Sara + Agnes Take on Cuba!
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Oh what a trip. One of my best friend's Agnes and I really needed this trip to recharge our batteries. Little did we know how life changing it would be. Our main goal of this trip was to do a great job photographing Kaitlyn + Vince's wedding in Cuba and have a great time of course!
We did all that PLUS we:
~ met some AMAZING people
~ became inspired on how life should be lived
~ became soo much closer as friends through learning how to compromise with each other and be more laid back
~ realized that the only way to live is always just "Do what you want/feel!", without thinking of what others think. When you are yourself, those that are attracted to your energy will really love you and you can form amazing bonds with them! You can't please everyone, and I'd much rather form stronger long lasting bonds than mediocre acquaintances. I'm still a little scared to truly let go and be myself...I'm still working on it though! I think all of us are though. It's tough especially when you have your phone as a crutch back here at home. It doesn't allow you to teach yourself how to JUST BE in different social situations. In Cuba I had limited wi-fi, and I think it's a huge reason why I felt more free and connected to people.
~ Felt free while driving through the streets of Cuba and off roading in a Jeep, which was manual by the way! One of my fave things to do when traveling is to rent a car, drive stick and see the country :)
~ and finally jammed over, and over, and over, and over, and over, again to these mixes Agnes found on YouTube; LaBelle Mixtape I Spring Awakening I Gamper & Dadoni , LaBelle Mixtape I Summer Memories I Henri Pfr , LISTEN TO THEM. They are so amazing and chill. Click to listen on YouTube :)
****Agnes also wrote a blog post on the trip and it's awesome! View it HERE
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Pictures above by Agnes
Here is one of the epiphanies I had on my trip:
I made it a point to sleep as little as possible on the trip to get the most out of it. Now those who really know me, know that it's really, LIKE REALLY hard for me to get out of bed in the morning. For some reason my right eye wakes up fine, but my left eye just does not open and feels really dry!! I look like Popeye in the morning lol. If anyone has a cure for this let me know...haha. Anyway, I was happy with how much I slept on the trip, anywhere from 5-7 hours per night. I have Agnes to thank for that! :) <3
Now that I'm back I realized I've fallen back in the same pattern of sleeping 8-10 hours per night! Yesterday I had a realization, why only when we travel do we try to get the most out of the trip? Why not have this mentality every day and get the most out of LIFE!?
So far I think I'm doing well since I followed my dream of doing what I love as a career. Of course there is work involved, but for the most part, everyday doesn't feel like work! (Everyone should feel this way). I also achieved my goal of creating a more active and healthy lifestyle for myself in the past 2.5 months and I feel AMAZING!! Lost 10 lbs and I'm totally happy with the way I look now. I don't feel I need to look any different or perfect my body even more.
Next step, get the most out of each and every day :) I want the weeks to feel as long as possible so that my life feels like it's going by slow! Try it out! Choose something in your life that you want to improve, just 1 thing, and really commit to it, only if you are ready. See how amazing it will make you feel to be one step closer of truly LIVING life :)
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Now time for some pictures of our adventures! :)
We spent our first days on the beach just enjoying the rays, the wind, the sand, a good book, good music, each other's company and taking pictures of course :)
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Agnes caught this hilarious shot of me falling from doing the Crow yoga pose. It was the wind I swear, lol
On the third day of the trip, I got to photograph Kaitlyn + Vince's Engagement session in Cuba the day before their wedding!!! Dream come truuee!! We just walked around the strip in Varadero and explored! Here are some behind the scenes photos of the shoot thanks to Agnes Wywrot :)
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BEST. PINA COLADA. EVER!!
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The sunset was absolutely MAGICAL!!
And as a treat for visiting the blog today here is an exclusive sneak peak just for you guys from the session!
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Next was Kaitlyn + Vince's Wedding in Cuba at Iberostar Laguna Azul resort! Here's some more behind the scenes shots by Agnes and an exclusive sneak peak! :)
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Agnes was a HUGE help during the wedding :) It was so nice to shoot sometimes without worrying about carrying my bag for a change! She helped get some great shots from different angles and some of me behind the scenes! Yay! She also has a blog you can check it out HERE!
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and some sneak peaks... :)
Other adventures... :)
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Off roading Jeep tour!! :)
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This tour included snorkeling, which I've never done before! It was AMAZING! I did get motion sickness though which lasted about 1.5 hours and wasn't fun at all, but it went away in the end :) How hilarious do we look in this pic LOL
Finally the day before we left, Agi and I dressed up a bit for some pretty sunset pictures to have of ourselves! We had to use the crazy wind to our advantage!
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Overall I feel so enlightened and re-energized :) This is very fitting in my life right now since I hired a business coach (Jeff Jochum) to help me figure out exactly who I am, what I stand for and specialize my business further this year :) Some exciting changes to come!