Have you ever wondered how I tackle the ups, downs, and all the in-between that happen on a wedding day? This week on the podcast I’m sharing a step-by-step look at how I manage two very different weddings, each with its own set of logistics and demands. I also dive into what I’ve learned about healthy diets and proper carb intake when you’re working a high-energy job like this. My mind was seriously blown!
Keep scrolling for links to the episode, show notes, and a full transcript.
Show Notes
Timeline Freebie – https://simplysandrayvonne.ca/timelines
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Massage Gun & Tens Machine: https://www.amazon.ca/shop/lifeisbeautifullondon/list/1N8RQD8D6WL82?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_aipsflifeisbeautifullondon_8P7KA28E18XVQ74H4JK7
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Takeaways
- Wedding photography involves physical and mental exertion, and it is more than just pressing a button.
- A well-planned photography timeline is crucial for capturing all the important moments of a wedding day.
- Taking care of one’s physical and mental well-being before, during, and after a wedding is essential.
- Carb-loading before a wedding can help maintain energy levels throughout the day.
- Proper hydration and nutrition can contribute to a better overall experience on a wedding day.
- Using tools like massage guns and TENS machines can aid in muscle recovery after a long day of shooting.
- It’s important for photographers to have a hands-on approach to the photography timeline and work closely with other vendors to ensure a smooth wedding day.
- Each wedding is unique, and photographers should be adaptable and flexible to meet the needs and preferences of their clients.
- Taking time to relax and enjoy the wedding day can lead to better photos and a more positive experience for everyone involved.
Chapters
00:00 Preparing for Two Different Weddings
15:28 The Importance of a Well-Planned Photography Timeline
20:49 Fueling Your Body for a Wedding Day: The Role of Nutrition
25:12 Taking Care of Yourself: Preparing Physically and Mentally
28:20 The Physical Demands of Wedding Photography
29:10 Collaborating with Vendors for a Successful Wedding Day
31:52 Enjoying the Wedding Day: Balancing Work and Fun
What do your taco choices reveal about your wedding photography business? Take my quiz to find out!
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TRANSCRIPT
00:00 Preparing for Two Different Wedding Days
[00:00:00] Sandra: If you’ve ever wished you could peel back the curtain in somebody else’s photography business and see exactly how they approach a wedding day, then today is your lucky day.
[00:00:09] My last two weddings were so different from one another. So today I am so excited to be diving into how I prepped for both weddings, how the days went, the differences between the two hurdles that we came across and things that went well, and then how everything went after the wedding was all said and done.
[00:00:27] My last wedding was just a few days ago and I have so much to say and so many thoughts to share.
[00:00:33] Sandra: So here comes the intro and then we will get right into it.
[00:00:37] Welcome to keeping it candid. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, an international wedding and family photographer and business coach. I help wedding photographers use systems to build out the back end of their businesses to gain control and continue to thrive no matter what life throws their way. And on a more personal note, I’m a strong enneagram 3 wing too who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for travelling combined with navigating chronic illness life are just two of the many things that drive my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner.
[00:01:07] Join me every week for a candid behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer, where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends. So go grab your favourite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
[00:01:23] For anybody who’s been a long-time listener of the podcast, you know that I have really been pulling back on the number of weddings that I take on every year because I have so many other things going on with my health and things like that, that the physical toll that it takes on my body.
[00:01:37] Just is too much for me to be doing this every single weekend. So this year I have a wedding in June, July, and August. And with my June and July weddings out of the way, I thought there was no better time than to kind of give a behind-the-scenes day in the life look at what it looks like for me on a wedding day.
[00:01:56] I’m going to start with my June couple. They got married on June 22nd, and in my area, we were in the midst of a major heat wave. Earlier in the week, I believe the humidex hit, close to 41 degrees Celsius, which is, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe a hundred and five-ish for anybody who’s listening in the U. S. and is using Fahrenheit for temperatures.
[00:02:21] But thankfully, by the wedding day, it did cool off, and I’m using some air quotes here, cooled off a little bit, and it went down to 36 degrees Celsius, or roughly about 96, 97 degrees Fahrenheit. So, still hot as hell, but we were ready to make the best of it. As wedding photographers know, wedding vendors know, there’s nothing you can do to control the weather.
[00:02:43] But the day we figure it out, I know we are all going to be rejoicing because it will make our jobs so much easier. Anyway, so I woke up at 8 a.m. that day and I had done a few things the day before to kind of help myself get ready. I had a high-protein dinner, some chicken breast, and some steamed vegetables, and then when I woke up the next day, I had Greek yogurt for breakfast. I had some chicken salad and some cold vegetables for lunch, and I packed a couple of protein bars to bring with me for the wedding day.
[00:03:18] I also packed a ton of water. I did the math on all the water I drank that day and it equalled out to about Four and a half litres of water, which is more than a gallon for all of my American listeners. It was a lot. And I was still dehydrated. Like that’s how hot it was. So I get all of my protein bars and my water and everything loaded up into the car.
[00:03:43] And then I had about a half an hour drive to go and meet my assistant Emily. And we started with the groom’s getting ready photos at a hotel. This was a lot of fun because it’s hit and miss on whether or not the groom and his groomsman or his side of the wedding party are going to be really into photos.
[00:04:03] This time we had a bunch of guys that were just really excited, ready to participate in photos, and that always just makes the photos turn out so much better. So we got that all done, thankfully, keeping everybody inside and the air conditioning at the hotel.
[00:04:18] It didn’t make much of a difference for me. I started sweating from the second the day started and I did not stop sweating until I got into the shower after the wedding was over.
4:30 How Your Cycle Impacts Your Body Temperature
[00:04:30] Part of the reason for that was it was hot as hell outside, but I was also in a phase of my menstrual cycle where my body temperature just naturally increases. For a lot of people who menstruate, this is going to happen the week before your period starts.
[00:04:45] For me, it lasts a little bit longer just because of how my hormones are interacting with my body, having endometriosis and things like that. So it was a very, very sweaty day for me. Once we finished up with the guys, we headed over to the venue because the bride was getting ready at the same building as the ceremony and the reception, which was nice.
[00:05:06] I love being able to cut down on any sort of travel time so we can really maximize the time we have for photos.
[00:05:12] So once we got there, we unpacked all of our stuff and we headed inside and this venue is a, it’s gorgeous. It’s a really old train station, but you all know, with really old buildings, this typically means that there are air conditioning issues and airflow issues.
[00:05:28] So, even though there was air conditioning in this building. You really wouldn’t know it unless you were standing like directly over a vent. We headed upstairs where it was even hotter and we went to go and start the bride’s getting ready photos.
[00:05:42] But as we were doing details, I noticed that the bride wasn’t feeling well. She asked if we could just take a few minutes so she could have something to eat and something to drink. And of course, when it comes to a wedding day, my priority is to make sure that the couple and Everybody having their photo taken can relax and enjoy themselves.
[00:06:01] The priority is not the photos when it comes to whether or not the bride is feeling well. So we shifted things around. I shortened the time that we were going to need for photos. I told her that we could do photos with her bridal party later on during our wedding party photos. So that eliminated some time and we could just let her sit, try to cool off, hydrate herself, and we would keep going from there.
[00:06:25] And so what we ended up doing was my assistant and I took the bride into the bathroom and we plugged in a whole bunch of fans. A couple of her bridesmaids were in there as well, and I was the one who did up her dress. The bridesmaids that were in there had no experience with a corset dress.
[00:06:42] And so, of course, I was more than happy to step in and do that for her while my assistant and her bridesmaids tried to keep her cool. And then once her dress was all ready to go, we took her out and we did some mock photos with her mom. That way she still had those memories captured while we were able to take that extra time to cool her off and make her more comfortable.
[00:07:02] Thankfully that ended up being exactly what she needed. And we were able to head downstairs to start our pre-ceremony photos.
[00:07:10] When I do pre-ceremony photos, I like to section off about 20 to 30 minutes prior to the ceremony, and that gives us a chance to get photos of all of their ceremony details of the guests coming in and saying hi to one another and getting seated. And then, of course, most importantly, making sure that our camera gear is all ready to go for when the ceremony starts.
[00:07:30] Now, because of the heat, cocktails were moved into the reception area. So I had to make a quick little last-minute change. Once the ceremony started, I sent my assistant over into the reception space to start getting all of those details before all of the guests filled the room.
[00:07:47] Thankfully, the ceremony space that we were in was pretty compacted, so it was really easy for me to get all of the necessary angles and moments without being intrusive and being able to send my assistant off to get those photos.
[00:07:58] And that’s a perfect example of how as wedding photographers and wedding professionals we really need to think on our toes and sometimes make some last-minute changes and go with the flow of the day to make sure that we get the photos, even if we had planned it all perfectly and things aren’t exactly going according to that.
[00:08:15] One of my favourite parts of the whole day was actually during this ceremony one of the bridesmaids came up to do a reading, and she actually did a reading from the movie Crazy Stupid Love, which is one of my absolute favourite movies. If anybody listening has seen it, It was the part where Steve Carell is talking about the first time he ever lied to his dad about being in love with the girl that he had just met. And it was such a perfect reading and it was the first time I’ve ever heard somebody quote crazy stupid love. So I will definitely not forget that.
[00:08:46] It made me so happy. And then after the ceremony was over, we headed outside the train station to take advantage of a nice breeze that was finally rolling through and we used the old brick and natural light to do their family formals and the wedding party photos.
[00:09:02] For the newlywed photos, they had originally planned on going to a secondary location to have photos done, but because of how hot it was, they decided to just scratch that and take advantage of the great,
[00:09:15] and take advantage of everything that the train station had to offer instead.
[00:09:19] We did photos with them walking around out back of the building, And then we went back upstairs into that room where we had started with the getting ready photos, which had thankfully cooled down because it has the most gorgeous wall with exposed brick and some old drywall still hanging on.
[00:09:34] It’s one of the biggest selling features that this venue has and why so many people love getting married there. so I was really glad that we were able to go back in and take advantage without making the couple pass out to have their photos taken.
[00:09:48] Once we got all of the formal photos done, it was time for our reception prep. This is the same as the ceremony prep that I’ve already mentioned, where we set aside about 20 to 30 minutes before the reception to get photos of the decor, to get candids of everybody as they’re taking their seat and socializing with one another, and making sure that our camera gear is all ready to go for when the grand entrance starts.
