I am so excited to be writing this blog post finally! Last week I finally met Jade and her fiance Adam after they both won my giveaway over the summer. Yep, I said over the summer. Let’s talk a little bit about how and why it took so long for us to meet each other, but why it was so oh-so worth it in the end.
Jade is a middle school math teacher and Adam is a cop in downtown Phoenix. Their friends joke that they are the “all american couple” (but seriously, they are!) and their schedules make it difficult to have free time with each other. After meeting with them and seeing the amount of chemistry, love and affection they shared with each other, I had even more respect for them both. It can’t be easy on a relationship where your husband works graveyard shifts as a police officer and you work days at MIDDLE SCHOOL (do you remember what you were like in middle school? Teachers have it hard!)
I knew after connecting with Jade and exchanging our first initial e-mails, we were bound to hit it off. Not only is this super awesome lady a teacher (and man do I have respect for educators in Arizona), she is also a photographer, dog mama and enjoys DIY projects at home. While I’m not the best at DIY’s, I love watching videos on them and attempting them. Learning this information about Jade had me so excited to meet her!
Fast forward to attempt #1. Jade, Adam and I were supposed to go up to Sedona in August, but I ended up getting terribly sick and we had to reschedule. It turns out that Adam wasn’t feeling that well either, so we agreed to move the date to a later time. While wedding season had just started, I was determined to set another date. We agreed upon another date and then Adam was sick again! I’m sure working graveyard shifts and trying to fit life in between isn’t easy on your immune system.
A couple months down the line we found a date that worked for the both of us and met eagerly on a Saturday night in November. To be honest, in Arizona that’s a way better deal than a summer’s day where it could be triple digit weather. We went to this gorgeous open field in Queen Creek just with trees lining the west side of the field, allowing the setting sun to poke between them.
The best part about all the couples I work with is that I never have to ‘pose’ them. This is a common misconception by clients when they think of professional photo sessions. My philosophy is to get two people in love to face each other, and usually the rest just rolls right along naturally. The evening was full of laughter, snuggles, gentle kisses and a little bit of swing dancing. I failed to mention earlier that Adam and Jade love to country dance, and they are freaking good at it!
The last thing I want to mention before I share these amazing photos with you is that when Jade first won my giveaway, she was not engaged! She ended up getting engaged before our session together. In her first e-mail to me she wrote “My boyfriends name is Adam and we have been together for just over 3 years… only thing that is missing is a ring (;” Just looking back on that puts the hugest smile on my face, because Adam had it planned and she had no idea!!
Jade and Adam, thank you for an awesome night together and for inspiring me with your love and adoration for each other.
