Kate & Eric: Married
For most people, it is pretty unlikely that your job will suddenly send you to live in a foreign country. Your boss will probably not call you and say, “Time to pack! You’re moving to Japan.” In the military, this is always a distinct possibility. Kate and Eric were engaged when Eric received a surprise assignment to Turkey. For the paperwork to process in time, they had to hold their wedding immediately. In the few weeks they had to plan, these two pulled off a valiant and touching wedding. And it was perfect.
This is Kate. She is a trooper and can laugh her way through any situation. Like dating Eric while living in Thailand for two years. Or moving around the world to be with him. After all, living in the same country sure does make date night easier. Or, after situating herself here, finding out that Eric is being transferred to Turkey and their wedding needs to happen pronto. Kate can handle anything.
Kate and Eric committed themselves to each other on a high balcony perched over the Pacific Ocean at the Hyatt Highlands Inn in Carmel.
Kate, you are gorgeous.
Kate and Eric, you are strong as individuals and unstoppable together. It is a privilege to know you.
I wish you both the best of luck in preparing for Turkey and can’t wait for your follow-up session!
This changes everything.
“This changes everything. EVERYTHING!!!”
“Hmwatfw?” I mumbled, rolling over and trying desperately to grab the shoestrings of my swiftly-fleeting dream as 6’2″ of barely-contained enthusiasm landed on the bed next to me.
“Everything.” L said, kissing my hair distractedly and tugging at the pillow I was clutching with both hands to my face. I peeked over the top, relinquishing all hope of finishing my dream and concentrating on focusing. My eyes. And my brain. Focus. Fooocus. Processing such excitement at 6 AM takes a minute.
“Solar cells! A team at Cal Tech just released a solar cell design that will cost about 50x less to produce the silicon! THAT IS HUGE! And they convert 85% of light into electricity. ALSO HUGE !!! It’s just. It’s such an increase in efficiency over old designs. Oh, and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, SWEETIE!”
L pushed the pillow down to give me a real kiss before collapsing onto the bed beside me. He leaned over and pressed his forehead to my temple. “Plus, they’re flexible arrays,” he murmured into my ear, “so they can be manufactured really cheaply and used in all kinds of different applications.”
Let me pause. You have to understand. News like this, for nerds like us, is pure beauty. The possibilities are staggering. The hope delicious. We thrill to this kind of thing. This is our song. Even at 6 o’clock in the morning. Especially at 6 o’clock in the morning.
Two years ago, Luke and I met in college at TOM (Theory of Mind). TOM was a discussion group for biology, psychology, and philosophy majors to get together and kick around cool research. Translation: nerd club. We talked about stuff like when Duke neuroscientists trained monkeys to control a joystick with their brains. You know, sexy stuff. WISH YOU COULD HAVE BEEN THERE?! I know. I know you do.
Now L & I’ve been married for 6 months. And in case you were wondering what happens when two nerds get hitched, I thought I would clue you in. This is what it’s like! Admittedly, L is an incredibly kind, unbelievably brilliant and sizzling hot nerd. If that even fits in the nerd category. More like Wonder Super Man. I, on the other hand, am more of your standard issue nerd. Socially awkward, laughs too loudly and often, and has big glasses. There you go. Someone has to balance Wonder Super Man out. And I am happy to step up to the plate. Oh yes. Yes I am.
L, you are the handsomest man I’ve ever ever ever seen. Dang. Just. DANG.
You make me smile from the toes up.
Plus you don’t even laugh when I walk into the closed sliding screen door. Twice. In one day. At least, not very loudly. Just a muffled chuckle behind your hand while you’re dodging the pillow I lobbed at you. These things aren’t called throw pillows for nothing, buster.
Thank you for cracking me up every day. For demanding that I marry you. For being an optimist in the deepest, fullest sense of the word. For encouraging my dreams. Thank you for your stability. Thank you for your surprises. For being my sunshine in the morning. Or my photovoltaic cell. As the case may be. Thank you for being the greatest future dad imaginable. I can’t believe we probably get to make our own passel of rascals together someday! Or if not that, then hopefully we can pass a sanity test well enough to adopt a passel of rascals. I’ll be banking pretty heavily on you for that one, darlin’. Thank you for being the angel who entered my life when I least expected you. You are my heart. My one true love. You change everything.
PS. I have a major crush on you.
Love, M.
Family of Four
This lovely family contacted me for some family portraits in celebration of their new bundle of joy.
Check these gorgeous blues!
Rough-housing. Classic.
Such a sweet baby! Don’t you just want to squeeze those cheeks?!
I love love LOVE this picture ! What a special moment between father & son.
Thank you for a lovely afternoon, Perry family! It was so wonderful getting to know you guys.
