Most times when I meet the couples I am going to work with for their big day I walk away so giddy and excited for their engagement shoot.  Then, after the e-session I am bursting with big ideas and merriment at the thought of their wedding day.  And inevitably after their wedding I rush to upload the photos and live through the joy and love and fabulousness of them as a couple, wishing we would could do it once more the next day.  What's tough is the fact that more often than not, the next time couples have professional photos done is when their family begins to grow and the photos of the two of them begin to go by the wayside.

As married couples, we often forget that we have a story outside of work, outside of the struggles of making ends meet or perhaps changing dirty diapers or maybe trying to figure out just how to get out of the house when it's February in Seattle.  We all yearn to have good stories, to tell good stories and to live even better stories.  That's what Storytelling Sessions are about.

I am branching out, hoping couples will branch with me in the desire to remember they have good stories and to document the phase of life they are in together, because ultimately they are in it together forever.  This is no engagement, no wedding, no anniversary and no surprise family announcement.  This was a Friday morning at sunrise in the Pacific Northwest, an inevitably rainy morning on South Lake Union that required breakfast, coffee and a couple who didn't balk at the 6 am start time.

Patrick and Lindsey met during Patrick's first year of residency at Seattle Children's Hospital.  He was a new doctor and she was the stunning nurse that he just had to talk to again.  They shared a love for the Seahawks, the necessity of camping in the mountains, snowshoeing and eventually each other.  They were married last January here in the Emerald City and make their home in West Seattle.  I met them at Patrick's sister's wedding, his sister who is now, by marvelous providence, now my sister-in-law!  The two of them were attached, not simply by the hand but by the invisible line that drew between their smiles and glances in each others' direction.

So, when I thought to myself how much I wanted to visit the Center for Wooden Boats at sunrise promising only photos and breakfast, I thought of them and even with all the demands of work in medicine and the fact the Seahawks preseason was starting that night, they woke up before the sun to come and tell me their story.  I honestly couldn't have dreamed of a better way to start the day, even the clouds and rain and one very hungry seagull couldn't dampen their devotion.

Patrick & Lindsey, I can't thank you enough for spending that rainy morning with me!  Let's get together soon, this time it can even be under a roof!

For everyone else, thank you for taking the time to look.  Do you ever feel that you're forgetting to tell people your story?  The story of the two of you after the final toasts and dances?  Send me an email, give me a call, send up smoke signals (probably not actually a good idea) and we will brainstorm about how to best remind the world and each other where you love lives today.

Love and better stories -
Ali