When I started to type, words escaped me. Blogging about our own life is surprisingly difficult. A whole year passes by and I don’t have many photos to show for it (surprise), and it’s hard to really articulate what all happens in a year of marriage. Many things change, many things don’t. This second year of marriage was a heck of a good one for us. The Lord blessed us with many things, He helped us grow together, and He showed us constant grace. Jenna Kutcher said it best, and I would love nothing more than to just share her words.

Our marriage isn’t perfect. I don’t post any photos of us in the hopes that you will comment #goals, I post them because the world needs more reminders that marriage deserves celebrating. As a wedding photographer, I see the time and care and money invested in documenting moments & in celebrating that one big day, but after the wedding day rush it all stops. The celebrating stops, the focus on preserving moments stops, and the priority of being documented stops. You might hang a photo or two from that beautiful wedding day, but then the memories happen but the priority to preserve each life stage takes a back seat. The jobs get busy, money gets tight, we put on a few pounds, and it feels silly to get dressed up to take pictures of ourselves. The truth is, it could happen to us, easily. We could think that where we are is no different from where we were a year ago, we could discount the change that happened with another trip around the sun, we could tell ourselves that there are better ways to spend our money and our time, but we don’t. 

.. Because this, my friends, is year (two) and it’s just as beautiful as the day we said “I do.” Preserve your life, celebrate after “I do” and remind yourself that the stage you are in at this very moment is just as meaningful a the one when you were that pretty white dress.

– Jenna Kutcher

My hope is to share that marriage is worth celebrating, not just the wedding day. So here we are, year two in the books, putting on a suit and a pretty dress. No, we don’t dress like this every day. But why not get all dressed up and celebrate two years in the books? Braden’s favorite things don’t really include taking photos, but he does it anyways because he knows it means a lot to me. Later on in life I’ll know that we have memories preserved and printed in books for our kids to see. I want them to be encouraged, to know that the road was rough, but to know that marriage is worth it. 

Here’s to the start of year three! A huge thank you goes to our favorite, Casey Edwards Photography, for preserving these memories for us on film. We love you, and are so thankful for you!