. . . an old shoe . . .

There are things you learn about someone just by watching them.

When Stefan and I first moved to our small Montana town, I told him – four years. Four years, tops! I saw nothing but small town. I saw nothing but old buildings, dirty snow. I saw nothing but boring, unexciting, cold . . . did I say small? After I photographed my first wedding, though, things began to look differently. Buildings begin to have more color, more texture . . . they became beautiful overnight. I began, in those first years, to begin to train my eye to see beauty in places that weren’t beautiful. I began to train my brain to see color, to see in angles. I read books, studied composition. I began to really do what my pre-school teacher taught me to do : stop. look. listen. Now, everywhere I go . . . there are lines, patterns, grain, color, empty, full, soft, harsh . . . everywhere I go are . . . there are adjectives.

It’s the same with people.

Meet Anthony and Jonna – to be married next May.

(After you have seen this quick preview of their engagement pictures, feel free to CLICK HERE to see a slideshow of all the rest!)

I met this amazing couple a few of weeks ago – the same day we did their engagement pictures.

Sometimes this makes me nervous.

What I love about wedding photography is the idea that I have the honor to tell each couples’ UNIQUE story through images. When I meet a couple for engagement pictures, I have all of two seconds to figure out how to portray their unique love story – THEIR personalities, THEIR looks, THEIR way of touching, THEIR history . . . their story!

You can learn a lot about someone just by stopping . . . looking . . . and listening.

Let me just say, that I left our time together knowing that I had just met some of the most caring and gracious individuals.

Two people that were going to be extraordinary parents.

Two people that were really going to love each other till the end of time.

Two people that were going to laugh together – and at each other – until they were old.

Can you see Anthony in this this first picture? and Jonna in the last?!

Oh how my heart swells when I hear my husband laugh a genuine laugh! I always tell my kids, “Make sure you find someone you can laugh with . . . forever.”

When I left our time together, I knew I had just met a man whom would always stand beside his wife.

A man whom would always choose her first.

A man whom would hold his wife when she cried – speak tender words to her when she was sad.

He would love her and care for her.

This man, in just a few short hours showed me that Jonna would always be the love of his life.

As you can see, this sweet bride-to-be was B-E-A-Utiful!

After just a few moments with her, though, I realized that her beauty was not just coming from her super cute outfit or her fun scarf, but that her beauty was radiating from the inside of her – it was amazing to see how much she loved this man.

It was so lovely to see this woman and know she would always be proud to be called Anthony’s wife.

It was so lovely to see this woman and know that she would always provide a a place of warmth and of peace for her husband.

It was so lovely to see this woman and know that she, too, would always choose him first.

In fact, it was evident even in the first five minutes of our time together.

I asked them to give me some words that described the two of them together – their relationship. Anthony was quick with his reply, “happy.”

Jonna, after careful consideration, answered, “We are like an old shoe.”

I don’t think it came out quite the way she intended.

I quickly saw, though, what she meant.

As more time passed, I saw indeed, that this was the most accurate analogy of their relationship.

An old shoe: comfortable, safe, dependable, known.

They were comfortable.

They are comfortable to spend their weekends staying in and learning new recipes, playing cribbage and laughing together.

They were safe.

They are safe together – exploring new places that they haven’t been to before.

They were dependable.

They can depend on one another to get each other through.

They knew one another.

In just a few short hours, I saw why these two had decided to spend the rest of their lives together . . . and it made me oh-so-happy to be a part of their story.