Zoe & Anthony Wedding
Zoe & Anthony were married last Saturday. What a beautiful day.
There are moments in life when time does actually stand still.
Zoe & Anthony’s two boys are such cutie pies!
It takes A LOT of trickery to convince small children that they want to stand still for a photograph. Bribing with candy is a good start.
Ben figured out that he could see the picture on my camera screen, so he was always edging over to look. Can I please see the screen, please?
Zoe & Anthony, thank you for letting us document your beautiful day. Luke and I truly felt welcomed by you & your warm-hearted family & friends. Enjoy these first days of your new life together!
Kansas Family
This family came to Carmel for their wedding. Hope you enjoy your preview guys, and I can’t wait to see y’all dressed fancy tomorrow! : )
2010
2009 was hands-down my happiest year ever. Two reasons:
1) Married the love of my life (The wedding was just the beginning!)
2) Found work I adore.
It’s funny. We also moved to California this year, and it’s just as epic as it’s supposed to be, but it’s not what made this year so amazing. The weather is beautiful. The Pacific ocean will steal your breath and weaken your knees. The farmer’s markets are dreamy. There are sea lions and sea otters, which is flat-out cool. But Luke and I often laugh that our daily delight has little to do with living in Monterey, California. Instead, our happiness rests on loving the people we’re with and doing meaningful work. I’m glad I finally started figuring that out. I hope 2010 is a year that we give more freely and love more deeply than we feel comfortable with.
Olga & Alex Wedding
Here’s a quick sneak preview for Olga & Alex from their wedding preparation! Olga & I met each other in Madison, WI, and then both moved to Monterey. While Olga already found a great wedding photographer to document her day, we were still excited about the prospect of me capturing some of her wedding for her. Here are pictures of getting ready!
Daisies in December
Today is the first day of December, and I have not yet bought a single Christmas present. Oh dear! But I can only smile at such woes, when I remember last year’s Christmas.
This time a year ago, L was leaving for Navy boot camp, during which time we would be separated for 2 months with almost no contact. We bid farewell on December 2nd, and as if to replace him, the first snow of winter fell that afternoon. I sat at my window and missed him and cried, watching the soft, white blanket silence the bright Autumn leaves and holding my love close in my heart.
Although I anticipated missing L a little, I had no clue how bad it would be. I was never homesick at summer camps growing up, nor considered myself a misser, so it was a shock to find how thoroughly and deeply I missed L. How his memory would appear unbidden in my peripheral vision at every turn. He was beside the lake where we used to walk and share the day’s details as the sun set. Or sitting in the coffee shop window, daring me to a ruthless game of chess over hot chocolate. Flying down Willy Street on his bike beside me, hands off the handlebars, rakish grin.
Even NPR was a memory minefield. Earlier that fall, L was a guest on Whaddya Know, and he spent the radio show raving about his amazing girlfriend while handily winning the quiz. I stayed home that day to work on statistics homework, never imagining that he would be the show’s guest and I would be the topic of discussion. Days later I found out about his appearance and listened to the show with my happy, embarrassed smile pressed into L’s shoulder. L solemnly explained that he wanted to shout his love from a mountaintop, but national public radio would just have to do for now.
But now L was gone, and the world felt like a pretty cold place without him. That winter, I leaned hard on God. I took refuge in the Psalms and James, and I carried Proverbs 3:5-6 as a whisper tucked in my head: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Finally, after the long weeks of stillness, L’s graduation arrived. The range of emotions I felt that day was hilarious – nervousness, relief, excitement, sadness for a short visit, and most of all, joy to be with my hero again.
L is my hero, and I am so proud of him. For loving this beautiful country of ours and feeling called to service. For knowing that we live in a challenging, complicated world, and trying to help anyway. For sacrificing what he has for something bigger than himself.
My heart hurts for the heroes who won’t be coming home this Christmas. And for the heroes who sacrificed everything and will never come home again. I pray that those who walk alone this holiday season know they walk in the arms of a loving God.
Sometimes it takes hardship to learn how precious, how fleeting, how incredibly beautiful our time together is. That we are all summer daisies on a hillside, and our season passes in a moment. This is a lesson I usually forget, especially when to-do lists grow long and mornings busy and obligations pull in all directions. At these times, I remember the snow falling that Wisconsin winter, and realize just how incredibly blessed I am. To bow my head every day and praise God for this glorious world. To be married to a man who inspires me to love the way he loves. To be doing work that teaches me new ways to see the world. To feel such love for so many people that I can’t imagine how I’ll ever do a good enough job showing it.
If you are anything like me, holiday rejoicing can sometimes get lost in a holiday hurry from one thing to the next. I hope, at these moments, we remember the daisies and the snow.
