Hi, I'm Human and I Am Beautiful.

Everyone’s journey through life starts differently, has different obstacles, and will end differently. Key word.... DIFFERENT. 

But different isn’t negative, it’s unique. 

Different is your story, your journey through life. 

Everyone has their insecurities. Everyone has their struggles. Everyone is different. 

I recently did a body positive shoot with a group of amazing girls that are apart of my VIP group. We had so much fun! They told me their stories and I’m so proud of them. How strong they are and what they’ve overcome. 

I’m going to share their stories with you and I hope you pass them along in hopes that it finds someone who it can really help.

“Hi, I’m Brianna.

I was diagnosed with Anorexia. I struggled for a

couple of years with this disorder. So much so that

I ended up being hospitalized and put through a

treatment program for it. I felt hopeless and not

good enough. I just figured this was a part of my

life forever now. That all changed the day I found

out I would be having my first child. Everything was

changing very quickly, especially my body. I was

forced into accepting the stretch marks, the round

belly, the swollen legs and face. All of it seemed so

overwhelming.

But as soon as I met my sweet boy face to face, I

knew life was so much more than worrying about

what I looked like. From then on I have loved

myself and my body in such a way that I'll forever

be grateful for. All of the pain grew me into the

strong woman I am today so that I can be an

advocate, an anchor, a rock, a supporter for those

who struggle to love themselves and their beautiful

bodies in any way!”

“Hi, I’m Kimberly.

I have been a bigger girl almost my entire life. My

weight has always been a battle and I have always

hated myself. I expected everyone to be disgusted

with me because I was disgusted with myself. I’ve

battled anxiety and depression and had to go on a

deep soul search to find myself and accept myself.

I finally realized this is the body I was blessed with

and nothing will change it. I learned that the

person I was on the inside was strong enough to

overcome my insecurities and truly love myself.

I had to learn to give myself grace and that I’m not

for everybody and that’s okay, I’m enough for me.

No woman should ever feel less than because of

their body. You have so much more to offer and

you are beautiful no matter what, because no one

else gets to be you at the end of the day. Women’s

bodies do incredible things. Embrace the stretch

marks and curves. Give yourself grace and always

know you are incredible in your own way.”

“Hi, I’m Ashley G.

I'm 33 and I've struggled with my self worth my

entire life! As a young girl I was always compared

to other family members or girls my age. I was

shorter than most yet over "blessed" in other areas

so it's gotten me unwanted attention a lot of the

time.

Yet all while people around me tear me down

from the inside out. I always thought the only thing

I had to offer was my sexuality. I didn't learn until

my 30's who I actually am. I've had my failures and

my successes but as I stand today

I'M PROUD OF ME!”

“Hi, I’m Tori.

I have always struggled with my stretch marks.

Although I can see someone else with stretch

marks and think their body is absolutely beautiful, I

have never accepted them on myself. Since

getting pregnant they have gotten worse, and I

have been so much harder on myself and definitely

shed some tears over them!

But I know that I am

creating a life inside of me, and there is nothing

more precious than my body growing for her!

Everyone’s body endures different things in life that

make them look the way they do, and that is

exactly what makes us all beautiful. Normalize

normal bodies!”

“Hi, I’m Chayton.

Loving myself has probably been the hardest thing

I’ve learned to do. I’ve been made fun of since

grade school. Hating the scale and hating the

mirror trashed my mental health. Battling

depression for years I almost lost my fight.

Struggling with an addiction, I hated myself. I lost

sight of who I was and where I wanted to be. Self

harming and  suicidal on top of the addiction left

me at the lowest point in my life. I have fought for

four years now, clean for three and a half. While I

don’t see myself as perfect I have learned to

accept every scar, every story, every lost memory. I

am beautiful inside and out. I love my body, for it is

strong and a fighter!

Everybody is a BEAUTIFUL body!”

“Hi, I’m Sky.

My whole life I have always struggled with the way I

look. I was bullied all through school and got called

things like "porkchop" or "marshmellow." I always

felt like the little guy. It wasn't until a few years ago

when I met my fiance that I really began to see the

true beauty within myself. It makes a difference

when you have someone in your life that constantly

tries to remind you how beautiful you are.

It was then when I decided he was right and that I

was not going to let the negative words hurt me

anymore. Sometimes I wish that I was a little

smaller, but I know that I am more beautiful than

what I can ever see in myself and being confident

in who I am and what I look like is the biggest key.”

“Hi, I’m Keera.