[00:10:14] When the grand entrance did kick off, it went right into the cake cutting, and then speeches were split between rounds at the buffet. I have to give the biggest thank you to this couple because where they sat me at the table, the pasta portion of the buffet was literally right behind me. And I’m not going to lie.
[00:10:35] It was some of the best pasta that I’ve ever had and I don’t know if that’s because of how hot it was or how hungry I was or if it really was the most delicious pasta ever.
[00:10:44] Either way, I had a lot of it with no regrets because there was tons left over and I hate seeing food go to waste. After dinner and dessert were all said and done. It was time for the first dance. And then the dance floor opened with all of the guests invited to come out and join them. And at that point, the incredible wedding planners helped me bring my vision to life for the night photo that I wanted to do with the couple. There was beautiful drapery all on the wall behind the sweetheart table with twinkling fairy lights in behind it and I had a vision of using that as the backdrop for their night photo.
[00:11:19] So the planners helped me move the sweetheart table out of the way and get it all cleared out so that the couple didn’t even have to leave the dance floor. The guests just moved their dancing a little bit off to the side and the couple came out onto the center of the dance floor
[00:11:33] and we ended the night with a bang. I’m going to be sharing this photo over on my photography Instagram account, which you can find at @lifeisbeautifullondon. I am going to be posting that later today when this episode airs, so definitely go and take a look if you are interested in seeing what the outcome of that was.
[00:11:49] And it was super fun because they had all of their guests just cheering them on and getting some more natural reactions out of them for the photos.
[00:11:56] Then after about an eight-and-a-half-hour photography day, we were all finished and we packed up our gear and we said goodbye to the couple and we went and headed outside. I had brought my laptop with me because my assistant and I live on totally different ends of the city. So we just hung out in the parking lot.
[00:12:14] Cool off a little bit While we uploaded our photos onto my hard drive.
[00:12:17] And then we said our goodbyes and headed home. Now, for me, this drive, I gotta say, was not fun. It was about 40 minutes from the venue to my house. And with it being a combination of my first wedding of the year, not the most convenient time in my cycle, having an already increased body temperature, and then also dealing with a heat wave, as soon as the adrenaline of the day started wearing off when I got in my car, all of it all kind of culminated, and I was so sick on my way home. I spent almost the entire 40 minutes dry heaving. I just did not want to pull over and get sick, so I tried to just, like, breathe through it as much as I could.
[00:13:07] And my husband, I just love him so much, he was standing outside waiting for me to get there, and he had a ginger chew candy, which they are,
[00:13:16] I mean, they’re exactly what they sound like. They’re candies that, these ones I get are mango flavoured, and they’re just a chewy candy, and they are also made with lots of ginger to help settle your stomach. They’re the best. So yeah, as soon as I started eating that ginger candy, I started feeling a lot better. I went inside, I immediately showered With one of the coldest showers I think I’ve ever had.
[00:13:38] Afterwards, I started importing all of my photos, and Then I went to bed, but the fun wasn’t over there because I was so overstimulated from the day, that it took me until about 5 a.m. to fall asleep.
[00:13:52] Sandra: Even though I was so physically exhausted, my nervous system just would not slow down. So I had to just ride it out. I finally fell asleep at around five o’clock in the morning and the wedding hangover lasted about three days. Which is pretty quick. I expect it to last about four days normally. So when I actually started feeling a lot better around day 2. 5 and then by day three was back to my regularly scheduled programming. It was mind-blowing. And the one thing that I had to thank for that was that my husband actually bought me a massage gun for Christmas. And I used that to roll out the muscles on my thighs, my calves, my biceps.
[00:14:40] I used a different attachment to get into my hips and my glutes.
[00:14:45] And it seriously made all the difference.
[00:14:49] I am all about trying different things to help with pain management and getting your body to recover faster. and of course, exercise is always the best thing, but for me and my chronic pain and my chronic health issues, that’s not always a possibility. So having this massage gun work so well was great.
[00:15:06] I also have a TENS machine that I’ll use, which sends small electric currents into your muscles. And I’ll use that for anything that’s like real deep down that my massage gun can’t get to. And the combo of the two of them had me back up and running at least a good day or more quicker than normal.
[00:15:24] So that was amazing.
15:28 Wedding Timeline Freebie!
[00:15:27] Even if your couples are hiring a wedding planner, I think it’s so important for a photographer to have a hands-on approach when it comes to tackling the photography timeline for the wedding day. It’s so important for vendors to all work together with the couple to make sure all those important moments are going to be captured perfectly. But when it comes time to actually write that timeline, it can be so tedious. So I put together a timeline template inside Google Sheets that you can download for free if you go to my website at simplysandrayvonne.ca/timelines. This Google Sheets template has four different tabs.
[00:16:03] One for notes, where you can put contact information, And anything else you’ll need to refer to a tab for the timeline with simple drop-down menus in 5-minute increments to make sure that you are able to note every single part of the day.
[00:16:16] A family shot list tab where you can write in every single family photo you’re going to do and also put notes for the relation of who the people are so you know exactly who’s standing in front of your camera. and then lastly, you’ll also find a vendor tab where you can put all of the vendor’s contact information, get their social media handles and more to make sure that it’s super easy to tag them and share photos going forward.
[00:16:39] If this is something you need in your wedding photography business, I want you to head over to simplysandrayvonne.ca/timelines to get your copy.
16:49 A Different Approach To A Wedding Day
[00:16:49] Once I was out of the wedding hangover, I did have the following weekend off. So that was nice. And then it took me to my next wedding, Which just happened this past weekend
[00:17:01] This couple had a six-hour package and they really wanted a low-key, candid approach to their wedding day. Not that the other couple in June didn’t want a low-key approach either – that’s kind of my vibe that I bring to the wedding day but they had more hours and wanted a lot more with like the getting ready and post photos and things like that.
[00:17:24] Now for this wedding, when it came to how I was eating and how I was going to be nourishing my body before and during the wedding day, I decided to take a totally different approach. And I want to explain where my thought process came with this. So normally I associate protein with energy. and I think that most of us do, We know that having lots of protein in our diet is important and plays a huge role in how we can hold our energy throughout the day. And then if you’re like me, I’m 37, and if you are anywhere in my age bracket, you know that we grew up during a time when the world was very anti-carb.
[00:18:05] And I know there’s a lot of reasons that go into that, and for some people, obviously grains and things like that with gluten, it is an issue for them. But for me, I don’t have a gluten allergy, and I think that my understanding of how carbs play a role in your diet and your energy levels and things like that came from that negative approach to carbs.
[00:18:28] And so I was thinking about how that June wedding went, where it was really, really hot, and I’d eaten a lot of protein, but I was struggling to keep up throughout the day, and I assumed it just had to do with the heat And the fact that I was where I was in my cycle and things like that, but when it came time for dinner, I had some chicken and then I had that pasta that I was saying earlier was like the best pasta I ever had.
[00:18:52] Even though I wasn’t feeling that hungry because of how hot it was and how busy I was, I could not get enough of this pasta. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but as I was preparing for this next wedding in July, My wheels started turning and a light bulb went off about how the fact that athletes will typically carb load before a game.
[00:19:12] And so I decided to do a little bit of research. I did some reading myself and I reached out to some friends of mine who have more experience when it comes to nutrition and how it impacts your body. So I first talked to my friend Sid over at In Ink Weddings. Shout out to Sid. She is amazing at all things wedding.
[00:19:31] But she also just completed a marathon running through the Inca mountains in Peru and I’m not going to lie. I was fully online stalking her because I just found this to be so inspiring. And so I knew that she had been training for that for a while and that diet was going to play a huge role in that.
[00:19:50] So I reached out to her. And then I also reached out to a friend of mine who is a personal trainer and nutritionist and a couple of friends who are massage therapists. And these people all were able to give me so much insight into how carbs can actually help you on a wedding day. They do play a role along with protein and how you’re able to keep up your energy levels throughout the day. there’s also science behind it about how your muscles are able to heal after high-intensity workouts, which isn’t just at the gym. Anybody who’s worked at a wedding knows wedding days definitely count for high intensity. So I’m so glad that I reached out to them and I decided to take this different approach to my diet for this wedding.
[00:20:31] And I want to give a disclaimer that this is not advice by any means. I want to make sure that you are consulting who you need to consult before you make any changes to your diet. This is just something that I knew I would be able to try safely on my own and I wanted to share what the outcome of that was.
20:49 Fueling Your Body for a Wedding Day: The Role of Nutrition
[00:20:49] So, the day before the wedding for dinner, I had pesto pasta with chicken and some veggies, and then I had a Danish for dessert. The next morning, I had the rest of my Danish for breakfast. Definitely could have made healthier choices, but I was just going with the food that I had. So I ate the rest of that Danish for breakfast.
[00:21:09] And then for lunch, I packed myself a chicken salad sandwich. And of course, all the water again. This time we had a late start for the wedding day. We didn’t actually start until 4:30 pm, but the couple was getting married at a venue with a private beach, so my assistant Shannon and I decided to go up early and we spent a few hours laying out in the sun and swimming in the lake before we went inside and got cleaned up for when we had to start photos.
We were starting right with the ceremony this time, no getting-ready photos, but regardless of that, we always make sure that we have that time ahead of the ceremony to make sure we’re able to get photos of the details, guests as they’re arriving, and making sure that our gear is all ready to go for when everybody starts walking down the aisle.
The ceremony was running a little bit late, and it was very sunny outside, so the guests lingered around the edge where they were able to hang out in the shade and enjoy some water and things like that until the ceremony got started. It was a short and sweet ceremony with the most beautiful exit as the couple walked down the aisle and they had their guests do a petal toss, and then we really got into embracing the low-key, candid aspect of the day.
[00:22:17] We had a few family photos to do, but as guests were trying to make arrangements for their kids, use the washroom, get a drink, and things like that, we floated around doing candids until everybody was available, and we just fit those family formals in where we could.
[00:22:31] We didn’t do any wedding party or newlywed formals before the reception started, allowing the couple to mingle with their guests and take time to just enjoy their day.
[00:22:41] It also gave us lots of time for reception details and to get to know some of the vendors that we were working with because most of them were actually new faces.
