Jenn Hildebrand

Galiano || My Birthday Weekend

For my birthday, a few of my close friends and I went to Galiano Island for a weekend adventure.

Saturday morning we packed the car full of groceries and good tunes, and set sail. The moment we made it to Galiano we headed straight over to their Saturday Market. It was super cute with a guitarist playing some cover songs as well as locals selling fresh fruit and veg, coffee, sweets, and other local made items.

Once we were done there we drove to the other side of the island to the place we were staying. The moment we settled in we headed straight to the kitchen to cook up some food. There’s something so great about having “family” meals with your friends. I la la laaave it. I also really love Bows + Arrows coffee and am still crying over their cafe shutting down in East Van…

Okay if you ever go to Galiano, definitely check out the Sandstone Caves. It is on Private property so you do need to be careful of that, but oh MAN is it gorgeous. It’s a bit of a walk down but totally worth it. And you better believe we took this as an opportunity to have a photoshoot.

This is genuinely the best place to get that classic PNW insta shot.

Sunday – aka Birthday day! This was spent exploring the island. Some places to definitely check out would be:

  • Galiano Island Soap Works
  • Galiano Island Books
  • Bowline Cafe – Had the most delightful Lavender Fog with their in-house made nut milk!
  • Babes in The Woods – Had their veg pizza and it was delishhh
  • the trails – it was raining on Sunday so we weren’t able to go on many but we did do a v short walk towards some steps that led down to the water and it was so gorgeous. Honestly, there’s nothing better than being in nature!

Honestly – this weekend was what I needed. I’m a very on the go person and I barely take time to rest. Being away from the busyness of the city and surrounding myself with nature allowed me to really slow down. Plus there’s the bonus of being with some of my people. Instead of being on our phones we played board games (and A LOT of Dutch Blitz), asked each other questions that allowed us to dig deeper, and we allowed ourselves to unplug from the every day. If you haven’t had a chance to visit BC’s Gulf Islands, I 100% recommend you do!

Five weddings and a Second Shooter

This past summer I worked seven weddings in total, five of which I second shot.

Second shooters are so important. I know personally when I work a wedding, I always feel a little lost without my second shooter around. One of the biggest reasons is because I have crazy anxiety, and she helps me settle myself the night before so I don’t go into a frenzy. She’s a real gem (Hannah Richter– go check her out if you haven’t already!) and I’m so thankful to be able to work with her!

This past summer, not only did Hannah second shoot for me, but I was able to return the favour and second shoot for her. What’s so neat about our relationship is that we’re not only partners in photography, but I’d consider her a really good friend. That in itself makes working weddings together an absolute breeze! We completely understand one another and most of the time we don’t even have to say anything to know what the other person needs. I never second shot before I started with Hannah, and I don’t think I’d ever want to work with anyone else. Or have anyone work with me. (Okay, this is getting too mushy…)

I’ve been wanting to share with you a few of my favourite shots from my second shooting adventure this past year and figured it would be easiest to mash them all together in one post.

Enjoy!

J. x

London – Make A Wish

This post is a special one. This trip was a special one.

At the beginning of the month, my brother, mother and I packed our carry on suitcases, boarded a 10 hour flight, and made our way to London, England. Now, I need to share something with you. Something personal and the reason why this trip even happened.

Six years ago, my younger brother was diagnosed with a spinal chord tumour. I would be lying if I said the past six years were easy on my family, because it wasn’t. It was hard, challenging, and I definitely figured out myself a lot over this time. It was tough. It still is. It’s been a battle that my brother has been facing. The only upside to it is that it’s not cancerous (thank you Jesus!). Without going into the details of the last six years, my brother had to go through treatments. Chemo, radiation – the whole packaged deal. It was like Grey’s Anatomy circa Izzy Stevens, minus McDreamy. (Fun Fact: the brother is the one who got me into Grey’s so that reference felt needed)… 

Fast forward a few years later and my brother learns that he has been granted a wish from the Make A Wish Foundation.

For those of you who don’t know what Make A Wish is, let me explain it. According to their about page, Make a Wish is a foundation that grants the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions, by allowing them to experience hope, strength and joy. To read more, you can check out their website here.

Now I know what you’re thinking. “But Jenn! Doesn’t he need to be terminally ill to have a wish?” And my answer to that is that I thought the same thing. But nope! In fact, any child under the age of 18 can be granted a wish if they go through oncology. All they have to do is apply for it. Now, fast forward a few more years and a whole lot of waiting, J was given his wish.

After doing a pro and con list of all the places he would like to see (once we learnt that meeting the Pope wasn’t a viable option… and Pope, if you’re reading this, no hard feelings…), and realizing that meeting Mumford and Sons – his all-time favourite band was also not an option (and Mumford, again if you’re reading this, no hard feelings…)  he settled for London, England.

Okay. Now if you follow me on social media, you would have noticed that we got to see Mumford and Sons IN London. And you, my friend, would be correct.

Make A Wish had learnt that Mumford would be playing a show a week after our original holiday and managed to switch our flights so that we could go while they were there. Amazing, innit? J was excited, I was excited, and even my mother was excited. It was a whole lot of excitement, let me tell you.

This trip was amazing. I haven’t experienced something like it. They blessed us abundantly – putting our family up in a really nice hotel in Central London, given us London passes (which I’ll talk more about in my next London post), and gave us tickets to see one of J’s favourite bands. Even our flights were a blessing. A massive thank you and shout out to WestJet for treating us so incredibly well. Thank you for giving J an inside look of the cockpit, for giving us first class water bottles and blankets, and for being so hospitable and kind.

We felt blessed. I still feel blessed. This will always be a trip that I can look back on and smile.

If you would like to learn more about the organization, or would like to get involved, I’ve attached some links. If you’re looking for a new place to give or to get involved with, I 100% encourage you to consider Make A Wish. I know that I will be. There’s something special about being able to help bring joy and hope to a child who is going through one of the worst things you can go through. Cancer, tumours – they’re awful. The treatments that you need to go through are even worse. I’ve had to watch my brother go through these treatments, and I can’t count the amount of times I’ve wished I could go through it instead so he wouldn’t have to. It’s draining – emotionally and physically. But Make a Wish gives these kids a chance to take a step back from all the negativity and hardship to smile and enjoy something. To laugh, to smile, to be happy. To not think about their illness. To be able to be a part of that smile, that piece of hope – gosh, I don’t know about you, but my heart smiles at just the thought.

Make A Wish – Get Involved 

J. x

       

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