I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this out loud…but did you know that the last time my husband and I intentionally had our picture taken together was nine years ago.  Nine years!  At our wedding, actually.  And other than a random photo here or there while traveling…we don’t have any of photos of just the two of us!

It’s a shame really and honestly, I have no one to blame but myself for it because I’ve always had this idea in my head that things have to look a certain way before it’s the right time.  I need to go to the gym a bit more…or after the kids start sleeping through the night and I don’t look so tired…or when the leaves are the perfect colour on the tree…or or or…

But here’s the thing…life isn’t perfect all the time.  And remembering life…remembering our life together…means remembering it as it was.  Not as it could be.  And yes, that means even in the midst of endless fatigue…or with more grey hairs than I would like…or with chocolate stains on our shirts.  Because that – for better or for worse – is our life.  And our life as it is, is what’s worth documenting.

I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately for anniversary portrait sessions…and it’s been inspiring me to no end.  Because photographing a couple after one or five or ten years of marriage is so different than photographing them six months before their wedding.  There is more experience in their eyes…their chemistry resonates in a different way…and the love is different.  Equally beautiful and profound…but still different.

My evening with Liv and Derek was so wonderful.  As we walked along the water with a perfect summer breeze following along…we talked a lot about marriage.  We talked about the stories that bind us together and the uniqueness that comes with being a husband or a wife.

As I watched them watch each other – and never even having to say a word – I vowed to never let that much time to go by again without putting my husband and I in front of the camera.  Perfection or not.

Because having a wedding is a truly beautiful thing…but having a marriage is what’s really worth celebrating…