Sarah claims that they first “met” when they sat together at the lunch table during their years at the small-town high school. But if you ask Alex, there is zero recollection. All he knows is that he was utterly speechless the moment Sarah walked out of her house to greet him for their first date. So speechless that he forgot to say hello, to walk up to the door, to open the car door for her. The only thing that was racing through his mind was his disbelief that he never noticed this stunning, bubbly blonde woman that supposedly sat at his lunch table all those years.

From then on, Sarah and Alex started making love a choice. A choice to spend the majority of their relationship thousands of miles apart. A choice to be partners through school, the military, and all the changes that life offers post high-school. A choice to search for internships, jobs, and opportunities that were near the others home so they could be together and uproot even when nothing was set in stone. A choice to take leaps of faith, to fight for the relationship, and to climb every mountain hand-in-hand, even when that meant not seeing each other for months at a time. 

Sarah told me that their wedding day will feel like finishing the first leg of a triathlon. And I couldn’t agree more. As we explored Notre Dame on the cold, wintery day, their contagious laughter and constant cuddles emanated overflowing joy from finally being together, at last. They’ll be married in April at the Old Bay Factory surrounded by the family and friends that have supported them through this long journey. Sarah and Alex, I so adored your fits of laughter and playfulness during your engagement session. Thank you for bearing the winter chills with me and powering through it! You made my job hopelessly easy and I’m counting down the days to the wedding where I can watch your relationship unfold into the best ever love story. Just a few more months! – xx, M