I have to start this first entry by saying that not all posts in this new journal space will be this long. This is a special announcement about some changes that are very important to us and in that there is some back story to be told.
I have a hard time articulating what it is I love so much about the wild. Most people probably think I just like taking pretty pictures and posting them to Instagram. Although, that's true there exists a more inherent love of wilderness areas. It's the place I feel indescribably myself. Growing up we'd spend days wandering through the woods. The eighteen acres of farm and forest behind our house was all the space that we needed to feel away from everything. Long summer days were spent wandering in the woods. The fern covered hill and fallen logs over the creek became a second home. There weren't trails or tree-houses to hang out in, just trees and the space below them to create whatever kind of adventure we wanted.
It wasn't until our road trip across the country last year that I realized we'd slowly been making a transition back to that notion. Since our first time in the mountains, our heart strings have been pulled gently and ever so slightly in that direction. We took the long way here. And I'm grateful and humbled by that. I remember being graced with these ideas, so long ago; On a plane home from WPPI or while ordering at a restaurant in Denver my first time there. Ideas that took years to come to fruition. Ideas that I thought of and wrote down and then never thought of again until I started putting this together. Those ideas were who we we wanted to be, they are who we've become.
It's more than a re-brand. We've done that too many times before. It's more than graphics and tag lines, those can be changed with a click. Those are just how we look now. And it's hard to be entirely original in that respect. To us, this is a risk we're taking. It's an entirely new direction. It's how we feel that really matters. All this; Imagined on long roads between forests of tall trees. Fostered in the many mountain ranges of the western United States, during sunsets and sunrises. Over the last four years. And built to the sounds of Bon Iver and Ben Howard over red wine and the occasional cigarette.
We introduce to you (sans drum roll) Mallory & Justin, Adventure Wedding Photographers.
What's that mean, though? Well, it means we're actively pursuing couples who choose to have free-spirited, outdoor weddings in unique and nontraditional venues. We're hoping that means National Parks, mountain tops, canyons and cliff-sides but we're OK with it if not. We want to meet couples as strangers, to venture down unknown trails and climb steep hills with them...then share a meal and a beer at the top as friends. We want our work to be ingrained in the authenticity of the experience and laced with a spirit for adventure.
We chose to have elements of our rebrand designed for us by local folks who could add a bit of their vision to our story. Bespoke. Because the sentiment really matters this time. We wanted a collaborative vision, eraser marks, a hand-to-paper process... we wanted something deeper than what we had before because it feels deeper to us. We wanted something that said 'handcrafted goods' were being sold here with intricacies and wear, like they'd been around forever. Artistry. We wanted something a little vintage and rustic with a wild & naturalist vibe. We looked at shipping crate art and old lithograph prints as well as the wilderness for texture and design inspiration. My tattoo inspired our logo. M & J in the mountains. Yes.
We'd like to thank:
Chad Austin Design for his work on our logo.
Letterpress Jess for her magic with our collateral.
Blair, Eric, Erin and Mark for taking me on adventures in Colorado.
To Squarespace for this template and for many things, mostly being awesome, simple, user-friendly and cheap.
And the mountains for being bigger than we are and inspiring us so much.
