A half-birthday session for Mr. Handsome!

You guys, where do I start? I have had the pleasure of photographing this little guy three times now since he was born six months ago. Milestone packages warm my heart, because I get to watch those baby faces turn slowly into that toddler face right in front of my eyes (or behind the camera). I love watching the baby that was so small that I was able to wrap up like a burrito when they were a week old turn into a walking, full of personality, little human!

This family chose to have a few family photos incorporated into his six month session at the studio I have access to in Winterset, Iowa and it was so perfect. He wasn’t loving the session at first, I had to be my crazy self behind the camera which included playing peek-a-boo behind his mama, knocking on the wall, jumping and of course using the rattle to get his attention with my infamous mom voice but golly his smiles are contagious. The outcome, well I think it speaks for itself. Mom and dads, don’t fret, even if baby boy or girl aren’t super smiley, I promise you.. those photos smiley or not are heart melting!

Can you even handle his eyes?! They’re like soul-piercing, heart melting, baby boy eyes. Oh and the cheeks, they’re so darling! I’m not lying when I say that photographing kiddos during these stages (or photographing anyone in general) doesn’t even feel like a job to me, it’s so enjoyable and then to get to know the families.. all of it is so great and I’m blessed to have families such as Calvin’s trust me to capture such precious moments for them to treasure for years to come.

Enjoy some of the photos from this session below!

Happy ‘late’ half birthday, Calvin! I can’t wait to continue photographing you as you grow!

xoxo, Victoria

What a year it's been! .. plus a limited time offer is unveiled

An entire year of Meant to Fly Photography being FULL TIME?! Say what! It’s been such an amazing year for this business and I couldn’t be more grateful!

If you’re new here, I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself first and foremost. I am Victoria Edwards, the owner and photographer with Meant to Fly Photography. I live in Winterset, Iowa with my husband, Justin, of 2 years, and my 17 month old son, Ryan. My son is the goofiest, sweetest and smartest little guy who happens to have Down syndrome and was born with a heart defect. I have a serious love for popcorn, tootsie rolls and green tea. I always have a scentsy warmer going, and I enjoy running and working out in my free time (ha ha, free time as a mom and a business owner? I know, I just make the time).

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged, but a goal for 2020 is to do more blogging about all things business, family, life. To start, I wanted to say a massive thank you to everybody for the support to this growing business I started in 2012 and gradually learned more and more, and recently took more seriously which led me to taking online courses, and getting all the education to grow and learn. It’s been exactly one year to the day, that I have officially been doing this passion full time. February 19, 2019, I packed up my belongings from my desk and shut the doors to my day job in Des Moines, Iowa and have never looked back. I think it’s easy to say that pursuing Meant to Fly Photography full time was the best decision for myself and my family.

The week that officially began my new journey was the hardest of my life, as my son went into Open Heart Surgery and coded the next day, resulting in 6 days on ECMO to save his life and 5 weeks of living in the hospital trying to get him healthy. It was such a blessing that I had this new full time career and your support for my business through thick and thin, and I will never be able to thank everyone enough for that.

A full year of doing what I love every single day, living out my dream and passion is such a gift. This last year I was able to gain new friends along the way, meet new families and continue expanding the best MTFP client family I could ever ask for. One year down, so many to go. This April I will be attending my first ever in person conference in St. Louis, Missouri and I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to learn from highly experienced photographers in the industry and see what information I can bring back with me and apply to my sessions.

I never take a session for granted, when you hire me to photograph anything for you, you get me and my entire heart. I don’t take the honor lightly and I hope to not only be considered your photographer, but your friend. My goal is to give you photographs that not only show smiles and poses, but meaning and real memories. When you show up at a MTFP session, I hope you bring your laughs, the ‘hashtag real life’ moments, the goofy personalities and all.

