Five and a half years ago, Jarrett and Leanna were planning their wedding. Five and a half years ago, I was planning my wedding and preparing to move across the continent. Five and a half years ago, I met with Jarrett and Leanna over a cup of Starbucks and loved every minute of dreaming wedding dreams together.
My cross-country move meant it didn’t work out for me to photograph their backyard wedding awesomeness, but in the power of modern day social media we stayed in touch and I have watched from afar as they’ve walked life (the ups, the downs, the good, the bad) and navigated with such strength and grace five years of marriage.
When Leanna asked if I would be able to photograph anniversary photos during my trip home to North Carolina earlier this month, I almost had to say no — I had been fully booked for several months, so the only option available meant meeting at 7am. Talk about dedication: they were willing to meet me just before sunrise for a glorious, moody, dewy, brilliantly magical anniversary session.
Some of my all-time favorite images are from my last sunrise session (note to self: take more sunrise photos!) AND it rained the whole session! So does that even count as sunrise? (P.S. Just before I scheduled Leanna’s sunrise session, I put one on the books for November — ready or not, here comes more magical mornings!).
Leanna and Jarrett are exactly my kind of people: happy to sacrifice a little sleep for sake of the art, very willing to laugh and have fun even though I’m asking for them to canoodle in the wet grass at sunrise, and ridiculously hilarious as they love each other.
I wish I could remember all the lessons they’ve learned in five years (they kept me laughing while packing good truths in between locations!), but there was one that sounded something like “When [my wonderful, caring, supportive spouse] says ‘you’re right,’ I know [my wonderful, caring, supportive spouse] is lying.” (Name removed to protect the innocent. :-P)
Happy official fifth wedding anniversary, you guys! (A couple days late. :-P) May the next fifty be just as marvelous as the fifth as been.
P.S. We photographed in the same place where they held their backyard wedding five years ago. How’s that for perfect symmetry??
Last night, Hannah and her Mom were closing down the mall at the same time that I was finishing up my own shopping spree. (Don’t worry, I only bought exactly what I’d gone for…and stayed within budget… :-P) As she listed the task list for the day, the wedding prep still needing to be done,…
I sat next to Meghan on the hockey bleachers. We were cold. Very cold. Very very very cold. Burrowed under a purple sleeping bag, cradling our cups of mint hot chocolate (Meghan makes a mean hot chocolate!), and trying to stay awake to watch the game. It was 11:30pm and it was finally about to…
Pitt Lake Engagement Photos are fast becoming my favorite way to celebrate love, adventure, and epic British Columbia scenery. (As proof: this is not my first Pitt Lake engagement photo session this year and I imagine it will not be my last. <3) Between the mountainscape, the lakefront, the bog, the field, the green: I love…
“Wait if you’re not from around here, where did you meet your husband?” “In Africa.” [mic drop] “And then…wait…you survived an entire relationship long distance?” “Yup. Then we got married, roadtripped across the continent to start our life in the same town.” [Gasp.] [Silence.] While the unconventional, long-distance, international relationship makes for a great party…
Morning took a long time to arrive. The clouds hung low, blocking out the early rays. Google was, for once, proven wrong. It had told us that sunrise would be early. Bold. Dramatic. It failed. It grew lighter, less dark. She could now count her fingers — her cold fingers — by sight instead of…
Crescent Beach Engagement Photos are always the bomb dot com. (Are the cool kids saying that anymore? Probably not.) In one short walking loop at one location, we get forest AND field AND ocean photos! I love being able to offer variety in the final collection and this location is a perfect for that! Add…
![Engaged: John & Charli [On a Boat]](https://jennimarie.com/wp-content/uploads/i-xcpXXmN-L-768x511.jpg)
