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| Nikki's clients: Mr. Adam and Mrs. Madison Teufel |
Welcome creative photographer Nikki Santerre to the blog today! Nikki works two jobs and still manages to devote time to her wonderful photography business! I think you will love visiting with Nikki. You are welcome to leave a message for Nikki in the comment section and connect with Nikki through the social media links provided below.
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Nikki's view of love through her camera lens:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NikkiSanterrePhotography
Instagram - https://instagram.com/nikkisanterre/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Nikki_santerre
I think the thing that most adequately equips me to serve my clients on their wedding day is that before I am anything else, I am a wife.
What marriage has taught me is that love is a choice, that everyday my husband and I wake up and choose one another.
The images that I produce for my clients aren't just pictures, they are heirlooms. Heirlooms that are thoughtfully curated and meant to be tangible, to be passed down through the generations as evidence of the love and legacy that all started with saying, "I choose you and our love is worth fighting for."
What love means to the bride (Madison) before and after the wedding:
Knowing how detail-oriented and wedding-obsessed I have been for most of my life, I thought I would be a total ball of stress on our wedding day. That was certainly the case during the comically disastrous week leading up to the big day - which played out like something from Father of the Bride (the movie). Except instead of a supermarket meltdown over hot dog buns, it was a fluke back injury that almost rendered my dad unable to walk me down the aisle, a mysterious virus/food poisoning that made its way through the entire Steckler family, weather that wouldn't make up its mind, shoes that never arrived, staying up until 2 a.m. every night trying to finish the DIY projects (I blame Pinterest!), and the list goes on.
But somehow, the wedding day came and I felt a calm come over me. It suddenly didn't matter to me that my hair wouldn't cooperate or that I didn't have my perfect monogrammed Jack Rogers I'd ordered. All I cared about was getting to that church and making my best friend of so many years my husband. Truly, I think I looked in the mirror once before I walked down the aisle. I think that's love: not getting wrapped up in the things that just don't matter when you are surrounded by the only thing that does. When Adam took my hand from the other side of the door and prayed with me before our ceremony, his love and calm brought me to center the way it has so many times in the past. I am so grateful for that moment.
Now, as I sit on the couch across from my husband of almost two months, that same love is there and growing everyday. As Nikki captured so well, our wedding was beautiful and perfect despite the comedy of errors preceding it. But our marriage is so much more beautiful than our wedding. Everyday isn't glamorous or Instagram-worthy (ex: I'm currently wearing scrubs from work and eating rice), but it's finally ours to share with each other. And that's all that really matters to me.
What love means to the groom (Adam) before and after the wedding:
As a groom preparing to start life with my future wife, I knew I wanted to do everything I could to make her happy and excited for our marriage. Between the engagement and months of wedding planning, I tried my best to make her smile, and assumed that was the best way to express my love.
After our wedding and commitment to each other, wonderful honeymoon, and starting life together, I soon found out love is more than just seeking happiness together. Love became the mutually shared responsibility challenge, improve, and to be present in the little moments of each other's lives.
During marriage, love has become more exciting and fulfilling than I ever could have imagined. Looking at Maddie, I am reminded daily of just how lucky we are.
~*~
Photographer bio (in Nikki's words): My name is Nikki Santerre, and I'm a Fine Art Film Hybrid Photographer (that's basically a fancy way of saying I shoot both film and digital and I harvest light in order to curate beautiful and timeless heirlooms for my clients). I'm married to a handsome fella named Matt and we have two pups who have stolen our hearts, couch cushions, and my side of the bed.
What love means to the bride (Madison) before and after the wedding:
Knowing how detail-oriented and wedding-obsessed I have been for most of my life, I thought I would be a total ball of stress on our wedding day. That was certainly the case during the comically disastrous week leading up to the big day - which played out like something from Father of the Bride (the movie). Except instead of a supermarket meltdown over hot dog buns, it was a fluke back injury that almost rendered my dad unable to walk me down the aisle, a mysterious virus/food poisoning that made its way through the entire Steckler family, weather that wouldn't make up its mind, shoes that never arrived, staying up until 2 a.m. every night trying to finish the DIY projects (I blame Pinterest!), and the list goes on.
But somehow, the wedding day came and I felt a calm come over me. It suddenly didn't matter to me that my hair wouldn't cooperate or that I didn't have my perfect monogrammed Jack Rogers I'd ordered. All I cared about was getting to that church and making my best friend of so many years my husband. Truly, I think I looked in the mirror once before I walked down the aisle. I think that's love: not getting wrapped up in the things that just don't matter when you are surrounded by the only thing that does. When Adam took my hand from the other side of the door and prayed with me before our ceremony, his love and calm brought me to center the way it has so many times in the past. I am so grateful for that moment.
Now, as I sit on the couch across from my husband of almost two months, that same love is there and growing everyday. As Nikki captured so well, our wedding was beautiful and perfect despite the comedy of errors preceding it. But our marriage is so much more beautiful than our wedding. Everyday isn't glamorous or Instagram-worthy (ex: I'm currently wearing scrubs from work and eating rice), but it's finally ours to share with each other. And that's all that really matters to me.
What love means to the groom (Adam) before and after the wedding:
As a groom preparing to start life with my future wife, I knew I wanted to do everything I could to make her happy and excited for our marriage. Between the engagement and months of wedding planning, I tried my best to make her smile, and assumed that was the best way to express my love.
After our wedding and commitment to each other, wonderful honeymoon, and starting life together, I soon found out love is more than just seeking happiness together. Love became the mutually shared responsibility challenge, improve, and to be present in the little moments of each other's lives.
During marriage, love has become more exciting and fulfilling than I ever could have imagined. Looking at Maddie, I am reminded daily of just how lucky we are.
~*~
Photographer bio (in Nikki's words): My name is Nikki Santerre, and I'm a Fine Art Film Hybrid Photographer (that's basically a fancy way of saying I shoot both film and digital and I harvest light in order to curate beautiful and timeless heirlooms for my clients). I'm married to a handsome fella named Matt and we have two pups who have stolen our hearts, couch cushions, and my side of the bed.
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| Nikki and her husband, Matt. Photo credit: Anna K Photography in Charleston |
Earlier this year, I launched Love Came Down, a wedding blog dedicated to preparing for a marriage deeply rooted in Christ. I'm passionate about motherhood (although I am not yet a mother), serving others through my business, education (specifically educating other photographers regarding running a Hybrid digital/film photography business through my monthly newsletter, The Hybrid Society) and doing everything with love and to the glory of my Heavenly Father.
~*~
Connect with Nikki:
Website - http://nikkisanterre.comFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/NikkiSanterrePhotography
Instagram - https://instagram.com/nikkisanterre/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Nikki_santerre
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