My family thanks you all, from the bottom of our hearts for making my first full year with MTFP a success. With all that being said, I SO look forward to continue shooting your beautiful weddings, snuggly newborns, families, graduating seniors, and all the things this year and the years beyond. As a thank you, I would like to extend an offer to our MTFP tribe, new and existing, for a $10 off session on ALL NEW bookings from now until March 1st at midnight, when you mention this blog post. All weddings are $100 off when you mention this blog post. (not valid on previously booked weddings or sessions)

BRING ON YEAR 2!

xoxo,

Victoria

We’re home!!!

I know, I know. Another blog about my personal life. It is what it is :) 

Finally, after..

36 days in the hospital

34 days in the Pediatric ICU

1 open heart surgery

40 minutes of CPR

1 reintubation

6 days on ecmo

6 days of having his chest open

6 really, really dark days

2 different ecmo machines

3 emergency situations

7 days of being paced on and off

14 days of being paralyzed and sedated

16 days of not being held by Mom or Dad

58 units of blood and platelets

62 Ultrasounds, X-rays, Echos and EKGs

5 hospital rooms (4 actual rooms & 1 procedure room)

Countless medications

3 incisions

1 blood clot in leg

2 kidney failures

2 PD catheters

8 days of being on dialysis

1 collapsed lung

33 days of needing assistance to breathe in order to keep his stats up

6 days of not taking photos of our son because the image was too hard

1,000’s of prayer warriors

100’s of kind people who gave gifts, generous donations, cards, messages. There’s no way we can personally thank each and every one of you, so I hope you know how truly thankful we are for your support in whatever way during this season of our lives.

Countless people on his medical team including his surgeon, doctors, specialists, nurses, perfusionists, and therapists. You all will forever hold such a special place in our hearts

Through all of that, we have the upmost respect to those in the medical field, especially those who took care of Ryan for any amount of time during the stay. You ALL were absolutely fantastic to Ryan and our family and we will never be able to truly tell you how much we appreciated everything. Every repetitive blood draw you had to do hour after hour, every hour you had to sit in that awful procedure room with him, all the urine and blood you had to count, all my questions I repetitively asked and you answered so kindly, reading children’s stories to our son while he was unconscious on ecmo while his dad and I were sitting bedside sobbing, praying and pleading for healing, and your singing to my son during his lovanox injection. A special thank you to those who were involved in originally saving his life, there are never going to be enough words to say how absolutely grateful we are to you all, especially Amanda, RN and Dr. Grundstad for noticing right away that something was wrong and beginning CPR. Dr. Hockmuth for opening him back up to placing him on ecmo, and for going in and taking him off ecmo after an equally terrifying night 6 days later when Ryan’s body told us he no longer liked the ecmo canulas in his body.

After this whirlwind of a month, and so many unknowns, the most surreal thing is happening. With tears rolling down my cheeks and so much love and happiness in our hearts, this last Thursday we got to bring our baby boy, our miracle child, HOME!

World Down Syndrome Day! 3/21

On April 19, 2018, I had the normal 20 week pregnancy anatomy scan. My husband and I were so excited to find out just 5 weeks prior that we were having a baby boy, and were just as excited to see him during this ultrasound and find out that he was so healthy! I was so excited to post after that scan “he looks so happy and healthy! everything went just wonderfully!”.  Little did we know, there were slightly different plans for us that day, as we also found out about his heart defect that day. I decided the next day to write my feelings down and I haven’t shared it with many people.. until now. And boy, does this make me relive that day all over again, but also makes me wish I could go back and tell myself then not to be scared. Aside from the medical hardships, down syndrome is such an amazing unexpected thing that’s happened to us and we’re so thankful, because our Ryan is absolutely the biggest blessing in our lives! I am a better, more patient, and more understanding person because Down Syndrome has come into our lives.

See below what I wrote in 2018.

Finding our your child is different.

