These two cuties!! High School Sweethearts!!!! They totally stole our hearts from the moment we met them! We met them at a graduation party for our daughter’s boyfriend (of all places, right? LOL). The bride is our daughter’s boyfriend’s sister and once we heard their story and got to know them, we knew we just had to work with them to get some gorgeous images for them (which they made super easy, but more on that later)! With the groom being in the Navy, they had to get married last year pretty quickly, before he was deployed! I am sure many military couples can empathize. From what we hear, it’s pretty common that the military doesn’t give you much notice for time off, or deployment notice, etc and you just have to make your life work around theirs. I am sure it’s just part of the job! Which makes us even more thankful for the daily sacrifices our military men and women and their spouses and families make. So many sacrifices that we aren’t even aware of! So through our connection of our daughter’s boyfriend, we had this amazing opportunity to capture this sweet couple’s love and make it not only a fun photo shoot for them but also a way to celebrate their epic love, since they weren’t able to have the wedding of their dreams!
So, let me tell you about these 2!! They are whole-hearted people! Our kind of people! The kind of people you want in your life and the kind of people you want in your corner, fighting for you! She is a labor and delivery nurse and he is a Master-At-Arms in the United States Navy! Thank you for your service, Matt! We salute you! They both have such ambitions and live lives of integrity! We were not only touched by their sweet love but impressed by their strength and character. And then to top it all off, they have the most amazing sense of humor! They were so much fun to be around and made the entire shoot an absolute blast! Yall!!! It was like 100 degrees out, but you’d never know it from these photos! They never complained or got weary of being photographed. They just kept right on smiling, laughing, posing and cuddling! Totally dream clients for us (and now friends, of course ;-)!!!
Backing up a bit, we picked them up (since they were staying just around the corner from us, and it gave us the chance to photograph them with their adorable dog, Indie!), and then we chauffeured them to Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville Georgia! Umm…if you haven’t ever visited, then what are you waiting for? Thomasville Georgia is the most charming small towns, with old brick roads, adorable shops and ridiculously delicious food (everything from bagels for breakfast to fine dining for dinner)! So…back to the shoot..as we drove the 30 + minutes to Pebble Hill, it gave us a chance to chat and get to know each other even more. We knew Pebble Hill Plantation is a great venue, because we have previously photographed a wedding there, but it’s even more gorgeous at Sunset when we aren’t rushed and we aren’t working with a large group (altho we love that too. Hee-hee). The entire property is so well managed and we literally only saw one or two other people while there. We had the place to ourselves!! Allen has such a creative vision for our photo shoots, and when we get to photograph a couple who is so completely flexible and lets him run wild with creativity, it is the perfect match!!! Ashli and Matt were so easy going and flexible and up for whatever adventure we could conjure up. LOL. From, “Hey Ashli! Think you could climb up on that wall?” (because Allen had an awesome creative idea) to “Hey, the mosquitoes are awful in here, but it would make for a gorgeous backdrop”, it was always a “YES! Let’s do it!” They were so chill and relaxed even after the sun went down and we were still going.
Their devoted love for one another really shines thru in these photos! The way they honor one another and put each other first and already have a beautiful marriage was inspiring to us, and we were absolutely delighted and honored to photograph them and spend some time getting to know them!
Ashli and Matt, we are so proud of you two and inspired by your Christ-like love and devotion to one another! Keep up the great work, loving each other and taking care of each other, and defending our country and delivering new lives into this world! You 2 are a dynamite team!!!
