Let’s talk about coffee… Sweet nectar of the gods. Fuel of our creative fires. Here at Luft we crave it (well, Holly & Patrick do – Bryce lives caffeine-free). It’s become part of our work-flow, particularly on wedding day. My pre-wedding routine goes something like this: Pound iced Frappuccinos and have a dance party at home with my daughter while getting ready; meet Patrick at a Starbucks and pound more coffee; shoot the ceremony; sip Diet Dr. Peppers and Frappuccinos that I’ve slipped into my Shootsac during the reception; sip coffee on the ride home to stay awake; sleep; wake up and pound coffee to help me recover. During the week we tone it down a bit, but there’s always a steady titration going. We work odd hours, therefore we caffeinate to stay awake and have to caffeinate to wake up. It’s a vicious cycle of yumminess. Recently I realized that T.S. Eliot and I were starting to have a bit in common…

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. -T.S. Eliot

During a recent road trip with my husband I did some math (I love math) and finally realized that I just might possibly be over-indulging. Just a wee bit. I’ve been having bizarre migraines and when my neurologist asked me how much caffeine I was having my response was “Oh, not that much!” But then I realized that I was consuming 2.85 times the maximum recommended amount of caffeine for a person my size on a normal day – that doesn’t include wedding days. Oops. And so I decided on the spot that I would begin a journey to cut out all caffeine from my diet, as well as diet drinks, msg, and all sorts of other bad things. I was entering a new phase, and with my family’s support and Bryce’s encouragement that a caffeine-free life was super-cool, I knew I could do it.

But then Thuy and Huy told us that what they’d like to do for their engagement session. Their coffee-themed engagement session. In Starbucks (aka – “the mothership”). Within the first week of my new caffeine-free diet… The couple had met there several years ago and wanted something fun to reflect how they’d met. It was such a cute idea that we jumped right on board. I was pretty concerned that the session would be as painful as shooting in a bakery within the first week of a diet, but fortunately due to their spunky personalities (and skim decaf peppermint mochas!) we had a blast. We started outside at the Starbucks where they  met and then moved downtown and played around some more. And then I realized something… All this time what I thought was caffeine running through my veins and making me better/spunkier/more creative? It’s just been adrenaline. We LOVE what we do and when we connect with people they invigorate us and fire us up. That’s a whole lot better for us and a far cheaper than any cup of coffee.

-holly

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