Life Has Its Perks

Guess what? 🤔 Most of the couples we work with met online. In this digital age, love finds its way and I’m here to capture all the magic when it does. 🤩 Which app did you meet your love on?! 🥰I want to know! 👇🏼

I ❤️ NH I know after coming back from 8 weeks in Florida people ask me if I am thinking about moving down south. Never. Why? Well first of all I have lived in Florida before and it wasn’t for me. But also, NH is my favorite place I have ever lived (and I have lived in 6 different states) for the following reasons: White Mountains ⛰😍 Sand Beaches 🌊 Rock Beaches ☀️🪨 Close to the city but…not too close 😆 🏙 Beautiful Summers 🌳 Vibrant Fall 🍂🍃 NH has my heart forever. Best place to live hands down (juuuuust maybe not in Feb & March 😂🫣#snowbird ) What is your favorite place you have lived?!😆

What a whirlwind!😆 The last 8 weeks we have been camping around Florida in @calliethecamper.🌴 It truly felt like a soul resting sabbatical. I am so grateful for the time we spent together (core 4 time, as we affectionately call it). 😍 I grew up an AF brat, living all over. Nowhere ever felt like home, never felt like I fully belonged, until I moved to NH 13 years ago. 😍 Butttt 🥶 Snowbirding was a huge goal of mine and it is everything I hoped it would be! Now I’m back and ready to take on the WHOLE WORLD! I can’t wait until Wedding Season starts!!! 🎉🥳👏🏼

I had the immense pleasure of being a guest on The Systems and Workflow Magic Podcast with @dollydelongeducation. I talk about my system for hiring amazing team members! Tired of working by yourself? Sick of hunting down solid second shooters? Want to grow your business but are already stretched too thin? If you are thinking about building a team, go have a listen! I also have a freebie for you that answers the top 4 questions you are probably having when it comes to building a team. Comment “team” below and I’ll send it over! 👏🏼🎉

BRIDES! 🤩 It’s no surprise I believe in the magic of unplugged ceremonies! 📵 Imagine this: You’re at the altar, ready to exchange heartfelt vows. But instead of seeing smiling faces, you’re greeted by screens and devices. 😬 Here are 3 BIG reasons why you should consider it: 1️⃣ Intimate Connection: By going unplugged, you create an intimate atmosphere, where guests are fully present, fostering deeper connections and a more immersive experience. 2️⃣ Uninterrupted Joy: Without distractions, your guests won’t miss a single moment. Pure, unfiltered joy will radiate from every attendee, as they celebrate your special day. 3️⃣ Enhanced Photographs: Unplugged ceremonies result in stunning, unobstructed photos. These images will become cherished heirlooms, capturing the essence of your love for generations. Consider embracing the unplugged ceremony. Let your loved ones be fully present, creating lasting memories without technology’s distraction. 🎉 Send to your partner and share the idea! 🤗

Hello new friends! 🥳 I haven’t done a Introduction Post in a long LONG time...so if you are new around here, here are some random facts:⁠ ⁠ - Literally always smiling. ⁠😬 - Air Force brat⁠ 🥰 - I have 2 kiddos that I homeschool💜 - Former Teacher - We LOVE to travel ✈️ - I’m obsessed with memes and I always respond to texts with GIFS⁠ 😂 - We snowbird in the winter ✌🏼 - Started A Rai Photography almost 6 years ago and have been loving every second of it!!!😍 I’m glad you’re here!!

A Rai’s origin story 🤩👇🏼 . In the summer of 2018 I was struggling.😔 I had taken a year off of working (which was the first time I didn’t work in my whole working aged life) to adjust to having two kids. I loved being a stay at home mom, but I also missed working. I was going back and forth...do I go back to teaching full time?! Do I just go back to teaching night classes? Do I get some online job?...I was torn. One night as I was verbally processing all of this, my husband asked me “well if you could do anything in the world, anything...what would it be?”. I’m a bit of a realist, and I couldn’t even answer the question. I kept saying “it doesn’t matter what I would want to do if I could do ANYTHING...that’s not real life”. He pressed me to give an answer. Finally I blurted out… “I would run a full time photography business!” I felt so silly saying that out loud. I was a teacher. I had a degree for it. In fact I have TWO degrees for it. I felt tethered to that profession. My husband encouraged me and basically said that my excuses were bologna and breathed life into my suppressed dream. 😍 If you know me at all, you know I get things done. So immediately I legitimized my hobby and began building Amanda Rai Photography as we all know it today. Maybe you are feeling something similar. If so, let me be the one to breathe life into your dream 😊. YOU CAN DO IT! JUMP IN! 🌊

