If you’re in the wedding industry, you likely know that Amanda is the insanely talented floral design behind Amanda Veronee. Or you might know her as the vendor who has that awesome website with both a “light” and “dark” experience as created by Jen Olmstead. Either way, just one look at her incredible work and you immediately know she is someone who thinks outside the box and will not give any bride a cookie cutter wedding! I can actually speak from experience… Amanda was MY wedding florist all the way back in 2011, when she was still Anthomanic!! Her designs are still one of my favorite parts of our entire day and I’ve loved seeing her business grow exponentially over the past few years. I’ve been dying to get her in front of my camera and finally had the opportunity during the last set of Portrait sessions I held this winter! 

Name | Amanda Veronee
Age | 31
…I always get complimented on my hair, but my favorite feature is actually my booty!
…I haven’t always been proud of my thin eyebrows and large feet, but I’m learning to embrace them. 
…I feel most confident when I just completed an intense lifting session at the gym. It makes me feel confident, accomplished, and energized! 

The last time I felt truly beautiful was…
As far as physical beauty, I feel more beautiful the more love I put out in the world. If I’m not feeling happy and not being loving and kind to others, I don’t feel beautiful, and I think that’s where my confidence comes from. I struggled with confidence, self-worth and mental health issues in my youth, and I have learned that beauty doesn’t make someone beautiful. Being a relaxed mom makes me feel beautiful because I feel that’s how my son looks at me when we are laughing and having fun together…he looks at me like I’m the most wonderful thing he’s ever seen…and that’s when I truly feel more beautiful than anything on this earth! I can be having a perfect hair and makeup day and feel fit from working out, but all that means nothing in the mirror when I’m not feeling like a happy and loving person that day!

What is something that has been a challenge for you over the past year?
I’ve struggled a lot with finding a work/life balance while simultaneously going through a life changing separation from my marriage. Doing this ‘Portrait’ photoshoot is actually quite perfect timing symbolically as I am going through a ‘cleansing’ period of my life trying to remove and eliminate stress, but also to ‘strip down’ everything from my life that doesn’t help me be a good mother, and also rediscovering who I am on my own as a single mother. I think it’s so easy to get caught up in being a mother, working and being a spouse that we start to lose ourselves in the busy-ness of it all. I’ve been working on overcoming stress in order to be a more focused, calm and loving mother and spouse. I’m sure other women can relate to this feeling!

Film was scanned and developed by The FIND Lab.
If you’re interested in going makeup free to be photographed for The Portrait Project, please e-mail Alicia at Alicia@AliciaLaceyPhotography.com — sessions are typically around 60 minutes and all images are shared with you!