Sitting in that office room, hearing the words “Now there are a few abnormalities..” the rest of the words she ended that sentence with didn’t even make it to my ears. The doctor gently handed me that Kleenex box, and my eyes began to fill with tears. I felt like my world was crashing down all around me yet again, and that my baby wasn’t going to be okay. You never ever want to see that look in the doctor’s eyes, hear words come out of their mouth that could possible change your life the way we’ve heard and seen not once, but now twice. Different words, different situations, different babies, but all the same in that they change things.

Baby boy has a few things that our doctor is concerned with, and she had me immediately take a blood test to determine exactly what we were dealing with. She also let us know that she was making us an appointment with a doctor in a specialized clinic that we will become very familiar with very soon. That our plans of birthing our child in a hospital just a few blocks from where we were sitting in that office, was not going to take place, and that the picture we had in our brains of our lives was going to be just a bit different. Now, that word I speak of, different, doesn’t mean bad. It doesn’t mean embarrassing, it doesn’t mean regret. It just means that things will be a little different in our lives than we had imagined. Is this baby going to live a happy, healthy life? God, I hope so. If I have anything to say about it, he will live a better life than I even expected from the start, and that he will flourish into an amazing adult who dreams of big things, cares unconditionally about each and every person he comes in contact with, and that he will, most importantly, be happy. He will understand that he is no less than anyone else, just that he has to be mentally stronger than most, not to let society determine the person he is destined to be. This little boy is destined to be whoever he puts his mind into becoming. He will grow up to be the very best person he can be, he will push himself to better himself every day and not let these struggles he will have to overcome, make him feel inferior.

We will all have struggles to go through, obstacles to face head on, and things to overcome as a family. What I have already experienced through losing a child, is that with my husband by my side, we will get through and come out better than before, in any situation we are put in. Now, am I scared? Absolutely. I think any mom wants to make sure that their child is able to live their fullest life and has good health. Am I confused? Well sure, no one expects news that we’ve gotten. But am I going to let myself or anyone else think of this as a negative situation? No. What good does that do? We are all born special, and my baby will be born with nothing less than anyone else, but rather something extra. An extra chromosome. That chromosome will end up making him be seen by doctors more, will be seen differently in society’s eyes, and will have even more love from his family because he will be the best thing that’s ever happened to us.

Written by Victoria on 4-20-2018

Ever since we decided to make it public during my pregnancy that he will be born extra special, to now we have gotten nothing but the most amazing support. I have also met some absolutely amazing Moms and families who have babies with Down Syndrome and I cannot say how much I appreciate how open and accepting those women are, who I’ve been able to reach out to during this last year of trying to learn all that I can. Our son is certainly loved without a doubt by all that know him, and so so many who don’t. Throughout this hospital stay, and even before, he has had hundreds of people following his journey, praying for him, helping us with anything we may need, and just watching from a distance while he takes on the hardest thing a person can go through and come out on top. My husband and I are so excited to continue to watch him grow and be the amazing Ryan that he is, no matter what obstacles we will face. We know a love that we wouldn’t know if it weren’t for him, exactly as he is.

The next time you hear that someone you know found out their child has Down Syndrome, please don’t say “I’m sorry.” There’s absolutely nothing to be “I’m sorry” about when it comes to an extra chromosome that makes a person look at the world with such joy. We’re definitely not sorry that Ryan always has a smile on his face, or that he will grow up to see life in a far more beautiful way than I will ever see it. He isn’t Down Syndrome; he is a sweet little boy who happens to HAVE Down Syndrome.

Today, and everyday, we celebrate him and everyone else who is made so unique and beautiful, just as they are! Thank you to everyone who loves our boy for the person he is, and will be. 

For our first World Down Syndrome Day, we sure weren’t at home where we would prefer, but we celebrated alongside all of the Mercy PICU staff and families with a potluck, treats and smiles all day. While the reasons we’re here aren’t preferred, we were glad to be around those who appreciate everyone who rocks that extra chromosome. We can’t say enough good things about the PICU floor that we’ve been on for a month now at Mercy.

Miracles really do happen.

