As I celebrate 8 years of marriage to my husband Logan, I’ve been reflecting on the lessons that have shaped our relationship — and how they’ve also shaped the way I approach wedding photography. Because for me, it’s not just about capturing beautiful images. It’s about honoring the love stories that are real, layered, and lasting.

Marriage is more than a single day in a white dress. It’s quiet mornings, hard conversations, late-night laughter, and a thousand small choices to show up for each other again and again.

Here are 8 things I’ve learned in 8 years of being married:

1. Laughter really is the best glue

If you can still laugh on the hard days — you’re golden. Some of my favorite wedding photos are the in-between giggles, the burst of laughter in the middle of vows, or the quiet smile during a toast. Joy is connection. And capturing that matters.

2. Love is not always loud

It doesn’t always show up in grand gestures. Sometimes love looks like doing the dishes together, sitting in silence, or simply being there on the tough days. Those quiet moments are just as meaningful as the big ones and I believe they deserve to be documented, too.

3. Vows hit different when you’ve lived them

They start as sweet, emotional promises. But over time, they stretch and deepen. “For better or worse” takes on new meaning when you’ve walked through both. That’s why I love photographing vows because I know they’re not just poetic words. They’re beginnings of something real.

4. Saying sorry is important. Meaning it even more

Apologies aren’t about blame — they’re about reconnection. The way we come back together after conflict shapes everything. In weddings, I notice the couples who hold space for each other. Who reach for each other. That kind of emotional maturity is something I quietly look for and love to capture.

5. Weddings are a moment. Marriage is a practice

Marriage is choosing each other, again and again. It’s learning, adapting, staying curious, and growing together. I photograph weddings with that truth in mind; that your story doesn’t end at “I do,” it starts there.
📍 Read Dr. Gottman’s Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work

6. Being known is both scary and healing

Letting someone see your tender, unfiltered self (and stay) that’s love. The most powerful wedding photos often come from that place: vulnerability, closeness, truth. I try to create space for my couples to feel safe enough to be seen.

7. Marriage doesn’t fix things. It magnifies them

The love grows deeper. The flaws get louder. Everything expands when you’re in it together — and that’s beautiful. The way couples move through that tension with grace and patience is something I respect so deeply.

8. Sometimes love sounds like, “Did you eat today?”

Romance isn’t always candlelit dinners. Sometimes it’s forehead kisses, snack deliveries, or knowing each other’s hangry triggers. Love lives in the smallest details.

A Note from Me

8 years of marriage has taught me to see love differently — not as a highlight reel, but as a living, breathing, ever-changing story. That perspective shapes every photo I take.

So when I photograph weddings, I’m not just looking for the perfectly posed shot. I’m looking for the glance, the breath, the squeeze of a hand. I’m looking for the beginning of a marriage that’s rich with meaning and full of imperfect beauty.

Whether you’re newly engaged, planning your wedding, or a few years into marriage yourself — I hope you know your story is worth capturing, just as it is.

📍Read more about my approach to wedding photography