To us, a big part of business is the why- why are we in business, why are we providing the services we are, and why should someone pay us. Those are hard questions to ask ourselves, but we found that when we really asked ourselves those questions and found the answers, it has made all the difference. Knowing our why has given us a purpose and a direction. It is something we look to when making business decisions to make sure we are still aligned in our purpose. When I first started photography, my why was something entirely different that what it is now; at that time, my why was to make girls feel beautiful!! I struggled with my self esteem when I was younger, and I didn’t want other girls to feel that way. I wanted them to always understand that they were pretty! While I still strive and hope to make all our brides feel beautiful, we have a greater purpose than that now. Our why isn’t something that only exists in our business, it something that truly resonates in our lives every day. We try to live out our why in every way possible.

Have you noticed the trend of a negative outlook on marriage? Have you noticed the way the world is treating and speaking about marriage? Have you noticed the way couples are disconnected as they sit at a restaurant, barely talking, and hardly looking up from their phones? We have. We have watched the way couples seem more concerned with the number of likes an image receives than the way they are spending time “liking” their spouse. We have seen marriages struggle. We’ve watched the way marriages have suffered from many different things and we’ve seen hard times in our own marriage. And it was when the hard times came up in our marriage that I knew more than ever, that marriage was our platform. I feel like a contestant on Miss America for saying that, but it’s true. Everything we do is based off the idea of marriage. Our why sparked the idea of starting the anniversary sessions: a session where the kids are left at with babysitters and you spend time focused on each other and your marriage. Our why has helped us find ways to communicate and treat our couples. We want them to know that their marriage matters to us from the moment they inquire.

In the past month we have finally sat down to really pull our thoughts together and come up with a mission statement. Something we could look at and remember that everything we do in our business is for a purpose, a purpose that we believe in. And today, we share it with you.

In our images and in our own marriage, we will choose to show that love is real and alive.We will capture images and live in this way to encourage marriages in the happy times and especially in the thread bare, barely hanging on moments, because that is when marriage matters most. We know that love doesn’t happen in some grand extravagant way, but in the ordinary moments, the moments that we choose to take each other by the hand and hold on tight. These are the moments and emotions, that we will strive to capture. As marriages move forward, these moments will serve as a reminder of the love and foundation that everything started on. Our images will be the manifestation to your legacy of love. A legacy to prove to the generations to come that love is worth fighting for, that love is what remains as time goes on, and that marriage matters.

We believe that as we push forward in believing in and working at marriage, that our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the generations to come will have their lives blessed by our love and by the marriage that we had.

If you are reading this as a photographer, I challenge you to write down your why and if you feel so inclined, share your purpose with the others!