All my life I’ve had multiple eating disorders. It

really got bad when I got married to a man who is

mentally abusive. He made it obvious that if I ever

got fat he would leave. Even during my pregnancy I

would starve myself enough just so I wouldn’t put

on too much weight. Still to this day I look at myself

and see part of me getting fuller and think about

how to get rid of it.

It wasn’t until I learned that my worth is endless in

God's eyes and I shouldn’t rely on a man that I

finally overcame. Now I focus on

what makes me happy and just workout to

maintain my body frame.”

“Hi, I’m Ashley K.

My biggest insecurity had always been what

pregnancy would do to my body and my self-

image. I had been bullied by family members that if

I gained weight other than baby weight during

pregnancy, then I’d just be using pregnancy as an

excuse to get fat. I was constantly given

“instructions” on how to avoid unnecessary weight

gain, stretch marks, how to lose weight fast after a

baby,  I even had someone say to me “well that

baby surely doesn’t weigh 40lbs”... after I delivered

my second child, my body didn’t exactly “bounce

back.”

My body changed so much, I didn’t even

recognize myself in the mirror anymore. It has

taken a lot of tears, words of encouragement, self

love, acceptance, and reassurance from my

husband that I can still look and feel beautiful with

40 extra pounds, stretch marks in places I didn’t

think possible, tired breasts working round the

clock, and irreversible bags under my eyes. I’m

learning to love my body again because I have

accepted that my body made the necessary

changes to bring beautiful life into this world, and

for that I am thankful.”

From being bullied in school all the way to motherhood, everyone’s story is different. I just know how amazing every single one of these ladies are. Their story isn’t who they are, but it definitely made them who they are today. Strong, beautiful, amazing, and supportive women! Don’t let your story take you over. You can overcome it. We need to normalize normal bodies. 

Accept that we grow, change, and that our bodies will too. 

Everybody is a BEAUTIFUL body🤘🏼

---

What Is Boudoir? And Why You NEED It!

What is Boudoir Photography?

So I’m sure there is a ton of people that know about boudoir photography. I’m also sure there is a lot that have never heard of it. Well if you’re in either category you’ve come to the right place. Whether you know the gist of boudoir, or absolutely nothing at all, this post will help you expand your knowledge on the topic, and of course why you need a boudoir shoot!

So, in general, boudoir photography is a type of intimate portraiture. It’s very sensual, and romantic. Typically, women will wear lingerie and pose in ways to flatter their figure. Boudoir photography is to capture the beauty of a woman’s body, and are often times used as gifts for their significant others. Now it’s not only women that have boudoir sessions either! Men and couples have sessions done as well. What… couples boudoir?! YES! That’s right, couples boudoir is a thing too, but we will talk about that another time.

Now that you know what boudoir photography is, now let me tell you WHY.

Why you NEED a boudoir session!

1.) You deserve a day for yourself!

You work hard, you’re tired, you put others first. Yeah, you may go get your nails done, or go have drinks with the girls every once in awhile, but you still deserve this. Sometimes it’s super hard to do anything for yourself, especially if you’re like me. Ever since I had my son it’s been so hard to do anything for myself. I would buy stuff for my son all the time, but wouldn’t ever treat because I felt like that money would be better spent elsewhere. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love buying/doing stuff for my son, husband, house, etc. But spending time on myself is really important too. I got into a tough spot, I was so stressed and frustrated, after ignoring myself and what I needed I just didn’t feel good anymore. I would look back at pictures and remember how great I felt, how great I looked, how much fun I was having, and I wanted to feel that again. So I decided to schedule a shoot, I got all glamed up, and I went for it. It’s so amazing how great I feel. It was hard to not feel guilty about doing something for me, but it was so worth it. My whole attitude has changed. I know now that sometimes you just have to do something for yourself. Sometimes just getting your nails done isn’t enough and you need to try something new, and bigger. You need to just take a big leap. That’s exactly what I did and I’m a much happier me! I can tell you first hand it is the best way to treat yourself. Leading up to your session you get to go shopping, get your nails and hair done, go tan, or whatever you do to make yourself feel your best for your session. Then, on the day of your session, you feel even better! You get hair and makeup done, you get to rock beautiful outfits, you have girl time, listen to music, have a few drinks. Did you know you can bring a friend and make the experience even better? Booking a session is a day just for you and you definitely deserve every bit of the experience.

2.)  It makes a great gift!

