I first met Carolyn when she came to my Prenatal reTREAT Day, a one day prenatal yoga retreat + blessingway. She radiated positivity and calm, and I loved having her there. Not long after, I was absolutely honoured when she asked me to capture photos of her on the beach at sunrise. Carolyn is a yoga teacher and wanted to get some shots for her business, as well as to celebrate her first pregnancy.
To be perfectly honest, I am not exactly a morning person (my husband would scoff at that sentence) but I truly did have a magical morning with Carolyn. The light was perfect, it was pleasantly warm and Carolyn looked like an absolute goddess. Im so excited for her as she prepares to welcome her first baby any day now, and I cannot wait to hear the news!
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"A blessingway is a special ceremony designed to acknowledge, honour, and celebrate a woman's journey into motherhood. Different from a baby shower, a blessingway's main goal is to provide a loving place where an expectant mum can explore the challenges and joys that lie before her as she approaches childbirth and motherhood." - Mother Rising
This past weekend I had the honour of guiding my dear friend's blessingway. Min is expecting her third baby, and when she told me that she had always wanted a blessingway but never had anyone who could plan it for her, I knew that we had to make it happen! Back when I was expecting my first daughter, my friends threw me a beautiful blessingway and it was one of the highlights of my whole pregnancy. I was very hopeful that it would be the same for Min.
I really do believe that when women gather together, magic happens. Not one person present had ever attended a blessingway, and yet everyone was so open hearted and happy to be a part of it. At the end everyone was talking about how amazing it was to slow down, to focus, to make something with their hands, to celebrate their friend and her journey.
I used the book Mother Rising to plan the ceremony, as well as the Mama Blessing Pack from Sisters and the Sea. I would highly recommend both to anyone planning a blessingway! My favourite part of the day: the blush pink string we tied around our wrists in our closing ceremony string ritual, that each of us will leave on our wrist until we hear that Min's baby has arrived.
As a photographer, of course I couldn't let the day go by without snapping some photos. Here are some of my faves...
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