Since I went full time with Meant to Fly Photography in February of this year, I’ve spent my entire time at the hospital with my son, Ryan. I’m a pretty open person, as I truly feel that I was placed on this Earth to tell the stories about those around me, including myself. I choose to tell those stories through both pictures and words, and beginning this year I’m going to be even more open with this platform about my life, my struggles, and my successes. This month, it happens to be a story about how I witnessed a true miracle happen right in front of my eyes.

In case you are new here, my husband Justin and I had our son August 26, 2018 and named him Ryan Leroy Edwards. He was born with beautiful green eyes that turned blue like his momma only weeks later, reddish brown hair like his daddy and an extra chromosome that makes him his own amazing person. With being born with Down Syndrome, he had a chance of having some medical issues as well, and the medical issue he was born with is a heart defect called AVSD. We knew all this during pregnancy and that he would require open heart surgery at some point. Well, that time had come. At just under six months old, Ryan weighed only 10 pounds 12 ounces (only 4 pounds 5 ounces up from his birth weight) and was not thriving how he should have been at his age, so it was time for his heart repair. He turned six months in the hospital and will possibly turn seven months here as well.

My son went in for open heart surgery on Friday, February 22 and surgery went great! During the surgery, they had to hook him back up to the bipass machine during it once and fix something and it took an extra 90 minutes than planned, but overall it went without a hitch. That night he rested well and things were looking amazingly, we were so relieved! I literally felt like a whole new person knowing that the worst was behind us and we could just look into the future, start the recovery process and finally have a thriving baby boy who isn’t struggling everyday.

The next morning he was extubated and the doctors were so happy with how that went, he took it like a champ! An hour later, as I was getting ready to lay in bed with him, Ryan suddenly coded. The surgical team rushed to the hospital while CPR was in progress, and his chest was opened back up and was placed on ECMO. In case you’re unfamiliar of what ECMO is, like I was, it is life support, it literally functions as your heart and lungs. He had two tubes (canulas) in his chest and his chest was left open for the entire time he was on this life saving machine. These canulas took his blood from him to the machine, oxygenated it and then put it back into his body. Ryan was having lots and lots of troubles with bleeding during this time and had a total of about 57 blood transfusions.

Then six days later, late at night some things happened and he went into emergency surgery in attempt to get bleeding to stop and came out of surgery no longer on life support. He’s truly a miracle baby, there’s no other explanation for how things have worked out and how amazingly he’s doing only 3 weeks after the start of the events. His kidneys shut down and was placed on dialysis, his left lung collapsed, he had to be placed on the pacemaker randomly, his left foot was injured and he got a blood clot in his left leg. He was sedated and medically paralyzed for nearly two weeks, and heavily medicated. It was 16 days before my husband and I were allowed to hold our baby boy, and let me tell you that 16 days felt like an absolute eternity and hell on earth to be quite honest.

Now he’s recovering very well, his kidney function is back in working order, his lung is no longer collapsed, and he’s been off the pacemaker for officially one week now. His doctors and nurses continue to be surprised by him daily and he is beginning to be his normal happy self who’s loving life. The last few days, he’s been up and playing in the mamaroo, sitting in a chair, and flirting up a storm. I cannot put into words how amazing it is to see that smile again, when just a short time ago I was sitting at his bedside at the darkest time of my life, praying for my baby boy to make it through and to see those eyes open once more.

We truly have been blessed with the very best friends, family, and strangers who have become cherished extended family during this entire situation. On behalf of my husband, my son and I we thank each and every one of you who support us in one way or another. The thoughts, prayers, and help during this season has not went unnoticed. Your support by allowing MTFP to photograph you and telling the story of YOUR life through photographs is one of my biggest blessings in life and going through this situation has made me even more humble, grateful and appreciative of the blessing of photography. I have captured all but six days of this hospital stay, for us to look back at and allow our son to see what he went through and overcame in years to come. While he likely has another open heart surgery in his future, we aren’t going to focus on that right now.

