I dream of simple things.

Holding my love’s hand as we confidently promise to love and to cherish.

Pulling him close as we share our first dance.

Laughing as I step all over his feet (I’m not a good dancing partner.)

Feeling the wind brush through my hair from the deck of a cruise ship.

Peering through the glassy water of the ocean and wondering how it got so clear and blue.

Unpacking way too many boxes as we settle in to our first apartment.

Filling our home with the lovely scent of garden roses, tulips and peonies.

Pretending to be Martha Stewart as I busy myself in the kitchen.

Laughing with Robert as we dial the number for Domino’s pizza (Apparently, wearing a cute apron does not make me Martha Stewart)

Snuggling on the couch as we decide whether to watch Pawn Stars or LOST.

Opening my heart to my Sunday School class as we excitedly dig through God’s word.

Relying on the Holy Spirit to change my heart and direct my path.

I know life isn’t all sweet moments and cute stories, but I also know that my days look brighter when I choose to celebrate the small and beautiful moments in life. It keeps me smiling.

Christmas day had come and gone, and I found myself where I often ended up at bed time: snuggled with a blanket on my best friend’s futon. Patti and I were like sisters, and I spent about half of my life at her house when I was in high school and early college. I had celebrated Christmas with my real family that morning, and Robert had joined me in celebrating with Patti’s family that night. He had left a little while earlier, and Patti and I were getting ready for bed when I received a phone call. It was Robert asking me to come outside. But it’s dark, and it’s cold, I thought to myself. Why would I want to go outside. “Just come out here,” he said, so I jumped off the futon and raced downstairs to meet him at the door.

After we spent a few minutes chatting about nothing in particular, he told me that he was so thankful that I was a part of his life, and that he had really enjoyed the four months that we had spent together. I tried to focus on the rest of his words, but my mind was going all over the place. I’ve never really been comfortable with receiving compliments or being romantic, so my I’m-more-sour-than-sweet gene kicked in and I blurted out, “Am I going to get a Christmas kiss or what?” He smiled at me in a way that only a man who loves a crazy woman can smile and said, “Yeah, you are.” I stood up on my tip toes, and Robert and I shared our first kiss.

We often look back on the moment and laugh, because it is such an “us” moment. Robert was trying to be sweet while I was busy trying to kill the butterflies that were fluttering in my stomach, because romance just made me feel awkward and uncomfortable. It took me a long time to get used to the idea that romance could be a beautiful part of our love relationship. Years later, I still have times when I ruin sweet moments and say the wrong things, but that’s just part of who I am. Luckily, I am loved by a man who doesn’t mind that I’m a little awkward and a little crazy. In fact, he loves these things about me, because they make me who I am. We are best friends. Buddies. Two peas in a pod. I am his beautiful sweetheart, and he is my love. I shared my last first kiss with him, and I look forward to sharing many more as we grow together for a lifetime.

Robert, Merry Christmas. Thank you for making me the happiest bride-to-be EVER

Featured photos by Anne Almasy, my fabulous wedding photographer!

From the day Robert and I got engaged, people have been asking me over and over again, “Who will photograph your wedding?” For a while, I responded with a smile and a light hearted, “Who knows!” because I hadn’t signed a contract or made a final decision. Ask anyone who really knew me, though, and they would tell you that my mind had been made up before Robert and I had even started dating. Over three years ago, I stumbled across the work of the ever so fabulous Anne Almasy. I immediately fell in love with her style and I knew that we just HAD to be friends! It took me a while to actually connect with her because I was really nervous to email someone I admired so much out of the blue, but from the first time we got together I knew that I wanted her to photograph my wedding.

Fast forward to August 2009. Robert and I had just got engaged, and I dove head first into the wedding planning process. In the four years since I shot my first wedding, I’ve become friends with some really talented, incredible photographers. Their friendship encourages me and their work inspires me, and I knew it was going to be difficult to select just one person to shoulder the responsibility of preserving my memories for me. I talked to friends from all over the country and did my best to remain objective in finding the right fit for Robert and I. I knew a few things for sure:

• I wanted someone who had a consistent style that I loved and connected with.
• I wanted someone I enjoyed spending time with.
• I wanted to be able to relax on my wedding day, trusting that my photographer would rock out our wedding photos.

Of course cost was also a consideration, but I decided that having a photographer that I absolutely loved was worth investing in. Like I said, I talked to several different people, but my heart still kept running back to Anne. I was excited to share my planning process with her. I was excited for Robert to meet her. I knew I would have her at my wedding whether she photographed it or not, and finally I stopped weighing options and I just went with my heart.

With Anne’s permission, I’m sharing some of the Almasy’s recent work with all of you. I love the warm, timeless emotion that she is able to capture.

I’m in love with pretty much every photo from this shoot, but I thought I’d just post a few of my absolute favorites!

And last but most definitely NOT least, here is a sneak peek from a mini-session that she did of Robert and I this week.