[00:22:49] As the couple did their entrance into the reception, They did a Polish tradition where they take, I believe it’s a shot of water and a shot of vodka, but this couple opted to just do shots of water and then eat some, bread with salt on it. And then receive a Polish blessing and be on your way to the head table.
[00:23:07] And then immediately after the grand entrance, we went into speeches, which was really nice to get those done and out of the way so that everybody could just sit and enjoy their dinner.
[00:23:17] Towards the end of dinner service, the couple headed onto the dance floor for their first dance. And then we headed right outside into a golf cart. The staff from the venue drove us down to the beach for the most beautiful sunset I have had on a wedding day in so long.
[00:23:33] It was seriously like the picture-perfect sunset over the water, which made my photographer heart happy, but also made me even happier for my clients because I know specifically the bride booked this venue for that reason. And so it was so nice knowing that all of her wedding day sunset dreams came true.
[00:23:52] Once we went back inside the venue, we did some more candids on the dance floor, and then we headed home. This drive home was thankfully a lot less painful than the last one. I did not get sick. And once I did get home, I showered and went to bed and fell asleep at a normal time. So a huge difference compared to a couple of weeks ago.
[00:24:15] before. Overall, I felt so much more mentally clear and energized throughout the entire day. I forgot to mention during dinner, I went really carb-heavy again. I did have some chicken to make sure I was getting that protein in me, but I had two dinner rolls. And then I had some potatoes and vegetables, and really just made sure that I kept running with those carbs.
[00:24:36] My total water intake on this wedding day was about two and a half litres of water, which is about 0. 6 gallons for all of my American listeners.
[00:24:46] Now, even though I was at a much better, much more energetic part of my cycle, I really do think that the way I approached my diet and my carb intake for this wedding day was the catalyst for me feeling so much better.
25:00 Taking Care of Yourself: Preparing Physically and Mentally
[00:25:00] Not only did I stay so much more mentally clear and energetic throughout the entire day, But I also cannot tell you the last time I felt that good waking up the day after a wedding. Normally my thighs, my calves, and my biceps are all burning and sore and inflamed. None of that happened this time. My joints were still really sore.
[00:25:24] But that’s something that I know my joints are really needing to be strengthened and stabilized. So that’s something that I’ve been working on. Just starting to go swimming and things like that to try and get some low-impact exercise in when I can. But it was just shocking to me how different my muscles felt overall.
[00:25:42] And I didn’t wake up with a migraine the next day! No matter how much water I drink or how long I have my sunglasses on, or if I put a hat on when it’s really sunny and we’re doing photos outside, I’ve tried all the things and nothing has ever helped me escape that Sunday morning migraine that happens after a wedding, but this time I did not have a migraine and so I don’t know.
[00:26:07] I’m not a nutritionist. This is my first time doing this. Again, I don’t want to say that this is the absolute way to feel good on a wedding day, but it was enough for me to be really intrigued and for me to want to step back and look at how I’m approaching my diet, especially around work.
[00:26:26] And yeah, it’s also kind of been a little bit humbling to realize that something that I thought I really had a handle on was… Not necessarily totally wrong, but a little bit off base in terms of how to approach a high-impact wedding day versus how you would approach your diet for everyday life.
[00:26:46] So take that for what it’s worth. If it’s something that you can safely try and you’re interested in trying, increase your carb intake and see how it feels for you.
[00:26:55] There are lots of different ways that you can approach eating more carbs. For me, I’m thankful that I don’t have any sort of gluten allergy, and I love bread, so I will take any excuse to eat more grains. You don’t have to ask me twice. And so the next time that I have a really long, high-impact day, Day will be in a few weeks when I have my summer mini-sessions on the beach.
[00:27:17] And as of right now, I have eight families booked in and I still have a few more spots open that I’m hoping to fill before then. So I will be taking this same approach for that, where I’m going to try a really high carb, high protein diet around the time of the session and see how it goes from there.
[00:27:36] Now I know my story and my approach to a wedding day is going to be different than a lot of people listening. It’s not everyone’s story, but it is for a lot of us. And when it comes to listening to people talk about the photography industry from those who are not actually in the photography industry, they say things like it’s just pressing a button and they don’t understand why yada, yada.
[00:28:00] I get really frigging frustrated because it is so much more than that. Like, let’s ignore all of the editing and all the things that we have to do to prep and do behind the scenes in our office and things like that. On the actual wedding day, we are running, we are climbing, we are standing in weird positions.
28:18 The Physical Demands of a Wedding Day
[00:28:18] We are going nonstop for hours, and the physical toll of that is huge. There’s also a mental toll that goes along with it when you have to be on for that many hours. You’re not only having to think about what you’re actually doing, but you’re having to think about everything that is still to come.
[00:28:35] You’re probably thinking about everything that you’ve already done. You have to navigate not only your clients but all the guests that have attended the wedding. It can be a lot. I know I’m preaching to the choir here while I’m standing on this little soapbox, but we all know it is so much more than pushing a button
[00:28:50] and those physical requirements and the toll that it takes on a person’s body are a big reason as to why I’ve pulled back so aggressively on the number of weddings that I do.
[00:29:00] if you want to dive in a little bit more into how to tackle before, during, and after a wedding day to alleviate some of what you have to go through during the wedding hangover, after the wedding day is all said and done, I want you to go back and listen to episode 31 of this podcast, where I was joined by Kassandra Fuller, who is an ex wedding planner, turned personal trainer and nutritionist, she shared so much valuable information that I know is going to help you immensely throughout this wedding season. The link for that is going to be in the show notes. And I’m also going to throw some links in there for some of the things that I’ve talked about today, like my massage gun that I use, the tens machine, my big water jug and things like that.
[00:29:39] So make sure you go and get all of those details if you are interested. And that wraps up everything for me for this week’s episode. I hope that this gave you some interesting insight into how somebody else approaches a wedding day. Whether you learned something that you thought “I’m absolutely never going to run my wedding day like that, or you’re like, that’s a really great idea. Both are super valuable. So I hope that you had some sort of takeaway from it and enjoy the rest of your week.
[00:30:08] Have a great wedding this weekend if you’ve got one and I will be back next Wednesday.
30:14 Episode Sponsor – Aftershoot
[00:30:14] Today’s episode of Keeping It Candid was sponsored by Aftershoot. Aftershoot is an AI editing and culling software that is going to be an absolute game changer for your photography business.
[00:30:25] You can upload your photos, cull them and do base editing all in one platform before pulling your photos over into Lightroom to make your final tweaks.
[00:30:34] The culling software will go through and filter out photos that are blurry or where people are blinking, it will pick out the best of the best, and it will continuously learn from you every time you modify the selections. From there, you can pull it in for some AI editing that again is trained off of your personal editing style and will apply those settings to your photos It’s able to do cropping white balance levels, adjustments, curves adjustments, split toning – anything you could need to, and they’re even now beta testing an AI subject masking feature, which for a beta, you guys, it is so good, and I am loving it.
[00:31:15] From there, I pull my photos in the Lightroom, and I apply my final tweaks, and then they are ready to go to my client. For my spring mini sessions this year, I had 10 clients come in and I had all of their photos fully edited and delivered within eight days.
[00:31:31] Yeah, you heard that right. Eight days. Aftershoot is going to save you so much time and take so much work off your plate this year. It’s not meant to replace you, but it is going to be your new favourite tool in your toolkit to work more efficiently and get those photos out sooner so that you have happier clients and can spend more time behind your camera or even taking some time off.
[00:31:54] To try out Aftershoot, head over to my website, simplysandrayvonne.ca/resources, or check out the show notes for today’s episode, and you will find a link to save 10% off your first year.
[00:32:06] Thank you so much for listening. You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/shownotes.
In the meantime, let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram and TikTok, just search Simply Sandra Yvonne. And if you love this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Until next time!
This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a small amount of money if you make a purchase from any of our affiliates. This is done at no cost to you!
[00:00:00] Sandra Henderson: Welcome back to the very last episode of my special March series, all about endometriosis awareness month. If you missed the last couple of episodes, I shared what my story has been first leading up to getting my diagnosis and then an update of what my life has been like over the last couple of years.
[00:00:17] So if that is at all of interest to you, make sure you go back and give those a listen. And today is just going to be a short and sweet episode where I am talking all about my endometriosis toolkit. These are things that I have with me on the go and at home at all times to just make my life a little bit easier.
[00:00:36] (Intro music) Welcome to Keeping it Candid. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, an international wedding and family photographer and business coach. I help wedding photographers use systems to build out the back end of their businesses to gain control and continue to thrive no matter what life throws their way.
And on a more personal note, I’m a strong Enneagram three wing too who’s obsessed with I’m obsessed with tacos. My love for travelling combined with navigating chronic illness life are just two of the many things that drive my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner.
Join me every week for a candid behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer, where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends, so go grab your favourite notebook and pen and let’s dive into this week’s episode. (music fades out)
02:13 Endometriosis Surgery Details
[00:01:25] Quickly, before I get into that, I had quite a few people pop into my DMs after last week’s episode to ask me about what my surgery is that’s coming up next year. And I realized that I completely forgot to talk about that in my last episode. I’m going to blame it on the fact that it was day one of my cycle.
[00:01:43] And Honestly, I thought it was a great idea to record on that day given that it’s Endometriosis Awareness Month, but in hindsight, it was a terrible idea. I felt horrible. I feel like you could hear it in my voice and the brain fog was so, so bad. So. I will probably never do that again, but just to give a quick little update on what my surgery is going to be, I don’t have a date for it.
[00:02:08] It’s going to be sometime in 2025, but I am going in for a hysterectomy. Now, it’s really important to note that a hysterectomy is not a cure for endometriosis. There is a similar disease, it’s kind of like endometriosis-sister disease called adenomyosis, and that is when the tissues start to embed themselves into your uterus.
[00:02:29] Whereas for me, those tissues are going elsewhere in my body. So when you have adenomyosis, removing your uterus is absolutely a cure for that because there’s no more uterus for the tissues to embed in. But with endometriosis, removing my uterus is essentially just going to stop my periods. It is not going to do anything for any tissues that are elsewhere in my body, but I’m not mad at the idea of not having periods anymore.
