Once or twice a year I like to take a pause from weddings and elopements to share some images from my personal travels! This February I was lucky enough to explore Peru with Sara Pitt— my longtime friend, a wildly talented web-developer, and the reigning queen of the best post-tinder date reporting.

If you know me you might have noticed I'm a little bit of a planner when it comes to just about everything, so when it's time to travel I have to actively and intentionally plan to allow for spontaneity and general adventuring. It's a little backward, I know, but hear me out. I stay stress-free by booking all my transportation & accommodations ahead of time, then I choose one (and only one) activity for each day. Usually, I'll go with something like a hike or a museum visit and then I'll explore the surrounding area. This satisfies the "let's make an itinerary!" side of me but lets me relax and take things as they come as well. If you are a type-a person who strives to be more chill I cannot recommend this process more.

In the past, I've always traveled with my full photography gear, but this time I decided I wanted to focus more on the experience and less on taking pictures. I only packed my tiny Olympus OM-D, which was awesome since it fits in my waist bag. Admittedly there were a few times where I missed having a professional camera with me— a few shots ended up a little softer than I would have liked and other times the little thing couldn't focus quick enough— but overall I was pretty happy with my decision. My back and shoulders straight up celebrated my decision.

We met so many amazing people from all over the world, had tons of adventures, had some (now hilarious, but not so hilarious in the moment) misadventures, danced the night away with our Airbnb hosts for Carnevale, climbed more stairs than I can count, defeated scorpions and altitude sickness and sunburns, ate the most amazing food, and climbed some more stairs. Did I mention we climbed a lot of stairs?

Here are the spots we visited in chronological order: Lima > Cusco > Ollantaytambo > Aguas Calientes > Machhu Pichuu > Ollantaytambo > Salinas de Maras > Moray > Chincheros > Cusco > Lima

If you are visiting Peru I LOVED the Airbnbs we stayed in in Cusco and Ollantaytambo. If you haven't used Airbnb here is a $40 travel credit.

Need more travel photography? Japan and Joshua Tree are gorgeous.