When I started this blog in 2014, I wasn’t sure exactly how it would grow. Sure, I always knew I wanted to use it as a platform to showcase my client’s weddings, engagements, and anniversary sessions, but what other content would I put out there? I, of course, followed many of the “pioneers” of the blogging world in the wedding industry, like Katelyn James or Abby Grace, and drew much inspiration early on in my career. But as my business evolved and grew over the years, I wanted this to be a place that was my own, instead of following those that came before me. It’s for this very reason that you’ll pretty much never see me post educational photography content (I’m just not an industry educator!) or share personal information on a regular basis (here and there, yes, but I am generally a bit more private — neither is right or wrong, I just want to do what’s “me”!). That being said, it was a long road to get to this point and so in honor of my 500th post, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the evolution of my blog and Alicia Lacey Photography!

What’s Cooking Wednesday
I thought that starting a blog meant you had to have content every day of the week and therefore, tried to come up with different series to fill in all the days. I love to cook and back and so, What’s Cooking Wednesday was born. I quickly realized that while I love being in the kitchen, I don’t love trying to take photos in the midst of attempting a recipe! Oh and honestly, NO ONE read this! I maybe should be embarrassed, but after all, this is a photography blog and it just felt too out of place. 

Miscellaneous Photography
As a Washington DC wedding and anniversary photographer, it may surprise some of you to know that my first paid session was actually for family portraits! Yes, that’s right — if you look back at the beginning of my blog, you’ll see a majority of family, newborn (what was I thinking!?), maternity, event (why?), and other miscellaneous photography. I was just testing out where I wanted to “land” and tried my hand at everything. Luckily, I found out very quickly that I loved working with couples the most and changed the direction of my business fairly early. I do still shoot these on occasion for past clients, close friends, and family, you just won’t see them on the blog ;) 

Getting Personal
As I mentioned above, because so many well-known bloggers were very personal, I thought that I needed to blog each and everything I did with my readers so they could get to know me! I shared about everything: my brother-in-law’s graduation, weekend excursions, holidays, and an embarrassing amount of “10 Things” just to name a few. I’ve learned over the years there are other ways to share and connect with my audience that feel more true to who I am!

But, in all honesty, it wasn’t all bad! There were a lot of things that worked that I still do today!

Travel
It’s no secret that Rob and I LOVE to travel; since we were married in 2011, we’ve visited over 30 different countries and states across the world. And while we may be doing a bit less of that with the arrival of our sweet boy, I will still be sharing the adventures we go on in the future. 

Bridal Business
This is by far my biggest and most successful series! I love being able to share tips and tricks that I’ve picked up over the years as a photographer with future brides and grooms who clearly haven’t been through all of this year! Things that will help alleviate any stress and just make wedding days go smoother in general. I already have many more of these lined up for 2018 that I cannot wait to share! 

And, of course: Anniversaries, Engagements, and Weddings!  I love being able to share the stories of ALP Couples as they breathe joy into my business and are why I do what I do! I am so grateful to all the brides, grooms, and their families that I have celebrated with over the years and look forward to working with many, many more. Cheers to 500 posts down! 

Just for funsies, I pulled together one photo from ALL (well, I think all… I’m sure a missed some!) the engagements anniversaries, and weddings I’ve photographed!
ENGAGEMENTS & ANNIVERSARIES

WEDDINGS

My sincere gratitude to each and every person who has ever taken time out of their day to peruse my blog! I know there is so much content online these days, so it means the world to me that you’ve looked at a bit of mine :)