[00:02:54] I gave up my fertility a long time ago, and so if this surgery means that I have a couple of days less pain a month, then I am totally okay with that. I am having the hysterectomy performed by a surgeon who is an endometriosis specialist. And so while he’s performing that surgery, he’s also going to be looking elsewhere for any tissues that may have grown on my diaphragm is a big area that we’re going to be looking at.
[00:03:17] Also looking at my ovaries, the ligaments over top of my uterus, um, Where else? We’re going to be looking inside my bladder and looking at my bowels. They’re also going to be taking a look at my appendix and removing it if there are any issues with it. So it is going to be a very invasive surgery. they’re going to be doing a lot of looking around.
03:26 Invasive Endometriosis Surgery and Remission Period
[00:03:39] If they do find any tissues while they’re in there, they are going to remove them. So that’s kind of what that looks like. Hopefully having this surgery performed by a specialist is going to mean that I get a little bit of relief afterwards, almost like a remission period. After my last surgery in 2019, I was told to expect about five years minimum of remission and I had not.
[00:04:04] So I’m a little hesitant to get my hopes up. up about what life is going to look like after this surgery, but I do know it’s a necessary next step and it’s one that I’ve been pushing for. When the day comes, I am looking forward to it and I’m just going to have to take those unknowns as they come along.
[00:04:21] So I hope that clears everything up for you. If you were wondering what that was all about, and if you have any other questions at all, by all means, please feel free to pop into my DMs. You can find me on Instagram at SimplySandraYvonne, and I am totally an open book when it comes to talking about endometriosis.
04:40 Heating Pads and Robax Heat Wraps
[00:04:40] Okay, so now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to my endometriosis toolkit. First, heating pads of any capacity, but specifically some Robax heat wraps. I wish I was a Robax affiliate. I swear the number of people that I’ve had go buy these, they should be paying me a cut at this point for all the referrals.
[00:04:58] But these wraps are pretty much like those hand warmers that you can put in your pocket. So they come in a package and as soon as you open it up the air will activate the crystals inside and it has up to 16 hours of heat I believe. I’ve never worn it for the full 16 hours but let me tell you on a wedding day these are absolutely amazing.
[00:05:18] They are really thin and sleek so they hide under your clothes. The material is almost like a stretchy diaper tab but Giant size. They’re one size fits most. I don’t want to say one size fits all, even though that’s what the box says. Because we all know that there is no such thing as one size fits all.
[00:05:36] So one size fits most. It does have adjustable self adhering velcro type material to hold it on you. And I just put it under my clothing. They do have ones that are specifically marketed towards being put on your uterus. But anybody who’s familiar with the pink tacks knows that those are actually more expensive than the ones that I use, which are just for your back.
[00:05:59] And all you need to do is just spin it around so that it’s sitting on your front. save yourself some unnecessary money. So those are something that I have in my camera bag for every wedding day, every session. I bring them with me when I’m travelling. And then of course I have my heating pads that I can plug in for when I’m going to be inside.
06:18 Ergonomic Seat Cushions
[00:06:18] Next is my ergonomic seat cushion. I have ergonomic seat cushions in my office, in my car, and one to travel with. Sitting on hard surfaces is really, really painful for me because of the tension I have in my pelvis and the damage that’s been done to my pelvic floor because of having endometriosis. So I was finding that I couldn’t even sit in my office to edit without being in pain.
[00:06:44] If I was driving for a long time, I was having a hard time walking when I was getting out of the car. And so getting these ergonomic seat cushions has been absolutely amazing. They just make sure that my hips are positioned properly. If you have any sort of back pain, regardless of what the cause is, this is going to be really helpful.
[00:07:03] This is going to be really helpful for you as well. and yeah, I just bring them on the go. So I have one with me on a wedding day so that I have that to sit on during a reception. I also have a pop up stool that I bring with me so that I can always sit if I need to and I can just put my cushion down on that.
[00:07:18] I bring it on airplanes because airplane seats are so comfortable. So uncomfortable. So yeah, I absolutely love these cushions. Highly recommend. I’m also going to be putting together an Amazon list for almost everything that I talk about in this episode. So make sure you pop over into the show notes to check that out if you’re interested in grabbing any of these.
07:37 Proper Shoes for Support
[00:07:37] Third is shoes. I’m officially in my sensible shoe era. I’m not gonna lie, I hate it, but I finally got some cute runners that have really great arch support, and that’s been making my life a little bit easier, making me feel a little bit less like my mom. , but, Wearing proper shoes has been so necessary for the pressure it puts on my joints, for the pressure it puts on my pelvis and my back.
[00:08:03] As much as I love wearing cute shoes, something had to give and I am already in enough pain without adding to it. So sensible shoe era it is. I just ordered some cute arch-support sandals from Amazon. So I’m hoping that those can replace my runners in the summer, but make sure that you have shoes that support you regardless of what kind of shoe that is.
08:23 E-Reader for Reading Comfort
[00:08:26] That is going to be super important for your toolkit as well. Next on the list is my e-reader. Now, this could be a Kindle, a Kobo, an iPad, whatever that may look like for you, but I made the switch to using an e-reader rather than reading books because of the pressure it was putting on my hands, especially on days that I was recovering from a wedding or was dealing with a flare.
[00:08:51] I love reading. I love the feeling of turning pages and the smell of books, but it was really discouraging for me that on days when I was in pain, I wasn’t able to read when reading is something that I do to be able to take my mind off of how I’m feeling. So I officially made the switch to using an e-reader and it has been so nice to be able to just pop my screen up and have it there and not have to worry about holding the book.
[00:09:15] And I’ve gotten so much more reading done since then. My goal for 2024 is to read 20 books. I am on book number five right now. So fingers crossed that I can keep up with it, but that would definitely not be able to happen if I was still reading paperback books, sorry. Even worse, hardcover books.
09:43 Water Cooler and Water Bottle
[00:09:43] The second last thing on my toolkit is, strangely enough, my water cooler and my water bottle. These are, I know, two things, but we’re going to combine them into one. Getting a water cooler was one of the best purchases I ever made for my house. I know that we have water coming out of the tap, I get it, but I just don’t like it.
[00:10:00] If you drink water all the time, you know that water has a taste. and I will die on this hill. Water has a taste and every kind of bottled water tastes different. Every tap water tastes different. And I just really don’t like the tap water at home. So we got this water cooler and now that’s all I drink. I drink water all day long.
[00:10:19] Like, I have probably increased my water intake by about a thousand percent since we got this. I also always have an insulated water bottle with me so I can bring cold water on the go, but I actually call it my emotional support water bottle because I literally have it with me everywhere. At this point, it doesn’t even stand up straight anymore because I’ve dropped it so many times and the bottom is so dented, but I love this water bottle.
[00:10:43] And having it with me at all times means that I’m always able to stay hydrated, which is really important for keeping down my inflammation levels.
11:43 Cannabis Products for Nausea and Endometriosis Pain
Now, the last thing in my toolkit, this is one that I will say being able to include it is going to depend on where you live, what laws are like in your area, and what your comfort level is.
[00:11:04] But for me, I am a 420-friendly person. This is a 420-friendly household and living in Canada, cannabis products are legal here. So using cannabis products, I use a vape currently, and this is something that I use every day to help with my chronic nausea and pain levels. I know a lot of people may hear this and just be like, no, that is not for me.
[00:11:29] But if it’s something that you partake in, no, I fully support that decision. If it’s something that you’re curious about and want to ask questions in a safe space, by all means, slide into my DM. I am here to help support you through this. but yeah, it’s something that has been prescribed medicinally for a long time.
[00:11:48] I think that there are a lot of benefits for it and how it can impact my body. And of course, yes, there is the argument about the damage that it’s doing to my lungs and I understand that, but it’s just another one of those conversations about the juice being worth the squeeze. The amount of damage that I would be doing to my body if I was allowing my chronic nausea to run rampant all day long if I was not able to eat properly, if I was in extreme levels of pain.
[00:12:16] And having to use narcotic pain medication, all of those things would be doing so much more damage to my body than consuming cannabis. And I think it really goes to show how important it is to get rid of the stigma around using cannabis products because not only can they really help people with chronic illnesses, but it doesn’t mean that you’re not capable of doing other things.
[00:12:37] I’m running two businesses and being there for my stepson and a part of my household and part of my relationship and my marriage, all while still consuming cannabis, the idea that it’s going to turn you into this stoner who is not capable of doing anything and just wants to sit around and eat all day.
[00:12:58] You know, maybe that happens every now and then, but it’s definitely not true a hundred percent of the time. So if there is one thing that we take away from this part of the episode, I hope that it’s just to let’s end the stigma around a lot of things, but especially around using cannabis products.
13:25 Recap and Conclusion
So as a quick little recap of what is inside my toolkit, we have heating pads, but especially Robax heat wraps for your back that you can either use on your back if you have back pain or spin them around to the front to help with cramps.
[00:13:28] An ergonomic seat cushion that I bring everywhere and have in my office, in my car, comfy shoes with lots of arch support. A water cooler and a water bottle so that I’m always staying hydrated. An e-reader so that I don’t have to worry about the pressure that books are putting on my hands on bad pain days.
[00:13:46] And my cannabis vape. I hope that these are helpful to you. If you have anything that you include in your toolkit that you want to recommend, by all means let me know. I love having endometriosis friends in my community. I always say that it sucks that we have to bond over something so shitty, but at least we have each other and there is so much comfort in just knowing that someone else gets it.
[00:14:10] So pop into my DMs if you have any recommendations, and next week we are going to be back to our regularly scheduled programming. My friend Alex from Alex Collier Design is joining me for an interview to talk all about your website homepage, things that are important to have on it, things that you want to avoid, and hopefully give you some ideas on how to spruce up your homepage without feeling like you have to completely redo your entire website.
[00:14:35] And for me, I’m actually heading to Florida on Monday for a couple of weeks. It is going to be a working vacation, but I am going with my husband, my best friends, and their family, and I cannot wait. I am daydreaming nonstop about the endless hours of sun that I’m going to be getting. Hopefully, by the time I am back in my office, I will be a bronze goddess with a tan that is going to last me through the end of this Canadian winter.
[00:15:00] Anyways, friends, have a great rest of your Wednesday and I will be back next week.
