I have SO much to say about this session!! AND so many more photos I cant WAIT to share!! In short, this was such a SWEET and fun session! I’m pretty sure more time was spent laughing (or yawning) than anything else.
This was a bit of a tough session for me, while I am completely happy for the young couple, it was a reminder that I am not so young anymore. When the “kids” you knew when they were still shorter than you (not saying much in my case) start contacting you to shoot their wedding (and engagement)… It means one thing. You are officially OLD. Or at least in my case that is how I feel.
It took just a little time for Deagan and Jolena to warm up to the session and having a crazy lady with a camera telling you to do odd things (ok it took DEAGAN a little time, Jolena is used to my craziness.) That being said, once we got them used to the flow of things and relaxed and focused on each other instead of the camera, they were NATURALS. I could have kept shooting all day, minus the freezing cold wind chill that was harassing us.
If I can be so cliche, I feel sometimes like the engagement session is a lot like married life is a number of ways. Awkward, uncomfortable, funny, but if you can just focus on what matters, each other, none of the other things seemingly working against you will matter. And when you look back, you will see that the moment you felt the silliest, the moments that felt the most awkward, were some of the favorite shots from the session. I guess the Bible knew what it was talking about when it tells us not to be controlled by our feelings. If we are? there’s no WAY our marriage can stand.
If I can give one piece of advice today to those who are starting out on a relationship it would be
#1- Always keep God first, no matter what. He has ways of making everything else fall into place if we put our trust, love, hearts, and relationships in HIS hands instead of relying on our spouse to make us happy.
#2- Above all else, keep the main thing the main thing. Daily remind yourself how much you love your spouse, even when they do things you may not love. Their actions are not THEM. You fell in love with THEM. Remember that. Always. Every day. Every fight (because unfortunately it will happen) but remember that you are not fighting against each other, you are fighting WITH each other and FOR each other and FOR your marriage, your family, and the best future you can have together with each other.
I may not know all there is to know about marriage. Scratch that, I may know VERY LITTLE about marriage. But one thing I do know, you can’t be selfish and have a successful marriage, it is by giving that we truly receive and receive JOY with the other person.
Look past the flaws, because we ALL have them. Look at the person behind those eyes you fell in love with and love them, unselfishly.
Deagan and Jolena- Defy the odds. I pray that when the going gets tough you don’t throw in the towel. But Instead you grab another towel, wipe the sweat, and keep fighting for each other and the marriage you are about to celebrate and start with each other. Laugh at the awkward moments, learn from the tough moments, try you best to figure out the confusing moments and ENJOY the “fun” moments. Bonus: there is more FUN to be had than you think. Anything, and yes I mean ANYTHING can be fun if we just change our thinking about what it is we are facing. I love you guys and can’t wait till June!
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