Ryan has the absolute best medical team who has literally saved his life on more than one one occasion here at Mercy in the last few weeks. We will forever be indebted to every single one of them, I feel like words do not even scratch the surface of how grateful we are for what they have done for him. Between them, modern medicine, modern technology and power of prayer, a miracle happened and my son got another chance at life.

I’ve been so blessed to be able to work from anywhere, as my own boss. I’ve been educating myself with webinars and booking new sessions/weddings while being right here in the hospital with my husband and son. For that I want to THANK YOU for allowing me to have the very best job in the entire world and having the very best clients I could ever ask for. I will never take this opportunity to have my absolute dream job, for granted!

All my love,

Victoria

#teamryan

MTFP goes full time!

Friends, the time has come. I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I am LEAVING the 8-5 world to be my own boss at MTFP on a FULL TIME basis! This is HUGE!!! I literally can’t even believe I’m typing these words right now, but with happy tears in my eyes, I couldn’t be more thankful that life has led me here.

I’m so stinking grateful that I’ve met so many incredible people during this journey and I’ve been able to stop time for you and put those precious life moments between 4 corners to keep forever. I don’t take any of it lightly being asked to do so. Also, I thank my husband for being my supporter and letting me follow my ambitious dreams!

Many of you know that my son has some medical issues and is about to have open heart surgery in just a few weeks. The day that he is admitted for that surgery is officially my first day of being 100% a self employed full time photographer, as it was time for me to leave my day job to give more time to my photography and my baby boy. If you’ve known me for any amount of time you likely know that this has been a dream of mine for the longest time, to stay home with my babies and to do photography full time. To see it all unfold is a literal dream come true!

This means I am SO much more available for all the things beginning February 21st! 

Courthouse wedding? I’m there!

Want me to photograph a birth &/or fresh 48? Yes please!

 Sessions earlier in the afternoon when it’s nice out? No problem!

Studio sessions during the weekday? You bet! 

Also, I wanted to mention that while we are going through a crazy time as a family this month, I am absolutely still here to book sessions for you! Please do not hesitate to reach out at any time thinking that I don’t have time for you, as this is my passion and it’s the perfect outlet for me to escape our reality for an hour here and there and get behind the camera! 

Email me at hello@meanttoflyphotography.com and let’s chat! ♥️

How are you today? No, I mean really, how ARE YOU?

You see, we get caught up in the busy of life and forget to take a step back and ask how others are, and if we do, we normally get a generic “Oh I’m good, and you?” You respond with “I’m good, thanks” and you move on with your day or your conversation about something else. Totally normal, totally standard, but it shouldn’t be. Why is it that we are so generic in our answering? Is it because we assume, or rather expect that people are just asking to be considerate, but don’t really CARE? Is it because we have become so used to the hustle and bustle of life and the robot-like desires to just go on with our day and not take a second thought to “How really am I? How is that other person actually doing?” There’s so many times in life that we go about our day, trying to just get by and maybe even make ourselves happy in the meantime, to realize that there are other lives around us that we could be helping to make better or even just see how they are. Maybe someone is struggling with something and they don’t feel like anyone actually cares. Here is where this super simple question “How are you today” could be used for good, if people actually took it seriously and the way it is meant to be used.

Now you may be wondering “Why’s she sharing this on her photography page, this post doesn’t include photographs she took nor does it mention anything about her business?” Valid point. Here’s the thing, photography tells a story of someone’s life, correct? My photography business goal is to in fact take photographs that tell the stories of my clients’ lives. I don’t want it to end there. I believe that other than taking the picture, I should also use this platform to also share the life and thoughts of my own and try to in turn help someone who may need to hear this or that to make their day just a little brighter. I firmly believe that we are all here on this earth for more, we’re all meant to spread our wings and fly, to soar into a place of love, happiness, and success; whatever that means to you.  

One goal I had for 2019 was to be more positive. To be aware of how my actions or words {or lack thereof} affect those around me and what legacy I want to leave when my time here is over, and it all starts from within. Take some time to slow down, listen or read a personal development book, show that you genuinely care about the people around you and try to better yourself every day.