(Outro music) Thank you so much for listening. You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandryvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime, let’s connect. You can find me on Instagram and TikTok, just search @SimplySandraYvonne. And if you love this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Until next time. (Music fades out)
About Sandra
Sandra Henderson is a photographer, systems strategist, and podcast host based in Ontario, Canada. She specializes in helping photographers create strategic systems for their businesses to help them get their time back so they can spend it doing the things they love most. As an entrepreneur who also navigates chronic illness life, Sandra takes a unique approach to using systems that will help businesses thrive no matter what life throws your way.
On a personal note, she loves tacos, all things Bravo, 90’s music, travelling, and spending time at home with her husband, stepson, and two cats!
I am back today to share part two of my endometriosis story. If you missed last week’s episode, I re-shared a recording that I had done back when I was first starting the podcast to give you a little bit of context about what my past with endometriosis has been like, what led me to get a diagnosis and things like that.
So if you haven’t checked that out, definitely go give it a listen. But today I am recording this episode on the very day that it is going to be launched. It’s currently 830 in the morning. I am watching the sun come up through my office window. My cat is nagging me to pay attention to her. I am also on the first day of my cycle, which I thought would be really appropriate for an episode during Endometriosis Awareness Month, where I’m talking about what my life is like right now.
So if you’re ready for a little update and all the things that have changed since I first made that episode [00:01:00] and what my life looks like today, we’re going to get right to it after the intro.
(Intro music) Welcome to Keeping it Candid. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, an international wedding and family photographer and business coach. I help wedding photographers use systems to build out the back end of their businesses to gain control and continue to thrive no matter what life throws their way.
And on a more personal note, I’m a strong Enneagram three wing too who’s obsessed with I’m obsessed with tacos. My love for travelling combined with navigating chronic illness life are just two of the many things that drive my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner.
Join me every week for a candid behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer, where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends, so go grab your favourite notebook and pen and let’s dive into this week’s episode. (music fades out)
02:19 Effects of Medications
Towards the end of last week’s episode, I was talking about how I went on to medications for endometriosis that gave up my fertility [00:02:00] and were meant to help me manage the symptoms that I was having from endometriosis. I was told that these medications were putting me in menopause and that stopping my period and managing my hormones was going to control the pain and things that I was experiencing throughout the month.
And Well, part of that was true. I learned after I stopped taking most of the medications that it did not put me into menopause. These hormone medications stopped my body’s ability to be able to produce estrogen while I was taking them. And so that’s what stopped my period. It also gave me horrible side effects like hot flashes and all the things that people experience when they’re going through menopause.
But as soon as I stopped taking them, my period came back, but the hot flash just stuck around, and for a while, it was a whole mess. I wasn’t sleeping well, all these things. It was like having the worst of both worlds between having a period and being in menopause. I hated it. So when I finally [00:03:00] got in to see an endometriosis specialist last summer, which would have been July 2023, more than three years after my initial referral was sent to the specialist, I was finally accepted and that doctor had me stop taking all medications that I was on.
03:05 Waiting for Surgery
The reason for that is that we were trying to get my body back down to a base level to see how it Acts on its own without any sort of hormonal intervention so that we could get a better visual of what’s happening before I go in for my next surgery. My next surgery is currently up in the air and when that’s going to happen.
I’m on a waitlist and we’re hopeful for 2025. This just kind of paints a picture of what our healthcare Looks like in Ontario and in Canada, I’m not going to get into a whole tirade about it. I totally understand the privilege of having access to free health care, but if it’s something that I can only access every few years and it’s that difficult to get care, then.
04:00 Managing Symptoms
[00:04:00] Something needs to change, right? But anyway, side tangent, little soapbox there. And so going off all these hormone medications and getting my body ready for surgery has meant that my period has come back. I didn’t have it for a few years, and again, all those medications that I was taking, that was kind of the goal, was to stop my period so that I could at least have a few days where I had a little bit of relief from the symptoms I was feeling.
I will say, there’s no such thing as relief when you have endometriosis. There are some good days, and there are some bad days, but even on the good days, you still have symptoms and you are still in pain. And so, I’m glad that I took them. I think they did serve a purpose if even to just give me time to learn more about the disease and how it impacts my body, how it impacts my daily life.
But now that I’m off them, I would say that I would never go back on them if I had another choice. If there’s anybody here that’s listening that has endometriosis or is on [00:05:00] their own journey to getting a diagnosis, please don’t take that as any sort of you should or you should not go on any hormones or medications yourself.
Do What’s Best For You
I think that especially I think that with anything in life, you really have to do what is best for you, and I double down on that when it comes to your health. There are a lot of passionate people in the endometriosis community, and a lot of them will swear up and down that you should never touch a lot of these medications, but I have no regrets.
I think that with some of the medications that I took, I made an educated decision on what was best for me, and while some people would never consider it, I credit that to giving me the ability to get some rest and start being able to walk properly again and stop being able to eat and start being able to eat properly again back in 2020.
And so even though I don’t want to go back on them in the future, I [00:06:00] have no regrets. So I just wanted to make that very clear for anybody who is listening, because I know how disheartening it can be when you think you’ve found an answer and someone tells you that it’s not. a bad option or whatever the case may be.
06:18 Tracking Your Menstrual Cycle
So, just remember, ask your doctor questions, talk to your support system, and just make whatever decision is best for you. Since my period has come back, I do track my cycle even more religiously than I did before. I have talked about this a lot on the podcast, but I’ve actually started using an app called Moody, I call it Moody.
I think it’s like Moody Month Cycle or something like that is the full name of it, but it’s available for iPhone and Android systems. , I’m not an affiliate in any way. I’m just legit obsessed with this app. There are so many statistics. It’s so many customizations. There are graphs and info and I just nerd over it so much highly recommend it for anybody who gets a [00:07:00] period.
Understanding Your Hormone Levels
It has really helped me. Just have a better understanding of what my hormone levels are doing throughout the month, and how long each phase of my cycle is, which I used to think that each of the four phases was seven days. I’ve learned that in my winter, which is when I get my period, that part of my cycle is only about three days.
And then the next section is actually ten days. So that has given me a lot of clarity on how my body feels on different days, and I am very particular about making sure that I’m staying healthy. Scheduling on days that I typically feel well and not scheduling on days that I typically feel awful So like I said today is day one of my cycle; I’ve known for the last few weeks that today I was going to expect to have low energy Quite a bit of body pain I have been wrapped up in my heating pad all week long because it feels like there is a vice grip around my abdomen And so this week my schedule is really light and clear I had a couple of meetings yesterday and I have [00:08:00] to forward and launch this podcast.
08:05 Adjusting Work Schedule
But other than that, I don’t have any deadlines on my calendar. And that is super important to make sure that I’m giving my body the time that it needs to rest and to make sure that I’m giving the best version of myself to my clients. I’ve also really cut back on how I am booking my calendar. I limit the number of sessions and things like that that I’m taking on.
But I’m taking on even fewer weddings than I have previously. Because what used to be a one-day wedding hangover for recovery, the day after now is about four days or so, which leaves me absolutely no time in between if I were to do weddings every weekend. So I’ve really had to cut back on that. , and I limit myself to one full day of sessions per week.
So if I have a full day of mini-sessions, that’s going to be all that I booked that week. If I’m booking regular sessions, I limit those to three a day. And these are just things I do to again, make sure that I am showing up as the best version of myself for my [00:09:00] clients, but also limiting the amount of time that I need to recover afterwards because those recovery days are days that I’m not getting anything done in my business and your girl’s got some bills to pay, right?
I am so excited to tell you about my quiz called Let’s Talk About It: What your taco preferences reveal about your wedding photography business. When I was growing up, I loved nothing more than taking quizzes in the back of teen magazines. If any of you listening were born in the 90s, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
They were in the back of teen magazines. They were in the back of Cosmo magazines. And now if I’m being totally honest, at 36 years old. When I see a quiz pop up on my Buzzfeed, there is no better way to waste a few minutes of my day than to take that quiz. I just love them. So if you are like me and you love taking quizzes or you’re just interested in finding out what your taco preferences reveal about your wedding photography business and what the hell the two of them have anything to do with each other at all, I want you to head over to [00:10:00] my website, simplysandrayvonne.ca/quiz and you can find out.
And then don’t forget to pop over to my Instagram @SimplySandraYvonne and let me know what your results are. As I was putting these episodes together, I really was stopping to think about how and if things have improved since I recorded part one of my story. Which would have been back in 2022. And there are definitely some things that have gotten better.
10:18 Personal Growth and Coping
But I don’t know if it’s necessarily that the symptoms have gotten better, or if it’s just that I’ve become a lot better equipped to handle them. In the spring of 2023, I did decide to talk to my doctor about getting back onto an SSRI medication to help me with anxiety and depression, so that has been a huge game changer.
But in terms of the pain I get through my cycle, and symptoms like chronic nausea, my chronic [00:11:00] migraines, overall just general body pain, I really don’t think that it’s actually gotten better. I do think that I’m just mentally in a better place to handle it all.
There are still days that I have a hard time walking up my stairs. Days that I have my husband pick up a smoothie for me on his way home from work so that I can at least have something to eat that day, but I’m at this place where I’m not as scared. There are not as many unknowns as there were for me back in 2020 because when I had my first surgery I was given strong hope and belief that this was going to put me into remission for at least five years…
I didn’t get any remission, and so as the pandemic started and I had no access to speak to my doctors I was just left wondering what was happening with my body I didn’t know why I was feeling certain ways.
I didn’t know [00:12:00] what to expect from the recovery from the surgery. And I was left with a lot of unknowns. I had six weeks between when the surgery happened and when I saw my surgeon for a follow-up, where I had no idea what they had done to me during surgery. The doctor had come to talk to me and my husband, but I still hadn’t fully woken up from being put under for surgery.
Future Surgeries
And my husband, understandably, being there by himself with his wife going in for surgery, his anxiety was at an all-time high, and he didn’t remember a whole lot of what the doctor came in and said. After my surgery was over. I don’t blame him for that at all. We have already said that for my next surgery, we’re going to make sure he’s recording all of the information that they give.
So, hopefully that doesn’t happen again, where I’m just left wondering what happened, why I’m feeling certain ways, all of those unknowns. contributed to so much anxiety for me and that I really believe hindered my healing process after the surgery was over. So over the last few [00:13:00] years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot more about endometriosis.
