2018 has been an epic year for our business and for our family! We’ve surpassed our expectations in our business, thanks to our beautiful 2018 brides and brides to be and 2019 (and 2020) is shaping up to be even bigger and better. As far as our family, much like our business, well, let’s just say it’s getting bigger and better!! Pregnancies, adoptions, engagements…..
If you have been following our blog posts on Elizabeth & Taylor, we’ve finally made it to Part 3!! (If you haven’t, you can go to the personal section of our blogs and find parts 1 & 2). We’ve been using Elizabeth & Taylor as photography guinea pigs for the past 2 years to practice on shooting and posing. All the while they were not engaged, and really hadn’t seriously planned on an engagement. Until June, 2018! We were all in Denver, Colorado (including Taylor) for a family wedding when Taylor mustered up the courage to ask for mine and Elizabeth’s dad’s blessing in his proposing to Elizabeth! We were both very surprised! We knew at this point that it would happen eventually and we just couldn’t have been more happy! Elizabeth had no idea! As a mother, this is the 3rd (and last) time that I have had to keep a proposal secret from a daughter. Let me tell you that it’s one of the hardest things to do as a mother! Taylor planned to propose in late June and when he asked us it was only mid-June! So roughly 3 weeks of not giving the secret up!
These 2 lived nearly 300 miles apart when they first “met” in September, 2016. And when I say they met, I mean they literally met via Facebook and texting. Elizabeth was working hard (so hard) to finish up and graduate from UAB (which she did in August, 2017) and her social life was basically school, church and home/family. Taylor lived in Orange Beach where he had just finished up rookie school and after 2 years with the Orange Beach Fire Dept. he was officially a firefighter. His family lives here in Birmingham and are members of Northpark Baptist Church where Elizabeth happens to be a member also. He had seen Elizabeth at church one Easter Sunday when he was home visiting. Fast forward a few months and he contacted her in September of 2016 through social media. And as they say, “the rest is history”! They talked on the phone and texted for well over a month before they actually met in person, which happened to be the day after Elizabeth’s birthday in October. And they have not been apart since. Well, except that Taylor still lived in Orange Beach! They would see each other only when either Taylor would be able to come to Birmingham or Elizabeth would travel to Orange Beach to see him. The traveling and distance was tough on them both. Taylor then began to look for a position at a Fire Dept. here in Birmingham. After several very long months of dating long distance (10 months!) Taylor was offered a position at the Mountain Brook Fire Dept. and he moved home!! A year after moving home, he proposed! These two have been inseparable ever since! And come March, 2019 they will be inseparable for life as husband and wife!!
It has meant so much as Elizabeth’s mother to be able to be her engagement photographer along with her sister (my #2 daughter), Katie! It only seemed fitting to do the first part of their engagement session in Orange Beach of course! So Katie, Elizabeth, Taylor and myself made the trip one weekend specifically for the first part of their engagement photos. And of course we planned it on the anniversary of their first meeting, the day after Elizabeth’s birthday! And yes, I said ‘first part’ because you know, we’re photographers, so naturally we were going to do more than one session!!! The weather wasn’t exactly what we’d hoped for but regardless, Elizabeth & Taylor were pro’s now and they rocked every shot!
For the second part of their engagement session we (Elizabeth & Taylor actually) decided on a more rural setting. Between all the practice sessions in urban settings and then the beach, a rural setting was quite literally the only setting left that we could do!! So we contacted our friends at Daysprings Farm Wedding and Special Events in Springville, Alabama and they graciously allowed us to come out one afternoon and do our final engagement session with Elizabeth & Taylor!! Their farm is beautiful and the images turned out perfect!
So, here we are. Wrapping up 2018 in the best way possible! My 3rd and last daughter finding her true love and living her happily ever after! It’s going to be very hard to see her move out of the only house she’s ever known. I have peace knowing that they were truly brought together by God and that Taylor will take good care of her and she will take care of him…..and I’ll be there taking care when I need to, whether they like it or not, hehe!
Elizabeth, I love you to God and back (stole that from Griffin) and that’s all I can say or I’m gonna start crying…………
~Mom (Cindy)
