Let me just start this story with how long I’ve known this bride to be, which might age me a tiny bit.

I think we had to be about eight or nine years old? How old are kids in fourth grade?

You get the idea.

It has been closer to three decades since we met.

Now, kindly give me a moment to process what age that sentence actually makes me.

It makes me just old enough to say that when we met: we passed notes instead of texting. Then, as the school year would drag on, we leveled up our communication by starting to pass full size notebooks back and forth at the end of each school week to catch up on each others lives.

All of this took place in sunny South Florida, at an extremely small school, where the act of passing notes is absolutely forbidden… so if it’s all the same to you, no one go telling on me.

As all these years were passing by, we both moved homes and apartments several times, constantly adapting to whatever new climate we were in, and finding new ways to stay in touch and meet up along the way. FaceTime has been an amazing invention to help us out. We’ve even been able to go on several trips together near our birthdays, usually revolving around a beautiful vineyards and a crazy, unforgettable adventure like zip lining or realizing we accidentally ended up on a nude beach. I’m still laughing at that one, to be honest.

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

– Albert Einstein

Needless to say we’ve been there for each other during quite a few relationships over the years, too. Truly, nothing happens all at once. Which is why it’s all so beautiful.

Nick came into the picture at exactly the right time! The right time, in my eyes, meaning it happened when I could conveniently meet him, and see who it was that was taking up a new adventure spot in her life. We were able to meet him on my family’s long journey out West to California… and quickly welcomed him into our lives as Suzi’s other half.

And right as the world was shutting down in 2020, we were thankfully able to meet up again. We had the best time on the Santa Cruz boardwalk, which looked like a complete ghost town thanks to covid protocol, so we waltzed around like we owned the place before locking down in our own separate towns.

Cut all the way to 2021, please.

How amazing is it that it would work out for us to reunite for her engagement photos back on the East Coast!

Photographers like to ask me how I decide where to shoot when I am working in a new city, and here is my answer:

I look at GoogleMaps, usually spending time zooming in and out, searching for any areas of water, or big green sections of the map. That way I know where I want to explore, and I try to hike around an hour or two before the session to find the best spots to shoot. Then mentally let it all go once we start shooting. That way I can allow myself to follow a beautiful sky, and whatever unique “set” we come across as we walk.

Before the session even starts, I warn my couples of my theory that it’s way more fun to look at the photos afterwards if you go on the adventure not knowing exactly what’s going to happen or where we’ll end up.

With this Maryland location, the bride’s sweet sister in law gave us the tip to look at the bridge that we ended at, which ended up being my favorite part! *(Thanks Liz!)

And it wouldn’t be one of our adventures if we didn’t do something a little daring… so pushing them off in a canoe sounded like a perfect idea, too. Enjoy these highlights!!

And after a great time shooting, we got to spend some cherished time with our families to celebrate!

I’m so lucky to have friends that let me do what I do…

CONGRATS SUZI & NICK!!! We can’t even wait to celebrate with you guys!