I’ve had a lot of opportunities to learn more about my hormones and I pay really close attention to how things like food and stress, different temperatures outside, and different clothing that I’m wearing. I really pay close attention to how all of these things are impacting my body so that I can do what I can to alleviate symptoms, and alleviate that stress on my own.
And it’s given me a lot of confidence back in combination with maintaining my schedule so that I can get some control over this otherwise completely unpredictable disease. I wanted to wrap this episode up by sharing just a few things that you can do for somebody in your life that has endometriosis or who even suspects that they might have it.
13:44 Supporting Someone with Endometriosis
I want to say that self-diagnosis is completely valid. There is so much disinformation out there about endometriosis. There is a significant lack of education when it comes to our medical professionals where [00:14:00] most who are studying general medicine only talk about endometriosis for about an hour. An hour out of their entire medical study career. An hour.
Because of that, so many medical professionals are not skilled to be able to diagnose endometriosis. My own doctor, at 29 years old, told me I was too old to have endometriosis, and I had to see several more doctors after that to finally get a diagnosis. So if that’s something that you’re dealing with and you are convinced that you have endometriosis, I want you to know that self-diagnosis is completely valid.
And so if you are looking to support these people in your life better, the first thing that you can do is be as understanding as possible. Know that if they’re talking about being in pain, it’s probably because their pain is at a level that they can’t handle. There’s a good chance that they’re in pain every single day and that they just don’t talk about it unless it’s something that is serious.
Just pushing them outside their limits. [00:15:00] There’s a good chance they might have to cancel plans at the last minute that they’re going to try and participate, but their energy is not going to be completely there. Just be understanding with them because they are dealing with a lot that they’re probably not telling you about.
And never, ever, ever make their illness feel like a burden. Along with being understanding, I think that it’s really important to remember that when you are supporting someone with endometriosis, or any sort of chronic illness, disability, or anything like that, is to not take that person’s autonomy away from them.
A Person’s Autonomy
What I mean by that is that you may know that this person needs your assistance. It could be your partner, it could be a sister, it could be a friend, anybody. You may see them struggling. You may know that they need help. And it is hard for us as humans to watch our loved ones struggle. But one thing that my husband and I went through a lot when I was going through that period in 2020 when I was really, really sick.
Was that he wanted to jump in and help and do all the things because that was how he was able to feel helpful. He felt completely useless when it came to my disease and not being able to do anything to help me in that aspect. And so to combat that, to help him deal with his emotions, he started doing anything and everything he could for me without me being there without me asking him to.
And I know that sounds so sweet. I absolutely love him for it, but it got to a point where he was taking away my adult decision to be able to do something on my own. And when you are fighting for control of your body and you are going through so much in that aspect, to have other people start to make you feel like you’re not capable of doing things is really difficult to deal with and so it’s important to remember that our loved ones that are going through this, [00:17:00] even though they have this disease and they may be struggling, they still have the right to decide if they are going to struggle through that or not.
Sometimes we need to struggle. Sometimes we need to feel like we can still do things. And if we need the help, we’re going to ask you for it. You have to allow that conversation to happen. There are definitely still things that I need help with, and there are still things that I am stubborn about that I probably should ask for help with sooner.
And I know it’s really hard for my husband to sit back and watch me struggle, but, uh, As a grown woman who is capable of making her own decisions, it’s up to me to decide when I need help.
Learning More About Endometriosis
And then the last thing that you can do to support somebody in your life with endometriosis is to just learn more about the disease.
One of the hardest things that I had to go through after I got my official diagnosis, again going back to that time in 2020, One of the hardest things to deal with, I had a lot of people who would say things like, Oh, I know somebody with [00:18:00] endometriosis, it’s just a bad period, or don’t worry, all you need to do is get pregnant, it’s no big deal, I had no problems after that.
And all of those comments are so diminishing and so demeaning. And also so not true. Everybody has a different experience with endometriosis. There is a world of symptoms that not every person experiences. To dismiss it as a bad period or say that your experience was no big deal is so dismissive of the person that you’re speaking to and what their experience is.
And so when you learn more about the disease, it stops you from asking questions that could unintentionally be hurtful or dismissive to the person that you are asking them to, or making comments like I experienced. And it also just becomes really hard to talk about over and over and over again, especially when you’re going through the thick of it yourself.
So I hope that those three tips are going to help [00:19:00] you support somebody in your life with endometriosis because I can almost guarantee you probably know somebody who has it. The statistics are at least 1 in 10 women have been diagnosed with endometriosis, an unknown number of women have been undiagnosed with endometriosis, and trans, and trans and non-binary people are completely underrepresented in these studies.
So if 1 in 10 women has been diagnosed with endometriosis, that really paints a picture of how many people have not been So yeah, there’s a very, very good chance that you know somebody who has endometriosis. Now, as for me, I’m about to go head to the couch to snuggle back up with my heating pad and going to edit this episode and get it launched for you later today.
And then I’m going to enjoy the rest of my quiet week. Enjoy is definitely the wrong word there because it is day one of my cycle today So the next [00:20:00] few days are going to be long and tiring but by this time next week, I will be back on the other side of things Hopefully feeling a little bit better and getting ready for one last endo related episode for endometriosis awareness month where I’m going to be sharing my endometriosis toolkit.
These are all the things that I have that I use when I’m on the go or at home to help me feel a little bit more comfortable. Whether you have endometriosis or not, I know that there are going to be some takeaways in this episode that you can apply to your own life. So if you are looking to just make your life a little bit more comfortable, endometriosis, chronic illness or not, Make sure you tune back in anyways, friends.
Happy Wednesday. Enjoy the rest of your week, and we will talk again soon.
(Outro music) Thank you so much for listening. You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandryvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime, let’s connect. You can find me on Instagram and TikTok, just search @SimplySandraYvonne. And if you love this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Until next time. (Music fades out)
About Sandra
Sandra Henderson is a photographer, systems strategist, and podcast host based in Ontario, Canada. She specializes in helping photographers create strategic systems for their businesses to help them get their time back so they can spend it doing the things they love most. As an entrepreneur who also navigates chronic illness life, Sandra takes a unique approach to using systems that will help businesses thrive no matter what life throws your way.
On a personal note, she loves tacos, all things Bravo, 90’s music, travelling, and spending time at home with her husband, stepson, and two cats!
00:00 Introduction and Background
[00:00:00] Sandra Henderson: March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. It is a month that is near and dear to my heart because I am one of one in ten people in the world who have been diagnosed with endometriosis. If you’re a long-time listener of the podcast or if you follow me along on Instagram, you are probably familiar with a bit of my story. But, I want to reshare part of an episode that I recorded back at the beginning of this podcast.
Back in episode six, I shared a look at what my story was up until that point. Now, I will say things have changed a little bit since then. But before I dive into everything that’s happened over the last couple of years, I thought for anybody who wanted a refresher about what endometriosis is all about or anyone who isn’t familiar with my story… I thought that I would reshare this so you have a little bit of context and then next week I’m gonna be back with a little bit of an update.
Now, as you’re listening to this, if you have [00:01:00] any questions about endometriosis, I would love it if you popped over into my DMs on Instagram. You can find me at SimplySandraYvonne. I am an open book when it comes to my experience. I am more than happy to answer any questions that you have or just share any support that you might need in your own journey with this!
So friends, thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this replay episode. And I’ll be back next week with a brand new episode.
(Intro music) Welcome to Keeping it Candid. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, an international wedding and family photographer and business coach. I help wedding photographers use systems to build out the back end of their businesses to gain control and continue to thrive no matter what life throws their way.
And on a more personal note, I’m a strong Enneagram three wing too who’s obsessed with I’m obsessed with tacos. My love for travelling combined with navigating chronic illness life are just two of the many things that drive my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner.
Join me every week for a candid behind [00:02:00] the scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer, where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends, so go grab your favourite notebook and pen and let’s dive into this week’s episode. (music fades out)
As I begin to talk more about what I’m doing behind the scenes in my photography business here on the podcast, especially when it comes to systems and workflows, I’m going to be sharing more about what that looks like for me, from the perspective of a business owner living with a chronic illness. So for all of my listeners out there who are living with a chronic illness themselves or who maybe have someone in their close circle like a friend or a family member that they want to support, I’m gonna be diving into some topics a little bit further because things can be a little more complicated when you’re running a business and navigating chronic illness life.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to a podcast or watched a webinar and thought to myself, those tips sound great, but it’s not that easy. That won’t work for me when I have so [00:03:00] much else on my plate. And that’s why I think this aspect of the conversation is so important. Let me take things back for a minute though, and tell you a little bit more about me and my story.
3:12 Diagnosis and Understanding Endometriosis
On June 24th, 2017, I was photographing a wedding. While we were doing the bride’s getting ready photos, I was suddenly hit with period cramps so severe that I could barely stand. I was sweating and felt nauseated. And then I looked at my assistant with panic in my eyes as I silently motioned for her to take over while I got myself out of the room without anyone noticing.
I grabbed some water and some Advil. Five minutes later I pulled myself together to fight through the pain and get back to work. That was the day that I knew something was wrong. Over the next two years, I saw countless doctors. Was sent for endless tests. And tried treatment after treatment after treatment, and each time I left with no answers.
Then I finally met a doctor who, after listening to my story, said some pretty [00:04:00] life-changing words. He said “you have endometriosis. I have to go through the proper procedure to be sure, but I can say this pretty confidently”. So, I finally underwent laparoscopic surgery on Christmas Eve in 2019, and the biopsy results confirmed what my doctor had said.
I was officially diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis. For anyone who isn’t familiar, endometriosis is an incurable disease where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other places throughout your body. If you could see inside me with a camera right now, you’d find that tissue in multiple places from the organs in my pelvis up to my chest.
It causes chronic pain, severe inflammation, nausea, scar tissue, organ failure, infertility, and so much more. There’s a seemingly endless list of other symptoms. In fact, I’m even snuggled up with my heating pad right now as I record this episode to help manage pain in my hips and lower back while I get through [00:05:00] the recording process.
Endometriosis affects approximately 1 in 10 women and a countless number of trans and non-binary people who are underrepresented in studies. That’s more than 176 million people worldwide. And yet, there are only about 200 specialists appropriately trained to treat this disease. The more I learned about endo, the further I was actually able to trace back my own experiences.
