They fell in love at 16. Sixteen!

For nearly half their lives, Zach and Alexis have been learning to know and love each other, and boy, do their years of practice show.

Some weddings shine in their thoughtful details. Others shine because of the love at the heart of them, with all the little details simply adding to the beauty of the day. Zach and Alexis’s wedding was the latter. It was a celebration of a love that had been growing for years, surrounded by the people who had watched it grow.

And somehow, I got to be there to photograph it.

A friendship of unusual beginnings

I first met Zach at the finish line of a half marathon. Actually, scratch that. We’d never spoken in real life. We’d simply shared a few miles during the race and followed each other on Strava afterward. (Think social media, but for runners.)

A year ago, I had Heidi and Sean in front of my lens for their maternity session as they eagerly anticipated the arrival of their little girl. Not long after, I was publishing sweet baby Sierra’s newborn session. And now, with Sierra at 8 months old, it was time to capture their lovely little family of three before she grows up anymore yet!

I’m not sure what modeling training she has undergone between her 10 day and her 8 month photos, but Sierra sure knows what to do when there’s a camera nearby!…

Good friends are hard to find. When you have a handful of people in your family, good friends who every member enjoys being with are even harder to come by. My husband and I have prayed for the kind of friends we can raise our family alongside for as long as we’ve been in San Diego. The kind of friends you can be totally transparent with; the ones who have been there and really get it; the friends who you share enough in common with that you can connect well yet are different enough that you can be sharpened by one another; the kind of people who will make a way to spend time together even when there are seven kids between you, nap schedules, full calendars and little margin. These families don’t pop up often. But one day earlier this year, we weren’t even looking and we struck gold.

Those first two weeks of a newborn’s life are incomparably precious, aren’t they?! There is no other time in a child’s life like those days and they’re gone in a blink. Baby sleeps so much that you can stare for hours at his sweet lips and plump cheeks and tiny nose; you can watch his chest rise and fall so rapidly as you study his breathing patterns; you can listen for every squeak and observe every little accidental smile. Those days are golden. Understandably, that’s when everyone wants to meet a new baby, but it’s a rare thing to get invited into that sacred two weeks.

When it’s my own nephew, I long to be there for those early days all the more. And in this case, all my dreams came true!…

My big brother has always been one of the most likable people I’ve ever known. I was no angel as a kid, but he made loving me look easy. He played with me and shared with me and included me when I wanted to tag along at his playdates. As we got older, he drove me around and invited me out for coffee dates. No matter who I brought over, be it a roommate from college, a friend I just met, or my future husband, Brian made them all feel as welcome as family. I never felt in his way or unwanted around Brian. I kind of always wanted to be where he was, because that’s just the way Brian tends to make people feel…

Recently, a family emergency led to me spending an unexpected two weeks away from my husband and children in order to be hundreds of miles away with my parents and brothers’ families. Thankfully, the emergency has since been resolved and all is now well. During my time away, however, one of the many silver linings to the heavy circumstances was the blessing of me getting to live for two weeks with my younger brother and his family of five…