Austin & Bailee
This session is especially near and dear to my heart.
Austin & Bailee are friends of mine (Austin actually graduated from the youth group that my husband and I youth Pastor and Bailee is in my weekly bible study group) which obviously makes it all the sweeter when they asked me to do this couples session for them last year! (I'm just now getting to blogging their session!!)
But what makes it doubly sweet is the fact that this session took place when
he came home in between bootcamp/basic training and him leaving again to
be stationed in Japan for the next 3 years! These photos (though many thought they were engagement photos, which they are not!) were intended to not only document their love like any other couple, but to act as mementos while they are across the world from each other for this extended period of time! In other words, photos to make the distance not feel so distant.
Photos to make the distance not feel so distant.
Though they only started dating shortly after him finishing boot camp (days before this photo shoot), they went to high school together and were in the same friend groups for many years. Bailee says that she always had a crush on Austin and thought he was the one she wanted to be with but after he graduated, a few years ahead of her, they lost touch a little bit. Then, God brought them back in each other's lives and they knew very quickly that they were each other's person! When you know, you know- right?
I am so blessed to have a front row seat in watching their love story unfold and honored to have captured these photos that are they treasure all the more through their long-distance relationship.
I am so proud of Austin for sacrificing his time with his loved ones to serve our country as a United States Marine and of Bailee for being so supportive of him and being such a trooper through the distance!
I, personally, could not imagine being so far away from my husband, Travis. In fact, there was one summer (between his last 2 years of college) when we had been dating for about 5 months when he went back to his family in Minnesota to work and I stayed here in Florida and it was so hard that we both agreed that next summer, he would stay in Florida or we would get married and I would go
with him! (We did end up getting married
that next July!!) And we were only
separated for 3 months!!!
I have all the respect in the world for all the soldiers who choose to serve our country though it means sacrificing time with their friends and family. I thank you, Austin and the rest of our military personal, for your service and I thank you, the families and friends of our servicemen. Your sacrifice is seen and it is appreciated beyond words.
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