Becoming and Growing into the Wedding Photographer I am Today in Mexico

DFW Wedding Photographer Photo Archive

Day 3 of the archives, and I still have the first day of school jitters. This wasn’t supposed to be an almost daily thing - it just happened that way. Read day one and day two if you want to follow the storyline. 

In reality, it's a bunch of storylines, all unique yet somehow strung together by one common factor: the human desire to share our stories—to point out the similarities and relatable parts, to be inspired by someone else’s strength and courage.

Stories make the world go round. No, seriously, your story matters. It's part of the space-time continuum, and it's supposed to exist.

Speaking of Stories, in January of 2018, my storytelling medium shifted. Well, sort of, but I’m getting ahead of myself. 

It was always my dream to be a missionary. I distinctly remember hearing that my older cousin Nathan was a missionary when I was in first grade, finding out what that was, and telling everyone that was what I wanted to be when I grew up. 

At 18, I was a missionary in Spain, came back, had a whole photography business put in my lap, but then things shifted and before I knew it, I was 21 and hopping on a plane with individuals from Canada, England, and the USA. 

We flew to Mazatlan, home of the third largest madi gras in the world to gather with 51 other students representing 20 countries to learn about missions and Jesus, and reading the Bible.

It was there that I learned Spanish. You can read about that here. 

I entered missions with naiive joy and excitement - I have so many thoughts on my time there- quaffles, internal battles, testimonies of good and bad, but a story doesn’t begin with the ending being told; that wouldn’t be as fun, so I start with this:

There is something about being surrounded by stories that are just unfolding and wanting to capture it all, it’s like its in my veins or something - no two the same, and in January of 2018 the common denominator of those stories was Mazatlán, Sinaloa.

My first meal in Mexico.

Our floor was under construction and this was our view from the door.

I had 11 other roommates.

The view from the bedroom balcony.

The odds of running into a parade with mascots while walking home from the beach was high. 

In Mexico, almost every tourist city has a sign with its name on it. We had so many people in our group that we almost covered the iconic feature. 

Every birthday on the base, we would sing "Las Mañanitas" and, at the end, smash a cupcake or two in the birthday boy/girl's face.

There were many nights where we danced until bed in the common area. 

We took a trip to the Mountains in Durango 

Sometimes a trusted friend would take a picture of me and another friend on my camera. 

One of my favorite ministries that I participated in was the Medical Brigade where we offered free haircuts, check ups, and dental extractions. 

The medical brigade was the first step for the ship ministry- they now travel to islands bringing medical care and Jesus. 

Last photo- for now.

It is through capturing these stories that I feel like I became my own person, away from all I had known. I grew tougher skin while in missions, learned to be gentle as a dove a shrewd as a viper while I also pushed myself to my limits creatively, training my eyes to notice little things my fingers to capture the exact moments that told a story. 

I use those skills to this very day. I’m shrood yet gentle when it comes to communicating with people who want to tell you how to run your wedding - nobody messes with my couples. I am always on the lookout for meaningful moments throughout your wedding day, down to your brother’s tear that he lets slip - skillfully pulling the trigger before its wiped away. 

I’m home from Mexico now, dying to capture those things for you, because its part of your story, every moment of it. 

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like, weather we speak the same language, from the same country or eat the same food, whoever you are, you have a story to tell, it matters and its worth telling, and, God willing, I’m there and I get the honor of illustrating your story.

I cannot wait to meet you, 
Annie Shannon

 Accessible DFW Wedding Photographer will travel

Hablo Español

Only writes in cursive

P.S. This was a tough one to write and collect the photos of. I miss Mazatlán, I miss Mexico! I miss the culture, the food, the colors, and the music playing until 4AM every morning. But it feels so good to share, even a snippet of it. Because, as I said, stories make the world go round, and each one of these photographs is a story in its own right.