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??
Dear World: Lori and Kamil get major, massive, immense props for rocking an afternoon of adventure engagement photos. The end. Just kidding! So not the end. This story deserves to be told in detail: To have adventure engagement photos, Lori had to bounce up a Forest Service Road in a truck without air conditioning on…
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…
It was the sweetest of things. Aaron grabbed Heather and pulled her close — knowing full well, of course, that the camera was watching him. I think he was trying to show off. He had claimed her. Wooed her. Sent yellow roses. Put a ring on her finger. Made her happier than seemed possible. And…
While these offroading engagement photos will be memorable because of the kilometers we spent bouncing up a Chilliwack mountain and the adventure of taking a mountaintop engagement photos date with two offroading 4x4s and the experience of wading through a mountain stream in the rain, Zoe & Ricky’s engagement photos will forever be one of…
The great thing about Ruth and David, though, is that not only do they love each other, but they are also ridiculously, adorably, perfectly suited for each other. And that is NOT an exaggeration. Plus, I have proof. Visual, documented, undeniable proof of their ability to love each other, laugh with each other, poke fun…
Steven and Ashleigh walked toward his new car — the little sports car sitting in the middle of the parking lot. She walked next to him. Giggling at something he’d said. He looked down at her and smiled. Really smiled. His girl was by his side and all in the world was well. Still…
![Engaged: John & Charli [On a Boat]](https://jennimarie.com/wp-content/uploads/i-xcpXXmN-L-768x511.jpg)