And it turns out that I had been managing symptoms on my own since I was 13 years old. Not long after I had my first period. But it would be another 20 years before a doctor would ever acknowledge that something was, in fact, wrong. I could do a whole episode on the absurdity of it all, but I will save that for another day.
6:20 Struggles and Challenges
When the pandemic hit in early 2020, I was three months post-op and still not feeling great. I was told that after my surgery, I would be in remission for at least a few years now that the tissues they found had been removed. [00:06:00] Instead, things started spiralling pretty quickly. Between the stress of the pandemic, lack of access to my healthcare team, and a somewhat unsuccessful surgery, by May, I was in more pain than I’ve ever felt in my life.
Over six weeks, my symptoms flared up three times for more than a week each time. I couldn’t walk more than a few feet without help. Getting up my stairs to go to bed sometimes took me more than 20 minutes. And on the rare chance I was able to muster up enough energy to actually get outside, I needed help getting up the two steps from my back patio into the house.
I was nauseated all day, every day, and I started losing as much as five pounds a week because I couldn’t keep anything down. It never really feels less surreal to talk about. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. For four months I didn’t know what to do, where to go for help, or how I was ever going to find a way to keep living my life, let alone run this photography [00:07:00] business I’d been dreaming of since I was 17 years old and had spent my entire adult life building.
Every day, I just kept going through the motions. I didn’t know what else to do, honestly. Then one day, I decided that I had given up enough of myself, my body, and my life to this disease. Enough was enough. My business was not going to go on that list, too. I didn’t come this fucking far to stop now. I had to find a way to start actually answering the question, How am I going to do this?
7:38 Finding a Way Forward
First came getting some help from my doctors. After four months of living in my own personal hell, I was finally able to get onto a new symptom management plan. I gave up my fertility in the process due to the medications I needed to take. But I started getting other parts of my life back in the meantime.
I could walk and eat a full meal again, and I started to get some of my strength back. [00:08:00] I never went back to how I felt physically before the surgery, but I’ve had time to make peace with that. This is my new normal. I had to find a way to stop fighting against it. To embrace this new life and start building a new version of what it could look like instead.
On the personal side, rebuilding that new version is still a work in progress. I think it probably always will be, and I’m okay with that. Therapy and doing a lot of internal work will help me heal mentally and emotionally along the way. But on the business side of things, I knew that streamlining every aspect of my business was going to be my key to success.
8:56 Streamlining the Business
There were obvious places to streamline, like within my systems and workflows in HoneyBook. But as I started piecing this new puzzle together, I saw that there were so many other areas with streamlining potential. And prepping my clients ahead of time was one of them. Creating a system that keeps my clients prepped and excited for their time in front of the [00:09:00] camera became even more important when I started making these shifts in my business.
Chronic illnesses like endometriosis can be unpredictable on their best day. So that means I’m not always able to be at my computer doing all the things. There was nothing worse on those off days than not feeling well, trying to focus on my health and getting the rest that I needed. But being weighed down the entire time with guilt and anxiety because I had these sessions and weddings coming up that needed my attention.
It made already hard days feel unbearable. Setting up an email series to send out to my clients throughout our time together helped me rest easier. I loved knowing that they were being taken care of and were getting excited about what was to come, all without me having to be actually present at my computer.
HoneyBook Automations lets me schedule everything so I never miss a beat. Everything that I talked about at the beginning of this episode, like sending out galleries, answering questions, and educating my clients on what to wear, where to [00:10:00] meet, and how to reach me. Instead of pushing myself past my limit to stay on top of things, I’m able to rest when I need it.
10:26 Creating a Dream Client Experience
So when I do need to get behind my camera, I’m showing up as the best version of myself. I’m focusing my energy on capturing memories for my clients. My clients are showing up excited and ready to go because they know what to expect. That takes a lot off my plate mentally as we get started. If you’ve ever experienced chronic illness, I know you understand. Taking even one decision or one task off your to-do list on a day when you don’t feel well is everything.
But no matter what your day-to-day life looks like, chronic illness or not, I hope that today’s tips help you start creating a dream client experience that takes some of the work off your plate in the process.
(Outro music) Thank you so much for listening. You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandryvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime, let’s connect. You can find me on Instagram and TikTok, just search @SimplySandraYvonne. And if you love this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Until next time. (Music fades out)
About Sandra
Sandra Henderson is a photographer, systems strategist, and podcast host based in Ontario, Canada. She specializes in helping photographers create strategic systems for their businesses to help them get their time back so they can spend it doing the things they love most. As an entrepreneur who also navigates chronic illness life, Sandra takes a unique approach to using systems that will help businesses thrive no matter what life throws your way.
On a personal note, she loves tacos, all things Bravo, 90’s music, travelling, and spending time at home with her husband, stepson, and two cats!
No matter who you are or how long you’ve been in the wedding industry for, self-care is so important. But for all of my friends who are wedding photographers with chronic illnesses, self-care is even more important than you would think.
When I first started my business back in 2013, I didn’t know that I had endometriosis. And even though since my diagnosis, I’ve been able to trace it back until I was about 12 years old, which realistically means that I was likely born with it, I didn’t actually start noticing any sort of impact on my life until 2017. And it wasn’t until 2020 that I started having to actively manage it day in and day out. So the decisions that I had to make when I was starting my business, even part way through my business, are entirely different now than the decisions that I have to make managing a chronic illness day in and day out along with my business.
So today I’m going to be talking all about self-care practices for wedding photographers with chronic illnesses and things that you can do to make your daily life better and to make sure that your schedule isn’t overwhelming you.
Welcome to Keeping It Candid. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, an international wedding and family photographer and business coach. I help wedding photographers use systems to build out the backend of their businesses to gain control and continue to thrive no matter what life throws their way.
And on a more personal note, I’m a strong Enneagram 3Wing2 who’s obsessed with tacos. And my love for travelling combined with navigating chronic illness life are just two of the many things that drive my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner. Join me every week for a candid behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer, where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level.
Absolutely no fluff here, friends, so go grab your favourite notebook and pen and let’s dive into this week’s episode.
Sandra Henderson (01:56.042)
So my first recommendation for self-care for wedding photographers with chronic illnesses is to incorporate Epsom salt baths into your routine. Now, like most natural remedies, there are widely varying opinions about the impact that Epsom salt baths have, what magnesium can do for your pain and things like that. But personally, I’ve seen a huge improvement in my life since I started doing this. And so that’s why I wanted to talk about it a little bit more.
I think what’s most important is not actually even using the Epsom salt. So if that’s not something that you want to do, then that’s totally fine. But taking the time to just press pause is so important and taking a bath is the perfect way to do that. Now pre-2022, I actually hated baths. I would always get so bored. It was like torture for my ADHD. I would get really hot in the water. Like I just, I hated baths.
But when I started just keeping it short and sweet, under 10 minutes, bringing a good book in with me, all of a sudden, I just really started enjoying taking this time out for my day. And for most people, hot water, regardless of the epsom salt, can help manage your pain levels. Now I say most because my best friend, actually, she doesn’t have a chronic illness, but she does deal with chronic pain from a past injury. And because of that, because of nerve damage that’s happened,
heat actually does the opposite for her than it does for me where I find heat and hot water to be a really relaxing thing and it helps my sore muscles. It actually makes her pain worse. So that’s something you obviously want to keep in mind when you’re figuring out what works for your pain and what doesn’t. No matter if you are looking for the temperature of your bath water or the way that you break down your schedule every day, I fully support doing things that work.
for you. If it doesn’t work for everybody else, that’s totally fine because they don’t matter. You need to just focus on yourself. So if that means taking a few minutes to have a bath, then I highly, highly recommend that. Now there’s this idea that using any sort of natural remedies for anything involving health doesn’t work. We all know that it exists. Some of us, myself included, have probably had those thoughts before, but here’s the thing. Even if it is all in our heads,
Sandra Henderson (04:17.682)
If it works, what the fuck does it matter? It’s not hurting anybody else, it’s helping us. So if you are thinking to yourself, oh, it’s all in my head, it’s not actually gonna work, or some person said this, some person said that, I want you to push all of that out of your head and just give it a try. You never know until you try it, right? I hate when people feel the need to share their opinion on things like that, when they’re trying to almost negate the fact that.
it’s working for you and take that away from you, but it’s not impacting them. So don’t let them take that away. If something works for you, then let it work for you and just embrace that. Now, next, I highly, highly recommend massage therapy, chirophysiotherapy, acupuncture. If these are accessible to you, then I highly, highly recommend taking advantage of them.
I personally see a massage therapist and a chiropractor. My massage therapist helps me with my back and my shoulders with hip mobility. And my chiropractor is adjusting my wrist for me because my favorite lens is a 70 to 200. And if you’ve ever used that before, you know that bitch is heavy, especially after an eight, 10, 12 hour wedding day. So my chiropractor is always adjusting my wrist for me, also adjusting my hips and my back.
to make sure that I am keeping my pain levels down and that I am as mobile as possible for a highly physical job. I also am going to be starting pelvic floor physiotherapy. If you are familiar with endometriosis and you know that this is something that people say, can be really helpful and I’ve never done it before. I’m a little bit concerned, or I shouldn’t say concerned, that’s the wrong word to use. I have a little bit of anxiety about it just because I’ve never worked with a physiotherapist before.
but I’ve heard good things, so we’ll see how that goes in the new year. Now also making sure that you are eating properly on a wedding day. This is a huge, huge factor when it comes to self care. On a wedding day, you are pouring so much of yourself out for your clients. And so it is really important to make sure that you are not also forgetting yourself along the way. When I was first starting out as a second shooter, I would wake up and I’d probably have some pop.
Sandra Henderson (06:34.558)
as I was getting ready because I was really, really healthy. I lived off of ginger ale and Coca-Cola and I wouldn’t eat breakfast, I wouldn’t eat lunch, I would get to the wedding and I’d be carrying around my bottle of ginger ale with me. And then sometime around, family photos and wedding party photos, my blood sugar would crash. I would start dry heaving behind my camera, I would start shaking, I would just get so, so sick. And so I would have to run.
find some juice or something to get my blood sugar back up. And the only meal I was eating all day was the meal that was being served during the reception. And so a lot of times it was actually six, seven o’clock before I was eating for the first time all day. And it is just mind blowing to think about that because I now many years later, 12 years later, like I need to have snacks with me all day long. I am.
