Celebrating 26 years of love with a special portrait session.

I met Duane Wilson when he entered the doors of a previous employer as a consultant to help our team build on our core values and vision, and how we were going to proceed to tackle goals together. I liked him off the bat, I mean he seemed like a nice enough guy. Through his consulting process, I was given the opportunity for multiple one on one conversations over coffee and that’s when I got to see more than just a nice guy presenting in front of a room.

Duane is smart, so good at reading people, and truly engaging. You can actually see the moment you say something that triggers a thought process for him. He asks excellent questions, and is genuinely invested in understanding your response (even when you feel like you’re just fumbling over words).

From there I was even more flattered when he scheduled an anniversary shoot for he and his wife. Throughout our conversations, Duane had shared that his wife was in the process of cancer treatment. He was juggling all aspects in life between work and home during this time. Each time he mentioned his wife and her progress, his face softened and it was obvious how deeply he felt for his love. I couldn’t wait to meet this woman.

And Vickie was every bit as lovely as I had predicted. Vickie had just finished her final treatment prior to our session together and what I observed during our time together was not just the way these two smiled easily at one another or how they laughed often. I saw two people in it together, through the good, the bad, the unexpected, and the celebratory chapters of life.

Having already had opportunities to grab individual shots of Duane, I wanted to make sure that Vickie had her moment to shine. She kindly obliged me when I singled her out. Vickie is so sweet and soft spoken. I had a good laugh when I asked if they are a “PDA” kind of couple or prefer not to be asked to smooch to many times and Duane replied, “She is.” Which, as we all know, meant they both are :)

Look how absolutely gorgeous Vickie is in this image.

I mean those eyes are so, so pretty! Duane is a lucky guy.

Having just two years of marriage under my belt, I asked them what they believe the key to a successful marriage is. They paused a moment before Duane simply answered, “Patience.”

Which got a quick glance from Vickie, so I quickly added, “You mean she has to have patience with you?”

“Yes, yes. Exactly.”

A beautiful couple in a beautiful setting. Thank you, Duane and Vickie, for letting me capture this special moment in your life. Cheers to this anniversary, and every anniversary to come. May your love (and patience) make every chapter even better than the last.