Smithfield Engagement Session | Smithfield Wedding Photographer | Kenny + Mackenzie

Smithfield Engagement Session | Smithfield Wedding Photographer | Kenny + Mackenzie

We rescheduled for everything from bad weather to last-minute news that he was heading to Charleston, but the day finally came for Kenny and Mackenzie's engagement session and it couldn't have been more beautiful. A thin layer of clouds provided soft light, but the sunset that came at the end lit the sky on fire.

After spending time with Kenny and Mackenzie, it is apparent to me that they have refined the art of accepting each other for who they are. It's so important in any relationship to embrace the things that make you similar and learn to love the things that are the opposite, and these two have done just that. They may have different interests and completely different jobs but their goal is the same - to love each other and build a life together...

Fort Monroe Engagement Session | Hampton Wedding Photographer | Billy + Jenna

Fort Monroe Engagement Session | Hampton Wedding Photographer | Billy + Jenna

Long distance relationships are hard. I learned this from a grand total six months' experience after Nathan and I got engaged, and I would never wish distance on any couple. Billy and Jenna, separated by hundreds of miles (from Virginia to Michigan!) thankfully have an amazing foundation to build their lives as they look forward to their marriage. These high school sweethearts have been through years of both being together and being apart, weathering the storms of a relationship successfully.

The week we met at Fort Monroe for their sunset engagement session was not an easy one! They were dealing with a car breakdown, some other difficulties in their week, and had to leave right after our time together to drive 12 hours back home. Yet they smiled effortlessly from beginning to end, allowing me to capture the joy that has been the bedrock of their relationship thus far...

Harley's Haven Wedding | Smithfield Wedding Photographer | Eric + Kaleigh

Harley's Haven Wedding | Smithfield Wedding Photographer | Eric + Kaleigh

It never ceases to amaze me that, over and over again, two people love each other enough to choose the other for the rest of their lives. This means choosing that person in the best times and the worst, in times when you like them and all those times you don't. It means choosing to hold their hand through the storms of life, even if sometimes the storms make their way into your very own house. Eric and Kaleigh have been together long enough to weather many storms together and when they finally stood in front of each other at the aisle, they knew what it meant to commit their lives to each other.

From start to finish the wedding day felt effortless, like it was meant to be all along. Kaleigh and her ladies laughed their way through the morning, punctuated by more serious moments as she took it all in - the moments before she officially became his wife. Eric swore until the day before their wedding that he wouldn't cry, but when he finally saw his bride walking down the aisle he couldn't hold back the tears. From goofy inside jokes to wrinkle-your-nose kind of laughter, the moments Eric and Kaleigh spent together were truly the most memorable part...