I bring multiple bottles of water with me. I have to eat before I leave. If I have more than a like a couple hours of sessions in a row, I bring snacks with me. But making sure that you are eating properly and drinking lots of water and making sure you’re hydrated. These are things that are so important to your self-care. There’s nothing worse than the wedding hangover, right? I talked about that a lot at the end of the last season of the podcast. I think that was episode…
31 if you want to go back and check that out. But the wedding hangover it’s going to happen regardless, right? But if you’re not eating and drinking properly, it is just going to hit you that much harder. And so yeah, there’s a million reasons why that’s just so important. And then speaking of the impact that eating and drinking has on your body. We’re talking a little bit about our physical limitations here. Being realistic about your physical limitations is super important.
We’ve all seen those really gorgeous leather double harnesses, but personally I went with one that I found on Amazon that had a wider shoulder strap that was more foam because I just found it to be more comfortable. It definitely isn’t as aesthetically pleasing, but the purpose here is just because I needed to work within my physical limitations.
Another thing that’s really important for wedding photographers with chronic illnesses? Systems and automation. Spend more time taking care of yourself and less time in your inbox with HoneyBook!
Click here to get 50% off your first year’s subscription!
(Then, CLICK HERE to grab my wedding workflow freebie to help you get started!)
Sandra Henderson (08:52.958)
I’m interrupting this episode for a quick second because I want to tell you all about something that I have used in my business day in and day out for more than six years now and I truly do not think that I could run my business without it. And that is HoneyBook. HoneyBook is an all-in-one CRM system that handles all the things that are client-facing. Sending contracts and invoices, receiving payments, sending out questionnaires so you can get all those details to get ready for the wedding day.
as well as having workflows and automations to start taking some of the work off of your plate, which I’m always a huge advocate for, there’s truly not enough time for me to talk about all of the incredible features that HoneyBook has. And if this is something that you’ve been thinking about trying out, or if you’re wanting to make the switch over to HoneyBook, this truly is the absolute best time to do it, because HoneyBook is currently 50% off your first year.
All you need to do to take advantage is head over to share.honeybook.com forward slash Sandra, and that will be applied to all new subscriptions. There are both monthly and annual plans available, and annual plans, as always, will save you a little bit of money on top of that. And I hate saying these words, but in this economy, we know that every little bit counts. So again, head over to share.honeybook.com forward slash Sandra to get 50% off your first year of Honeybook.
Now I used to have two cameras on each side of that harness, each with a lens on them. And one of those lenses was a 70 to 200. So we’re already adding so much more weight. And then once the reception came, there was also flashes on each of those cameras as well. So after about five, six hours of already being on my feet, and now I’m at the reception on my feet again, and I’m carrying around that much camera gear, it really starts to take an impact on your body. Even if you’re not.
really feeling it because you’re running on adrenaline and the excitement of the wedding day. So this year I actually scaled back. I switched back to just using a single camera. I do have a backup camera in my bag, but I’m actively just using one instead of having one on each hip. I also years ago decided to get a camera bag on wheels, so I’m no longer carrying everything around on my strap, so I’m no longer carrying everything around on my shoulder.
Sandra Henderson (11:08.462)
And years ago, I also bought a wagon. And if you’ve ever done a wedding with me before, you know how much I love this wagon. But it’s one of those four-wheel all-terrain wagons that you see a lot of parents using for their kids. And it is an absolute miracle on a wedding day. We can put my camera bag, my assistant’s camera bag, a cooler with water and all of our snacks and lunch and everything, light stands, tripod, jackets.
everything we could possibly need all fits inside this wagon and so my assistant and I can just wheel it around all day rather than having to move all of these bags and everything and we can just easily tuck it into a corner inside the venue so that it’s completely out of the way and not taking up too much space. I actually think I’m going to include the link to my Amazon storefront in the show notes because I got my wagon on Amazon.
and it has been with me for, I want to say maybe close to five years now. Those pandemic years really make everything a blur, but I’m pretty sure about five years now and honestly it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Another way that you can be realistic about the limitations that you have physically is just to keep an eye on the amount of time that you’re spending on your feet if that’s something that impacts you physically.
So when I’m standing around for long periods of time or if I’m walking for long periods of time, I usually start to have a lot of pain and tension in my pelvis and my lower back. And so I bought myself a pop-up stool, which you’ll also find inside that Amazon storefront I already mentioned. This stool can easily fit into that wagon. It can fit into a pocket in my camera bag. And I’m able to pop it out when I need to sit. And I just usually put it in the center aisle during the ceremony.
It’s a quite tall stool and I’m a pretty tall person as well. So when I’m sitting on this, not only am I completely unobtrusive to all of the guests, but I’m also able to still take photos from roughly the same perspective as I would if I was standing. So I’m not, you know, getting weird angles where I’m looking up everybody’s nostrils and things like that, and it’s super easy and discreet to just pop it open and then close it and pack it back up so I have seating available to me wherever I am going.
Sandra Henderson (13:21.726)
I also always carry around an ergonomic seat cushion. I have one that I’m sitting on right now that’s always in my office. I have one in my car and I have one that I bring on the go because these are an absolute game changer if you have any sort of hip, back or pelvis pain.
I highly, highly recommend getting an ergonomic seat cushion. And so I will put that on my stool if I need to, and I’ll also put that on my chair for the reception so that I am a little bit comfortable there, a little bit more comfortable there as well.
You can also put limitations on the number of hours that you’re working on a wedding day. I know a lot of photographers who put a limit on the amount of coverage that they offer at six hours because doing eight and 10 hour weddings just isn’t conducive to them physically. They won’t be able to give back to their couple in the way that the couple deserves and the way that the couple is expecting. And so that’s another really important takeaway from this. And again, driving that point home that you can do things the way that you want to.
and the way that works best for you. Every photographer might be offering six, eight, 10 hour packages, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t offer packages that look different. Earlier this year, I changed my packages to be four, six, and eight hours instead, because that’s more conducive to me, and it’s more in line with what my clients have always been looking for. And that leads me into one last takeaway. I want you to be realistic about your schedule.
We were just talking about the number of hours that you’re working on a wedding day, but what about all the other days, right? It’s super important to know what your limitations are, to set boundaries and not to overwork yourself. It is the absolute epitome of self care. For myself, in my photography business, I only do one wedding in a weekend. And if I have a wedding on a Saturday, I am not booking anything on a Sunday. Sunday is 100% a wedding hangover day for me. If I have
Sandra Henderson (15:15.298)
portrait sessions, I limit myself to three in a day, unless it’s a day of mini sessions, and then I kind of treat that as I would a wedding. So for example, this is airing in October. Next weekend, I have my fall minis coming up and I have those booked all in one day and so we’re pretending like that’s a wedding day and there’s nothing booked for the following day. Things like that are super important to me to make sure that I’m able to stick with my
post wedding and post session workflows, getting sneak peeks out, getting those galleries delivered and things like that. If I’m overworking my schedule and I am burning myself out day in and day out, then I have nothing left in me to get all of that other work done. So that is super, super important. When it comes to freeing up your schedule, I cannot recommend things like outsourcing or utilizing AI resources enough.
It’s all about working smarter and not harder. And there’s absolutely no rule, no matter what anybody tries to tell you. There is no rule that says you as the photographer physically have to be the one who does every single thing in your business. If anybody has ever told you that this is your permission to laugh at them, share some expletives, whatever you need to do.
to feel better about telling them that this is not working for you and you’re gonna just keep doing your thing. But before I carry on too much into that tangent, it’s actually what next week’s podcast topic is all about, so I’m gonna save all of that goodness for then. But to quickly recap my recommendations for self-care for wedding photographers with carotid illnesses, first was pressing pause on your day, taking a bath, whether or not you’re incorporating Epsom salts, just doing something for you that presses pause on all of the…
things is super important. If it’s accessible to you, also taking advantage of massage therapy, chiro, physiotherapy, acupuncture, and other holistic ways of treating your pain. Making sure that you’re eating properly regularly, but especially on a wedding day and having proper amounts of water. Being realistic about your limitations on your feet, on the number of hours you’re able to work, on the amount of camera gear that you’re carrying around and the impact that is putting on your body.
Sandra Henderson (17:34.206)
and being realistic about your schedule, knowing your limitations, not overworking yourself, and utilizing resources like AI and outsourcing your work so that you can work smarter instead of harder. Now, a few seconds ago, I talked about next week’s episode, and I am so excited to be joined by Sarah Monica, who is another Canadian photographer. She actually just lives a couple hours away from me, and we talked about all things outsourcing. Sarah is truly the number one person I think of when it comes to this topic,
The value that she gave in this episode is absolutely unreal. Like I don’t have the words to explain it, but she shares real numbers of what it looks like in her business before she started outsourcing and what her numbers look like now that she’s only working about 20 to 25 hours a week as a multi-business owner. Amazing, right? So if that is something that interests you, make sure you check back next Wednesday for all the goodness.
Until then, I would love to invite you to come and join the wedding photography unfiltered community on Facebook. This is a space for wedding photographers to come in, learn, support one another, and just embrace what it means to be a part of a community because that is so important as an entrepreneur is having a community that you can lean on and people to talk to who just get it.
So I would love to have you come over. You can find the link in the show notes and you can also go to facebook.com forward slash groups forward slash wedding photography unfiltered. All right friends, that’s it for me this week. I will see you next Wednesday.
Thank you so much for listening. You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandryvonne.ca/keepingitcandid. In the meantime, let’s connect. You can find me on Instagram and TikTok, just search @SimplySandryYvonne. And if you’re loving this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you’d go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Until next time.
About Sandra
Sandra Henderson is a wedding photographer, business coach, and podcast host based in Ontario, Canada. She specializes in helping wedding photographers create strategic systems for their businesses to help them get their time back so they can spend it doing the things they love most. As an entrepreneur who also navigates chronic illness life, Sandra also takes a unique approach to using systems that will help businesses thrive no matter what life throws your way.
On a personal note, she loves tacos, 90’s music, travelling, and spending time at home with her husband, step-son, and two cats!
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