We all want to leave a legacy, don’t we? When our time on this earth comes to an end — no matter how old we are when that happens — we want people to remember us.  We probably hope they think back on and remember specific things about us. Maybe the better traits of our personality or the ways in which we made a positive impact on the lives of those we encountered. I can even bet that it would be possible for each one of us to narrow it down to one or two simple phrases …

I want to be remembered as __________. 

(Recently, I wrote a separate but related post on this idea of legacy entitled, “Writing Your Obituary: A Lesson in Living.“)

If Caleb and I proclaim to love marriage and to believe — truly believe — in its power, then our idea of legacy is significantly impacted because we now must view legacy in light of marriage. If I believe that I am a better woman when I’m with Caleb and because of the ways he challenges me to grow as a person, then I no longer want the legacy I leave behind to be my legacy because that won’t be my best legacy.

Instead, my legacy becomes our legacy. I want people to remember us.

I really feel so strongly about this idea. Caleb and I will make a greater impact in our lifetime together, through our marriage, than I ever will on my own. Isn’t that really something I believed when I chose to marry him? That we are, “better together,” as they say!? My legacy becomes our legacy. A legacy that I hope will leave a lasting impact and isn’t quickly forgotten after we leave this earth.

Instead, my legacy becomes our legacy. I want people to remember us.

Photography helps prevent moments, people, and legacies from being forgotten.It really does. Just imagine yourself holding a print of a moment that was captured from a Christmas celebration when you were five; maybe sitting on grandpa’s lap or showing off your most prized new gift.

Wedding photography, by its nature, documents the inaugural moments of this new and greater legacy that we begin with our spouses. The moments that make the legacy become a reality — the legacy that we hope to leave behind and we hope won’t be forgotten.

This simple but great reality is why I believe in what we do.

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