Here I sit, listening to personal development {currently Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist on Audible} and it’s got me thinking about all things life, especially now that I have a child. There’s something about personal development that gets a person fired up to be better, to look at things in a better light, to be extra considerate of the lives of those around you. Another amazing book that I have read is by the one and only Rachel Hollis, Girl Wash Your Face. I’ve told people before and I’ll say it again, I swear this to you: every female in this world needs to read that, and in fact I’ll be rereading it AGAIN this year. It’s such a freeing and amazing feeling to hear a person shed light on the REAL stuff, on the hard stuff, and even the ugly.

So, how ARE YOU TODAY? I hope you know that I’m thinking about YOU and if you’re having a tough day I’m spreading positivity your way. If you’re killing it in the world today, I’m cheering you on!

If you enjoyed reading this little blurb and think this or a future post may spread positivity to someone, go ahead and hit that share

A Birth Story: Sweet Sawyer Jay!

When a friend so dear to your heart asks you to be in the delivery room, you don't hesitate. Even at 3 in the morning. Hop in the car, take the trip up to the hospital, wait a bit, and BAM! This little guy joined the world and there's no looking back, he's the absolute perfect addition! Mama took labor like a champ, so so proud of her, and dad was instantly a proud dad to his second little boy. What made this specific birth even more fun, not only the people, but they didn't find out if this little bundle would be wearing pink or blue. THAT was so special in itself!

No matter the amount of births that I have experienced, there's NO doubt that behind my camera, there's a number of tears rolling down my face in excitement for the little family. This birth was no exception.

If you have ANY interest in birth photography, please don't hesitate to ask questions, whether it be just for knowledge or you may want to look into having a photographer in the room while you add a new member to your family. It truly isn't for everybody, but it's such a special time  with surreal moments that makes the most incredible photographs to treasure forever.

Special thanks to the Tucker family for allowing me to share these images, but even more so to let me be there for them on Sawyer's special birthday, and when Wyatt met his new little brother for the very first time. I couldn't be more excited to watch them both grow up.

xoxo

Victoria

Looking for a Wedding Photographer? Let's chat, gorgeous!

Are you engaged and planning a wedding for 2 0 1 8  or  2 0 1 9 ?

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

What a precious journey it is, being a soon-to-be bride. You’ve got that sparkly ring, and the love of your life, now what?

Hold your hat gorgeous, it’s going to be an emotional, exciting, scary, stressful, happy, exhilarating, joyous, and bumpy ride! I just got married in 2017 and it was the most amazing journey E V E R! You get to decide what you want your day to be about, who is lucky enough to be included in that special day, if you want it to be more laid back or more eventful, exactly how you want the schedule of the day to be like, colors, flowers, you name it! It can be overwhelming, but with the right team by your side, who gets you, you get to cherish all the moments, they seriously go by SO quickly.

You get to pick, out of so many fantastic vendors in the industry, who get to capture the moments of your day, create your floral arrangements, the venue that will host your big day, the caterer who gets to prepare the meal, and of course the cake. I mean what’s not to be exciting about when you’re going to cake tastings and getting to decide which one you like best?!

To be a wedding photographer amongst the many other people in the industry, I would love for the chance to speak with you and get the insight of how your dream wedding looks in your head, what you picture seeing on the walls of your home from years to come and see if we are a great match to work together. I am always willing to help with whatever I can-including helping with figuring out times for your day and simply helping to ensure your day goes smoothly. Working with brides over the last several years (as well as planning my own, recently) photographers tend to get a good feel of what seems to work best for timing-depending on what the bride has in mind.

I would love to sit and chat with you, email with you, facetime.. you name it! I would be so honored to be apart of your day, capturing those posed and candid moments, whether it be this year or in the years to come.

I’m so excited to chat with you! I’ll be right over there at hello@meanttoflyphotography.com when you’re ready to see if I would be the photographer for you!