Are you thinking about writing your own vows?!🤔 This can seem a bit overwhelming at first, but it is so worth it to personalize your wedding ceremony. Here are some of my favorites tips!🎉 1️⃣ Make 3 - 5 promises. Don’t be afraid to throw in a silly one too! (ex: I promise to kill the spider in the bathroom😆) 2️⃣ Tell a story. Let your guests in to your special love journey! 3️⃣ Read it out loud to somebody. Make sure all the notes are hitting just right before the big day! Nothing gets the tears flowing like sweet hand written wedding vows! Don’t run to ChatGPT to write your vows for you😜, you got this! Use these 3 tips and you will create a beautiful written promise to your special someone. Send this to your partner to help them out! 🙌🏼 #nhweddingphotographer #howtowritevows #weddingphotography #nhweddings #nhbride #bostonbride

Team A Rai appreciation post! 🥹❤️ I love my team and couldn’t do this without them! I can’t wait for wedding season to BEGIN. 🎉 They are all so servant hearted and bring SO much joy to a wedding day. Even in the craziest of circumstances. This review is from a lovely bride who had the rainiest wedding day: “You guys were the absolute BEST photography team we could’ve ever asked for. I had so many guests telling me how kind and sweet your associates were. They were also the biggest troopers for being there through the crazy rainy day and it meant the absolute world to us and made us feel so special! We got so many compliments on our engagement pictures and I can only imagine how beautiful the wedding pictures will turn out…you truly have the best team!” I agree 🥰

I wear many hats 🎩 These are just a few of them 🤗 Do any of them surprise you?!

You’ve heard the saying “time flies when you’re having fun”, right? Well, guess how much fun you will be having on your wedding day?! Hint…it’s a lot. 🥳 . The day can FLY by if you aren’t intentional and fully present. Here are a few tips that I have learned along the way. . Have a timeline with plenty of wiggle room. Schedule in the down time. Be intentional about having plenty of time with your loved ones. . Trust your hired vendors. (Hire your vendors knowing that you want to hand over the reigns to, be thorough in your hiring) . Do a First Look. I know this is a bit bold and controversial for me to include in this list, but I have been to enough weddings to be able to confidently tell the world, the day is much more relaxed, slow, and stress free when a first look is involved. You will absolutely have more time to spend with your loved ones with this option. . Save this for that future wedding!! ❤️

My kiddos are 6 and 8 years old, a season I used to dream about. 🥹 I distinctly remember a day in the winter of 2018. It was freezing outside and I was home alone with a newborn strapped to me and a 2 year old running around my feet. I was in the thick of it. 🙃 I was still in the newborn fog and my 2 year old was still not used to the idea of sharing his mommy. I remember how hot and overstimulated I felt in this moment with my newborn constantly fussing and my toddler whine crying for me to come to him. His whine cry turned into a scream cry while my newborn was still fussing as I bounced her, placing my hand gently on her head and kissing her. I felt flustered, like… maybe I wasn’t cut out for this. The transition from one to two kids is not for the faint of heart, especially when your two are close in age. I was walking down the hallway toward my toddler and realized he was trying to use his potty that was in his room. Yea… Potty training a male toddler while having a newborn baby…also not for the faint of heart. 🫣 I walked over to him, trying to calm him with my words, when suddenly in one moment I realized that there was…liquid😬…on the floor, and I had just stepped into it and was falling. I held my baby close to my chest with my hand gently on her head while I turned my body, purposefully sacrificing my tail bone to save her from being impacted. I hit the floor…hard. The sudden movement scared her and she started crying, my toddler crawled on top of me and was crying, and then I joined them. I was sobbing on the floor…covered with pee…with my two babies on top of me. This was one of those moments. I’ll never forget it. This was HARD. That whole season was very hard. I found myself daydreaming about the days when my kids would be 6 and 8 years old often. I tell this story to encourage you mamas of young littles. I see you. It IS hard. The days are so so long but trust me…the years are short. Every year goes by faster…and faster. I’m holding up 3 fingers in solidarity to you like Katniss today! You can do hard things. ❤️