This anniversary session documents my parents’ love story, a story that began as teenagers in East Tennessee and has now spanned more than five decades. They met while working at a local Bonanza steakhouse in Elizabethton, Tennessee. My mom was 15 and working as a bus girl, and my dad was 16 and a cook. After only a few weeks of knowing each other, a simple shared meal during a break turned into something lasting. Not long after, my dad asked my mom to the movies. Their relationship grew through ordinary moments such as swimming at Watauga Lake, bike rides, movie nights, and spending time together. When my mom was 18 and my dad was 19, they got married. They have now been married for 51 years and share nine children together.
This session was photographed on our family farm, surrounded by open fields and horses. This location holds deep meaning for our family and reflects the life they built together. There was no elaborate styling or production involved. Instead, the focus was on authenticity, connection, and documenting a love that has endured through time. As a portrait photographer, anniversary sessions like this are a reminder that this kind of love deserves to be documented just as intentionally as weddings. While weddings capture the beginning, anniversary sessions honor what comes after. Commitment, growth, and choosing one another year after year, decade after decade.
This session celebrates a quiet, steady love. One rooted in faith, consistency, partnership, and shared history. It is proof that the most meaningful love stories are often the simplest ones. Stories lived fully over a lifetime.
Photographing my parents’ anniversary was not only personal, but deeply inspiring. It reaffirmed why I believe in documenting legacy, family, and love in its truest form.
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