Xoxo 

Victoria  

Two-thousand Seventeen in Review

Wow, what a year this has been for Meant to Fly Photography! Looking back at 2017, (thank you Kaisley for the perfect pose, and looking back at this year with us!) I have gained new friends, clients, experience and memories that will last a lifetime. It's literally impossible to choose 'The Best of 2017' images, because there are so many that are so special.

Meant to Fly experienced a record number of weddings in a year, which I could not be more grateful for. Not to be biased, but I'm going to be biased for a moment. I literally have the best clients and most gorgeous brides. The couples who trust me with such an amazingly huge day is something I will never take for granted, and you will always take up a special place in my heart. Each and every wedding teaches me something new, both in camera and about life. I can honestly say that even behind that camera, there has not been one first dance where I have not shed at least one solid tear. Moments that will literally last a lifetime, and I feel so honored to be able to capture those moments all day long.

Meant to Fly also had an amazing year of firsts. Birth Photography took stage in 2017; 3 deliveries. This is not something I take lightly, to be asked to be in the room during such a special occasion. Experiencing birth photography has truly changed my life, both in business and personally. Those moments are so incredibly touching, tears filled my eyes and my heart filled up with so much joy. It's truly an honor, and I thank everyone who has and will ever consider having me there. The future for Birth Photography is one that I'm SO excited for, and hope to continue.

Families, seniors, maternity, lifestyle, children. You name it, I'm humbled being allowed to capture the moments that will forever will you not only hold in your hearts, but on the walls of your home. I don't take any session for granted.

Lastly, thank you. Meant to Fly Photography has been on quite the adventure already, and it's only because of my amazing clients allowing and trusting me with special moments in their life.  I cannot wait to see what 2018 and beyond has to offer for this business I have built.

Please keep your eyes out for another post of exciting and new things that will take place in 2018.

Dahlgren.

I've had so so many amazing weddings this year that just drew me in. Drew me into the scenery, the details that the bride and groom had been planning for months/years, the love surrounding them by their families and friends, and the beauty of my brides.   

Meet Jace and Amber Dahlgren. They were a couple that had a wedding to die for. Yes, it rained that day, and of course I'm sure they were nervous, as the wedding was outside. But it turned out absolutely beautifully! Plus, I've heard that rain on your wedding day is good luck! 

Amber's dress was absolutely gorgeous, for a gorgeous bride, her flowers and bridesmaid dress color choices also went together so flawlessly! 

The outside wedding could not have turned out better, and the hayride to the reception was glorious! 

There are just certain things that really tug on a photographers heartstrings, and this wedding was one of them! I've known Amber's family for many years now, and I feel honored that Amber and Jace chose me to capture one of the biggest days of their life for them.  

A cornfield backdrop for their ceremony, a tractor hay ride, a shop reception was the perfect combination for this couples wedding day. 

I want to wish Mr. and Mrs. Dahlgren a very warm congratulations! The two of them alongside their handsome son had a great day with amazing people by their side.  

**For more Meant to Fly photos and details on booking an upcoming session or wedding, please head over to www.meanttoflyphotography.com!**

Birth Photography - Central Iowa

The thing about birth photography is that a lot of people don't even know that they want it! Each and every birth is unique and so very special. Let me tell the story of your experience in a way that you'll be able to look back and feel a sense of awe.  YOU did that! YOU went through so much to bring the biggest miracle of your life into this world, it's a huge thing! I know, a lot of people think "Absolutely not! There will, under no circumstance, be anyone other than dad, nurses and doctor in the room. This is not something I want to relive." That's a perfectly fine way of thinking, just know that a birth photographer can be in there, almost without you even realizing she's there, and capturing those special moments with dad before you welcome little one into our world, the moment that baby enters this world, and the first time you meet your new child. It's such a beautiful and amazing thing! 

