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Mattie James

I met Mattie back in 2007. 

Torrence and I had just started dating. Torrence’s best friend Brandon was really good friends with her now husband, Chris. Torrence, Brandon, and I went to Chris’ apartment to meet her. 

We instantly fell in love with her. 

I cried so hard at their wedding. She just looked so gorgeous and I was so overwhelmed with joy and happiness for her and Chris. She did my makeup for my wedding. I was pregnant at the baby blessing service for their first born, and our first God-baby, Maizah. She and Chris drove down to Macon to see Charlie when she was first born. The memories are endless with her. Our lives are so parallel, it’s inevitable that we became best friends. 

We moved back to Atlanta after I graduated from college and I was looking for work. Mattie asked me if I wanted to shoot her until I found something. In a nutshell, I never found anything and we created 3 years of full blown magic. She was a retainer client before I even realized what a retainer was. LOL!  I’m so insanely proud of what she has built over the years. Her hard work has paid off and favor is over her life. I love seeing her win. If you have 10 cutting boards, Mattie will have you buying that 11th one you “so desperately need”. LOL! She’ll have you reading a new book every week, buying fresh flowers, making sure your face is clean and drinking your water. For finding great in every day, she’s the one you want to follow. 

My goodness, I owe so much of who I am as a photographer to this woman. She challenged me in ways I never would have myself. I figured out a lot about myself working with her. She made me believe in my ability to pursue photography full time for myself and I never looked back. Not only is she fine, stylish, smart, hilarious, a woman of God, an incredible and relentless wife and mother, and just an overall force to reckon with, but I appreciate her kindness, her wisdom, her generosity, and her love and affection for life. I just love and appreciate who she is and who she is to me. 

Erica J. Simmons