I know I mentioned it above, but it’s true! You could be getting married and what a great gift a beautiful album full of gorgeous pictures of yourself would be to give your other half! It could be Christmas, your anniversary, their birthday, or just a random gift! I have yet to have anyone disappointed in a boudoir album they were gifted from their significant other! But did you know something? Whether you have someone to give it to or not, this is the best gift you could give yourself. I’m talking BEST GIFT EVER. You get a whole day to yourself, your shoot is all about you and it’s really fun too! Leading up to the shoot, you’re preparing to look how you feel best for the shoot, so you’re doing things even before your shoot date to feel super amazing! After the shoot is the best part, you’ll see your pictures for the first time and I’m not gonna lie, you may cry… It’s more emotional than you think. You feel great, but now you know you look great too! Then you get pictures that last forever, you can hang them in your room, you can have an album, and every time you see those pictures you’re going to have that feeling again! So what I was saying is, this is the best gift for you. Do it for you!

3.) You’re going to feel great in your own skin

Boudoir is all about showing off your beauty! You’re going to look absolutely gorgeous! GUARANTEED! Not only that, you’re going to feel comfortable in your own skin. Every single woman is different, and sometimes it’s hard to not want to change things about yourself. The thing is, you’re perfect the way you are, you are perfect at being you and that’s what matters. Embrace your story, because you are your story. I know you don’t want to live your life not loving who you are and what you look like. And to be honest, looks really aren’t everything. After your shoot you’ll realize how great you are as yourself, and you’ll feel perfect in your own skin! Doesn’t that sound amazing? You’ll be more than comfortable, you’ll also be confident. You’ll hold your head high and put a big smile on your face. When you’re comfortable being who you are you won’t miss out on things. I know when I hated how tall I was growing up I wouldn’t ever where the heels I loved, they just sat in my closet and looked pretty. I finally learned that not being comfortable with myself was holding me back from something I loved and was just too embarrassed to do before. Guess what? I don’t care if I’m 7 foot wearing heels, because I look amazing and I feel really good. That’s what matters. No one else is thinking, “Oh gosh, how embarrassing she’s too tall for heels.” They’re saying, “ Oh my, look at that girl rocking those heels, she’s so confident! I wish I had confidence like her!” So stop holding yourself back. Your boudoir shoot will help bring out that side of you. So just do the damn thing already!

4.) It will empower you

This one ties in with number three, you’re going to feel great about who are the way you are. But you will also be empowered to love yourself more, and accept yourself the way you are. Doesn’t mean you can’t still work towards your goals, whatever they may be, but you can still love yourself and embrace who you are along the way to reaching those goals. I’m going to be completely honest with you. You may have a goal to lose 10lbs, when you achieve that goal you’re going to be excited for about a week. That excitement and happiness won’t always last. You’re going to keep setting new goals and that’s not a bad thing at all. My point is, until you love yourself unconditionally you’re never going to have a lasting happiness. You’re always going to want to change and thing you need to change to feel good about yourself, and that’s not what you need to do. When you have a boudoir shoot it starts your self love journey, you really will feel different. You’ll feel happy with yourself. Like reason #3 you’ll be comfortable in your own skin. It will empower you to love yourself, treat yourself, and not to put yourself down all the time. You don’t need to make changes to who you are, or your appearance to love yourself. You will have power over yourself. You’ll have the power to decide to how to feel, and you’ll empower others with that attitude as well. The boudoir experience is more than just pictures in lingerie, it’s empowering.

5.) You’re going to have fun

You will have a lot of fun! I mean I always have fun when I’m getting pampered, looking great and feeling great. Plus, it’s just a fun experience, it may actually become addicting! But what’s wrong with being addicted to loving yourself? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! This whole experience is so fun, every single reason to have a boudoir shoot is fun. You really deserve this, let loose, take a leap, feel comfortable in your own skin, empower yourself and have fun.

No time for excuses!

Now I know you’re thinking, “Well, I need to lose 10 more pounds and I’ll book a shoot” or “I don’t have anyone to do this for.” Well guess what, I answered both of those questions above!

You DO NOT have to lose weight to start a healthy relationship with yourself. Loving yourself the way you are, whether you’re wanting to lose 10 lbs or 100 lbs, is the absolute best thing you can do for yourself! Also, you have yourself. There’s not a better person to do this for, some women may have come up with this as a gift for their SO, but I guarantee it was a better gift for themselves!

Oh! And there is always one more excuse, “I can’t afford it.” You can, it is a luxury, but you can do it! Plus, I offer amazing payment plans as well!

I can’t change most things in my clients lives, but I can change how they feel about themselves, and get them on their journey to self love!

So if you were on the fence about a session, or you’ve never even heard of boudoir before, well now you have! It’s your time to hop over that fence and book the Ultimate Boudoir Experience with Bella Dea Boudoir!

What Are you Waiting For? Just Do the damn thing!

Let’s Chat!

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