Tessa & Jeff | Love notes & a dog named Timothy
As I begin to look more into my passion as a photographer, through experiences, inspiration and growth, I have found that I love getting couples to connect on a more soulful level. To feel that vulnerability together, foster that closeness and just re-connect with one another. Couples I find over time loose connection and forget why they fell in love in the first place. Distractions from a career, schooling, being a parent and just managing a family can be overwhelming At the end of the day, you're exhausted, want to do your own thing and hit the hay. We all need time to ourselves, however we also need time with our partner, the one we were drawn to through a connection....your true love, your soulmate. Days fly by, soon months, years and over time if we don't connect, like deeply connect we loose touch, loose our WHY as life partners. I want to reach out to couples, who want this experience. To let me into their lives and allow me to help them connect through my passion of photography. Guide them and let the magic unfold.
I met Tessa and Jeff just before their baby boy, Everett, was born. I was hired for their maternity photos, newborn and well the rest is history... I've really connected with them and Tessa and I have become great friends. These two are amazing first time parents, both working towards their careers, which means late nights of studying, work and just being Mom & Dad. Tessa mentioned they don't get many date nights and I thought this would be a great opportunity for them to connect without their little one tugging at their pant legs wanting to play.
Tessa and Jeff... well Timothy too (their first furbaby) welcomed me into their home one Saturday afternoon. Timmy was pretty thrilled that there was no little boy in the house to take all the attention so it was his turn for Mom & Dad pats and cuddles! I started our session with having them write a little love note to one another and had them read the notes out loud.... such a beautiful session full of love, laughter, a few tears and I couldn't be more happier to have been able to do this for them.
A note from Tessa:
Six years ago a friend of mine convinced me to come out with her at the last minute. She said that she was going to play matchmaker and introduce me to her boyfriend’s friend. I rolled my eyes because I thought that never, ever worked, but I went anyways just for fun. We walked into her house and she said “this is my boyfriend, Jody, and this is your new boyfriend, Jeff!” From that night on we were inseparable. Our family and friends were surprised, and maybe alarmed, by how quickly our relationship progressed - but we knew we were meant for each other after two weeks. We bought our first house together, got engaged, and got married within 2.5 years. We used the song “I Choose You” by Sara Bareilles for our wedding. The words ring even more true now than they did then.
We went through a rough patch a little over two years ago. I was newly pregnant, Jeff was in a different city for trades school, and we had practically gutted our new house so I was living out of a suitcase for a few months. There was a lot of stress and tension that caused conflict in our usually strong relationship. We talked about the D word multiple times. With a lot of work we got through it, and we have been stronger in our relationship as a result. In May of 2016 we welcomed our son, Everett, into the world. There is so much joy with him in our lives, but we don’t often take time to reconnect as a couple.
Our session brought up a lot of raw emotions for both of us - the pain that came with remembering the hard times, and the joy that comes from knowing how we pushed through it together. Taking time to tell each other the things we love and admire about the other person sparked our love for one another again. It’s rare that we get time alone together, but time to cherish, laugh, and cry with one another was an absolute treasure. These pictures for me signify our choice to be husband and wife, partners in parenting, and, most importantly, best friends. I’ll always choose him.