I have been absolutely blessed to have been able to be in the room for births and it's the most emotional, thrilling, scary, beautiful, precious experience that I've ever been lucky enough to experience in my life. Absolutely nothing compares to an experience like that. It goes so fast {in a way, I know it can take days} and so much is happening, that having the gift of photographs to remember your experience is so amazing! I believe every momma should be able to have those to look back on when their baby is just growing up so fast {we all know it happens faster than we would like}. 

Weddings still hold a special place in my heart, and will continue to book them, so brides don't worry! For this reason, Meant to Fly Photography will primarily book for the time being, due dates between middle of November to beginning of April. During wedding season {April-October} we will gladly shoot births if it works out in our favor. So excited to start this unexplainable amazing & heartwarming journey of telling birth stories through photographs! 

Of course, there are things to take into consideration when having a birth photographer; comfort level, as well as if your hospital/doctor/nurses allow it in the room. If you are considering having a birth photographer, be sure to find out if your hospital allows it, that way you don't get excited for it to happen, then find out later it is not allowed.

Email Victoria at hello@meanttoflyphotography.com to discuss more details.

With the parents' permission, here is the birth story through the lens of my camera, of a sweet sweet baby boy that I was honored to witness. Congrats to The Roush family on their addition.️

Buying Your First Home..

…is exciting, right?! Getting that key handed over, and bam. You own something, something big, something amazing. Something you are about to make so many amazing memories in and something you get to call YOURS. You get to make changes to it whenever you see fit, you don’t have to wait around for your landlord to be able to pay him rent, or have to pay someone else to live in THEIR house! {As you can tell, I for one am on board for being a homeowner}.

With all this excitement, one often forgets that, as exciting as it is, you won’t get the moment back of walking into your empty-brand new to you-house and you will soon make it your home. With this in mind, I’ve enjoyed the idea and now been able to do a few of these sessions that are all about celebrating the excitement and photographing those moments so you will be able to look back, after 10, 20, maybe even 30 years of living in your home and remembering what it looked like and what YOU looked like when you first moved in!

Megan + Forrest {Jones} bought their very own home this week and allowed me to come in and take some photographs of them, standing in front of their house, showing off the key to THEIR house, sitting in their livingroom without any furniture in it, and even popping open a bottle of sparkling juice to celebrate. Last January {2016}, I was honored to be this couple’s wedding photographer. Megan and I are definitely not strangers to one another, we grew up together as I was close friends with her little sister and I have fond childhood memories. It’s very exciting to meet new people, but just as exciting to watch people you’ve known forever and be able to capture special life moments for them.

Congrats Megan + Forrest. Enjoy settling into your {h.o.m.e}.

Welcome to the Blog!

If you don't already know me, my name is Victoria Edwards, and I am the owner and photographer of Meant to Fly Photography! The picture shown is me with my business partner/other half/husband, Justin. We live in Winterset, Iowa with two dogs and a cat. Justin has helped me with shooting weddings in the past, he has went on sessions with me, carried my bags, filled up my wine glass on late editing nights, and more. We are kind of a two for one deal.

After several years of photographing weddings and sessions, and meeting so many amazing people along the way, I am more excited than ever to make some big changes this year! Of course, on a personal level, I got married to my very best friend last month and that was quite a change in itself, and on more of a business level, Meant to Fly Photography seems to be growing rapidly all the time, which is so beyond exciting! Like anything one does, we are giving it our all and trying new things in 2017. New, wonderful things such as first home session, lifestyle sessions, birth sessions (yes, I'm actually in the delivery room for this!) and boudoir sessions are some examples. Broadening our horizons and meeting amazing people along the way!

Thank you in advance, if you have never had a session with Meant to Fly Photography, and thank you ten times over for past and repeat clients. We could not have gotten where we are today and where we hope to be in the future without your support.

In the future blog posts, we will cover sessions, keep clients updated with new adventures, post wedding previews, and more. Please feel free to share, comment, like. :)

Always,

Victoria

Photo Credit to Allison Knox Photography.