While packing up my equipment for the big journey this weekend, I happily resolved that I needed a new equipment bag. Something you may not know about me is: from a young age, I have been obsessed with storage. Purses, baskets, boxes, anything that can organize and carry all of my stuff—I LOVE IT. My mom would disagree with the organization part. She said she would empty baskets in my room and they would be filled with odds and ends that didn’t match whatsoever. Anyway, I still believe that any excuse for a new bag is an exciting one! This past year, I had a great Vera Bradley Metropolitan bag that I would totally recommend for photographers who are starting out. However, as I accumulated more and more lenses, more flash equipment, and needed more massages from carting all this heavy stuff around, it was clear that this girl was in serious need of a bag upgrade.

I decided to invest in the Vera Bradley Roll-Along Duffel & several cosmetic bags to protect my lenses inside. Special thanks to Pocket Full of Posies, a cute little boutique and flower shop in Galloway, Nj. If you are a stylish photographer looking for a great bag and don’t want to invest in a plain black boring ugly rolling suitcase, here are some reasons why I love this bag for wedding photography:

1. Wheels: If you are pregnant (like me!), have sore shoulders (like me), or have a lot of heavy equipment (like me), this duffel has a great set of durable wheels. They actually look like roller blade wheels—remember roller blades!?

2. Quick Access to Equipment: One of my main concerns with buying a rolling suitcase was that it needed to have easy and quick access to all of my equipment. I searched for a duffel style bag instead of a regular rolling suitcase because I wanted to be able to leave it unzipped without anything falling out. During portrait hour, I am trying to keep one step ahead of the bridal party—so being able to leave my bag open and just reach in to grab whichever lens/camera/flash I need is SO important. Every second counts!

3. Storage & Protection: This bag has sizable elastic pockets on the inside. (One of them holds my pocket wizards and the other holds my flashes). I also bought 3 large cosmetic bags to place in the main compartment of the bag for more separated/padded storage. They are waterproof too, which is great! One of the bags fits both camera bodies (7d and 5d mk ii) and the other two hold two lenses each. I can comfortably zip them closed for protection or leave them open for easy access.

4. Room to grow: In the olden days, (a.k.a. last year)—I would have to unpack some of my equipment to get to the lens or flash that I really needed. With this bag, everything has its own space and is within reach. So much more organized! There is still plenty of room in there too as my camera family grows!

5. Style: You may be able to tell from my photographic style that…I love color! patterns! textures! Every photography bag on wheels that I looked at was black. :( That is the worst color, although I do think it looks good on blondes. I think that that black bag would seriously negatively impact my creativity while I would be using it because it would just depress me. That is why….I chose pink & blue & green & purple & many more colors between the duffel and the cosmetic cases. Now my cameras and I will be ridin’ in style! Can’t wait to make our debut at Ashley & Mike’s Wedding this weekend in St. Augustine!