capturing joy

we took our engagement photos yesterday. the afternoon began as a stunningly beautiful fall day- sunshine, vibrant leaves falling from the trees, a crispness to the air... however, as the afternoon wore on and the time for our shoot approached, our enjoyment of the autumnal glory began rapidly diminishing thanks to 30-40mph wind gusts and falling temperatures. it was something to behold. as we stood smiling and shivering out in the elements, i was reminded again for the millionth time that i'm engaged to a very wonderful, fun loving and easy going man...in whose company amidst those "conditions" i still had a fantastic time.

as the wind blew our hair all crazy over and over, we laughed, we huddled closer and kept each other entertained with smooches, jokes, squeezes and dreams about our future. the windy conditions forced us to just let go and make peace with the fact that "photographic perfection" was beyond our control and in doing so, we were able to embrace the authentic and just truly enjoy ourselves. for me, being released from the worry of whether my hair was in place allowed me to feel more like myself, relax and savor the happiness of the occasion with my fiance. i never want to forget looking at his smiling face or the twinkle in his eye as he looked at me amidst the sunshine and wild wind whipping around us. even though i know i probably looked a little crazy all windblown and chilled, in my heart i felt beautiful and extremely happy.

later, after returning home, i couldn't help but smile as i tried to untangle my hair realizing that for me, the afternoon's shoot was simply a bubble of absolute joy-the kind of joy you want to bottle up and save for a rainy day. and being the fortunate kind of gal that i am, i get to actually do that thanks to my dear friend (and our photographer) todd who was there to capture all of it with his camera. so much is changing in my life right now and knowing that i will have photographic reminders for the rest of my life of those joyful, fun, freezing, love-filled, laughter inducing and windblown moments in time yesterday is a gift for which i am especially grateful.