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I'm Hannah B, wedding & portrait photographer based in New York State. I'm a lover of intricate details and story telling- both visually & through writing. Here you will find glimpses of my life as a photographer, wife, mama, dog-lover & Chick fil-A obsessed creative!

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April 12, 2018

Best Friend Vacation 2018- Fort Myers, Florida

Do you want to know what my favorite part of college was? Spring freakin’ break. I was the person that studied my head off all semester and the only thing that stopped my gas tank from running completely empty was the fact I had a vacation planned in the middle that I could look forward to. No one warned me that once you begin adulting, spring break is no longer a thing. (Not sure why, though, cause it really should be….) Thankfully, my best friend is still in college trudging her way through nursing school & my busy season doesn’t start until May. The second I found out Morgan’s break lined up with my wedding schedule for this year… we began planning our adventure south.

We flew down to Fort Myers on the Monday after Easter. As we walked off the plane in our long-sleeved shirts and leggings, it felt as though we had just landed on another planet. I couldn’t even remember the last time I felt the warmth of the sun like that. Heck, I couldn’t even remember the last time I saw the sun, for that matter. Sunshine just does something indescribable for my soul. It makes me feel whole again, and as crazy as this sounds, it gives me an entirely new, abundantly grateful perspective on life. There’s nothing better than feeling that warmth after residing in the cold for nearly six months.

If I had to dream up the perfect weather, this trip would’ve been it: 85 degrees, very little humidity and not a drop of precipitation the entire week we were there. And the absolute best part about it? I got to share it with all my favorite humans.

Morgan is my person. Seriously, I love her so much it makes my heart hurt. I have never met anyone so good, and kind, and pure, and hilarious, and forgiving, and genuine in my life. I always joke that Jesse is the love of my life, but Morgan is my soul mate. (Don’t worry y’all, Jesse is fully aware and has accepted it. It’s fine.) So traveling with her has now become one of my favorite things. Spending a few days down south before the guys met up with us was such a gift. We simply laid around (by the pool, at the beach, or in bed) and the only thing we did more lounge… was laugh.

We now have enough inside jokes to last for the rest of our lives. If you saw my Instagram post about a few words we’d use to describe our trip, it’d be these: Clinique. Carlos. Birthday Slurpees. Sand. John Wayne.

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1. Clinique.
On day one, Morgan and I overestimated our skin’s ability to adapt to the tropical sunshine. We were a little less than careful when applying sunscreen, and ended up a strip of burnt forehead and red noses. We then spent the remainder of our vacation slathering ourselves in aloe vera and Clinique’s Moisture Surge to try and rescue our decrepit skin.

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2. Carlos.
Have you ever stayed in an Air BnB? If not, you really should try one out on your next trip! (Here’s a link to the website to get $40 off your first stay!) 🙂 Our Air BnB was a gorgeous condo in Ft. Myers and the owner’s name was Carlos. Morgan and I have officially adopted him as our family and wouldn’t stop talking about him the whole trip. We love him so much.

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3. Birthday Slurpees
It’s become somewhat of a tradition to plan a trip every year and travel for Jesse’s birthday. So, for THREE birthdays in a row, I’ve had the privilege of celebrating the amazing man God created in my fiancé. I’m not sure how it started, but on our very first birthday trip, I picked up J from the airport and we immediately got “Birthday Slurpees” at 7-11. It only seemed right that we re-live this memory with Morgan and Evan, too.

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4. Sand
I’ve recently made the discovery that as much as I love the beach, I will never grow accustomed to having sand invade every inch of my existence. I swear I will have sand in my shoes, baggage, clothes and in my teeth forever. Does anyone else hate the fact that somehow sand gets EVERYWHERE whenever you go to the beach?! It was enough to drive us all crazy.

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5. John Wayne
As we were cruising around in our rental car, Jesse was riding shotgun and fulfilling his role as the car’s DJ. While jamming to some 2000’s rap music, Evan suggested that we look up “that one song by John Wayne.” Above is a visual representation of how we all felt when this incident took place. We are pretty sure he, somehow, combined Lil Jon & Lil Wayne. But, the world will never know. I can say, however, that from now on, all of us have a serious appreciation for the musical stylings of John Wayne.

 

 

 

So without further ado, I hope you enjoy the quick recap of the rest of our trip! (I am the queen of not getting out her camera enough on vacation, so this compilation of iPhone photos & a few “real” camera pictures will have to do.) From Evan’s first time on an airplane, to peeling foreheads and bad tan lines…this trip was definitely one for the books. So thankful to have these memories to keep and cherish forever.

 

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2018-04-11_0010.jpgWhen J carries my camera bag AND stands in as my subject so I can test light>>>>
Goodness, I just love this guy! 2018-04-11_0014.jpg
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Happy 25th Birthday, J McKay! Only three more months until we are officially travel partners for life. (Then you’re really stuck with me & all my picture taking shenanigans!) I love you so much, Babaloo! XOXO

 

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