When Leah and I first moved to Oregon five years ago, one of the first friends I made was Joel. We both worked at the same cafe, we both liked going on outdoor adventures and we both liked coffee...way too much. Joel is the kind of friend anyone is lucky to have, the kind of friend that you can drive across the country with (which we did) and still be friends at the end of the trip (which we were). He's the kind of friend that's truly there for you anytime and reminds you of what being a friend to someone means. Awhile ago Joel told me that he was going to sneak attack (my words not his) his wife with a vow renewal for their tenth anniversary and that the coverup he wanted to use to make this happen was a photo shoot. I said awesome, because, clearly, it really is an awesome idea. We setup the shoot towards the end of November and Joel planned everything out perfectly so that at the end of the shoot we would go to take some pictures inside of an old school house, and when we flipped on the lights there would be all of Joel and Cherice's closest friends and family and they would have a little vow renewal ceremony. A lot of things had to go right to make this happen, and amazingly everything happened nearly perfectly and the surprise Joel planned so well really was a surprise for Cherice.
I had such a great time taking pictures of Joel and Cherice. It's always nice for me to take photos of people that I know and love because it inspires me about how important and meaningful photos are. I remember how much images of my loved ones mean to me and why the work that I do is really important.
Joel, thank you for your friendship, you're presence in my life has been wonderful and I can't thank you enough for always being there for me. Joel and Cherice, thank you so much for having me take these photos, it was of course great hanging out with you guys, and really special to be a part of something so beautiful.
Today we're headed to Colorado for the holidays! Wish us luck with a very wiggly Wellington on a three hour plane ride. I hope everyone is having a wonderful and restful holiday season!
Bryan