06/03/2026
“How did you meet your husband” is a question I get asked almost every week when I’m capturing weddings and engagements. It’s a long story, but it’s one that I love to share. I’ve never shared it on here, but I think now’s the right time.
I met my husband when I was 13 years old. We met at a weekend youth group retreat, before the days of having cell phones (yes, I’m that old 💀). I sat next to a very cute boy who let me share his headphones with him as the van drove us from New York to Connecticut, and I was instantly smitten. That weekend we were inseparable. A friend who I went on the trip with even took a photo with our disposable camera, not realizing that this photo would be the one I think I cherish most in my life.
Once the trip was over, that was it. We said goodbye, and I went home to write in my journal about this boy who I had such a big crush on - and crushed that I wouldn’t see him again… until I was 20 years old, when what can only be described as fate intervened.
To make a long story VERY short, a friend of mine ended up talking to Paul’s brother, and I connected the dots that this was indeed the brother of the boy I went on that trip with all those years ago. Paul was stationed in Pearl Harbor, I was working in New York City. Despite the distance, we emailed, sent letters, texts and phone calls. Paul came to NY to surprise me for a visit. Things ended up getting serious, until Paul ended up back in NY, where we moved in together and got engaged.
But I never knew where that photo of us from when we were kids was.
Fast forward to the week of our wedding. The friend I went on the youth group retreat reached out to me randomly, telling me she’s moving out of her parents house and had sooo many photos of us together that she scanned and sent my way. And there, in the countless scans of photos, was the photo of me and Paul. I couldn’t believe it. She had NO idea that the boy in that photo was the one I was marrying that weekend. It gives me goosebumps every time I think about how serendipitous it all felt. I printed out the photo, and stuck it into the gift bag I had him open the morning of our wedding. (Caption c
