me. After shooting a couple of Japanese weddings I was hooked.  Learning about their culture, having a translator, and making friends from Japan really made me happy.  Yoshiko, a local Japanese wedding planner brings brides from all over Japan to say "I do" at various locations within Disney. Working with Yoshiko was a highlight of my Disney career. The Japanese Travel Bureau also brings many many couples from Japan every year for their special day.  Who knew right!?  I found myself doing sessions using Japanese, and even bowing to my American couples by accident after shooting days and days of Japanese weddings. LOL. It was soooooo much fun!

There's no way to write my full Disney experience in a blog....it would take me years!  But let's just say I've done weddings in every language you can think of,  and even ones you never knew existed.  I've met some of the most beautiful, caring, and talented people in the world.  Made friends from every country around the globe, and memories with them that I'll never forget.

Hope you enjoy the photos!  These are all photos couples tagged me in online, or were taken with phones and are behind the scenes shots.  :) (A big thanks to all of my Disney friends for taking the photos for me!)