Just a girl with a dream and a camera.

I have a board on pinterest called, "words." It's full of motivation words that keep me inspired. There is one quote on there that simply says, "doing what you like is freedom, liking what you do is happiness." You see, I work in an office or simply put... for the man. (Technically for the woman since the company is owned by a woman. Yay #girlbosses) This job is not my passion. I mean... I am an accountant with a Early Childhood Development degree. That doesn't add up, right? I am good at what I do and I work hard but it's not my passion and it for sure doesn't leave me with the freedom and happiness that I would like to have daily.

 

Photography on the other hand... it brings out my creative side. It allows me to capture a memory and a moment that will be remembered forever.

I worked as an assistant for a photographer when I was younger but I was never the one behind the camera. Honestly, I don't think he trusted me with his equipment and I didn't trust myself with his equipment. Working for him taught me a lot about posing, interacting with families, and how to get the grumpiest kid to smile.

 

I purchased a Canon EOS M when I was 22 and used it for blog photos and of course my 365 project on Facebook. That camera was stolen on my honeymoon. I bought a DSLR shortly after we returned home from our honeymoon and began to learn my way around it. I was then asked to start managing social media for my church. I loved that I could capture images that showed passion, life, and laughter from everyone on a Sunday morning. It gave me a new creative outlet that my office job did not allow me to have.

 

Once I found out I was pregnant I knew I had to capture every little moment! Bump shot after bump shot I started sharing images of my journey through motherhood. When Jax arrived, the game changed and I was probably taking about 200 photos a day just of Jax. I didn't want to miss a wrinkle or roll. Plus, I wanted to capture every stage of that full head of curly hair!

 

Through capturing images of my family a passion was lit to take my camera and capture more families. I want to find their story and share it through an image and create a forever memory for them. Whether this image is going to be used on social or printed for their home I want to be the one to capture it. LaVidaVera Photography is my happiness.

 

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The day he proposed

February 12 means more to us than Valentine's day. It was the day that we both decided to commit to doing life together forever. It was the day Fabian asked me to marry him. I posted a teaser photo to my insta-stories a couple weeks ago and a lot of y'all wanted to know the story, so here you go!

A couple weeks prior to the February 12, 2016, Fabian had set up a couples Valentine's day photo shoot for us. He had a hard time getting me to agree to do it because I thought it was weird that we were just dating and doing a photo shoot together. I told him, "only couples who are engaged or married do something like that." I reluctantly agreed and even asked to leave work a little early so I could spend some extra time getting ready. I had no clue that he had planned other than photos and actually I was really thrown off because he is not the "planning" type.

He picked me up around 4, looking pretty darn hot and we drove to our location in downtown Fort Worth. Fabian originally chose to shoot at a park but after he checked out the location he later told me it didn't seem right and also shared with me the sweet little vlog he made explaining what was about to go down.

We ended up shooting at an old Methodist church that has now been turned into a police headquarters. We met up with our photographer, Lisa and she started snapping photos of us together right away. I was enjoying it and didn't think it was weird anymore. We were just two people in love.

10 minutes into our session Lisa said, "Ok Bethany why don't we get some shots of just you." I started to feel a little vulnerable but just went with it. She did a great job helping me find ways to pose my body to make me not feel so nervous. At this time Fabian said, "I am gonna go back to the truck and get my wallet." I knew he had to pay Lisa so I still wasn't suspicious of anything at all. Lisa continued shooting pictures of me and pulled me out in front of this beautiful archway to get the last single shot.

I was still totally clueless as to what was happening but you know how you can feel energy sometimes? I could feel Fabian behind me but I thought he was just sitting on the bench or table just waiting for instructions from Lisa. I had no idea he was so close to me and he was down on one knee. No clue at all until Lisa told me to turn around.

Fabian said the sweetest and most loving words which I honestly can't remember but all I know was that day I committed to spending the rest of my life with one amazing man. He had been talking to Lisa about this photo shoot for weeks as well as discussing with my parents and his parents what he was wanting to do.

As soon as the ring was on my finger we looked up into the parking ramp where Fabian's sister was capturing every moment from above.

Those arches and that spot mean a lot to us. We've gone to that spot every year around this time to remember our commitment to one another and also to look back on our journey together. Two years ago we decided to take a giant leap of faith with one another and we haven't looked back since.

And if you haven't figured it out by now, Fabian didn't go back to the truck for his wallet. Later when we got our couple/engagement photos I said, "your wallet is in these photos!" He told me he went back to get the box for the ring.

Our marriage isn't perfect but our story is and it's my favorite.

TeriAna & Christian Gallary with baby Sebastian

I have watched TeriAna grow up right before my eyes. I am so proud of the woman she has become and have been blessed to watch her become a mama. We ventured to downtown Fort Worth and brought along her son Sebastian and her boyfriend Christian to capture some memories. As we strolled the streets I learned more about their love story and how he slid into her DM's and made himself known. Their budding romance continued in their days at school and into the present where they are both working hard to save for the future. Maybe we'll see a engagement photo soon? For now enjoy a little preview of this adorable family.  

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