Some sessions just radiate warmth—despite the weather—and this one was the perfect example. On a misty, cool June morning at Oakwood Park in Cottage Grove, I had the joy of reconnecting with Sheilah and finally meeting her husband, Joseph, and their adorable son, Kyle.
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I first met Sheilah during a solo portrait session, when she shared that the photos would be heading across the world to her husband in Kenya. At the time, they had spent most of their marriage apart--five of their six years long-distance. But today’s session marked something new and beautiful: finally being together in the same place, celebrating six years of marriage side by side.

We first met these two pre-COVID for their adventure engagement photos at Afton State Park (It even included fishing!). They were ahead of the game, already planning an intimate elopement in the Colorado mountains for their wedding day the following year. But their plans for a reception? It got pushed around with all the things we all went through in the last year plus, so they settled on having a wedding reception here in Stillwater, Minnesota, for those near and dear to their hearts right after their one year anniversary.

A vow renewal ceremony or wedding vow reaffirmation ceremony is defined by Wikipedia as “a ceremony in which a married couple renew or reaffirm their marriage vows.” It sounds pretty straight forward, but I think every married couple would say that each and every day, continuing to love and cherish one another in all circumstances can get challenging. I remember getting engaged and having so many older couples telling us that marriage is really hard, and you won’t always be in the happy-go-lucky stage. While I get what they were saying, it was quite a downer for a bride-to-be. Yes, there are hard times, and yet, there is nothing better than seeing a couple grow past the first year or two of marriage and still see them saying, “I choose you.” Tom and Lezlie are one of these couples that show joy and continued commitment ten years into marriage. They chose to surround themselves with those closest to them and once again privately yet publicly say, “I choose you.”

Maybe it’s just me, but after all the excitement of the holiday season, I can feel rather down in the dumps. We spend November working on being thankful, we go right into December counting down each moment and jam-packing a ton of activities in as we celebrate baby Jesus’ birth at Christmas, and then within a week we are sent into a new year. Wow, just thinking about it leaves my head spinning. And yet, we do this every year… and I’m starting to notice a pattern for myself of where I feel a bit overwhelmed with the daunting tasks and unknown future of the new year as I step into early January.