It’s HERE!!! Today we are launching a new series that Caleb + I have been thinking + dreaming of for a couple of months now. As I shared in yesterday’s incredible anniversary session, the core of not only our business but our LIVES is our shared passion for + belief in the power of a unified, healthy, + sacrificial marriage. While one of our main business goals is to take AWESOME wedding photos for our clients, that is actually not our MAIN goal. The main goal is to share our own marriage with them — to be open + honest, + to be a safe place to come to, laugh with, share experiences with, etc. We also desire to be some of our client’s biggest cheerleaders as they prepare for marriage in a society that can oftentimes have one too many negative things to say about a union that we TRULY BELIEVE in.

So, with all that in mind, we wanted to start a series that was light-hearted (I know what I wrote above wasn’t necessarily light-hearted, but I had to preface this + from here on out, things will be!), easy-to-read, + marriage focused. “Remember When” was born over pizza + wine with friends on a late night double date at one of our favorite spots here in Madison + today, we are finally launching it!!

Remember When is a story-telling series that will share a “favorite memory” of each married couple that is featured in its pages. As humans, we believe that we desire connection, relating to others, hearing their stories, being encouraged, + celebrating the small moments in life that are simple, positive, + joyful.

Today, you meet AJ + Sarah : )

So, AJ and Sarah, what is your favorite memory together? 

A favorite memory of mine is actually a more recent memory.

AJ + I have been married 11 years + last year, for our tenth anniversary, we took a trip alone to San Fransisco. We have four Littles at home (ages 8, 7, 5, + 2), so this trip was a well-needed break to give us time to reconnect + SLEEP! After so many years together, + having so many kids in row, there can be this underlying silent fear of “Do we actually even like each other anymore?,” when taking time away. The constancy of kids + demands of life start to blur those dating memories of being completely enamored … of thinking about that person constantly … of it being torturous to be apart for even a moment. And after a few years of marriage, realities of life hit + those feelings naturally fade. This person becomes comfortable rather than butterflies-in-your-stomach exciting. Your love becomes calmer, more steady, more predictable. And some would argue, boring. But we took this trip, not fully confident of what would happen when it was just the two of us: no kids, no jobs, no to-do lists, no outside distraction.

And the trip was glorious.

Walks to the Farmer’s Market, long dinners with real conversation over a bottle of wine, being able stay up late knowing no little voices would wake us up at 6 am.

There was this one very simple moment when we were driving on HWY 1 up the coast of California watching the sunset + I looked over at this man + realized: we really have become one.  Because we have trudged through dark times of post-partum depressions + moves + job changes, because he has seen my worst moments + loved me still, because I am most comfortable with him than with any other person. And I realized that even this moment, of experiencing movie-like scenery of mountains + oceans, that it would not have been the same without that man by my side to share it with. I wanted him to be there, to be in all those moments, even the simple ones. It wasn’t a “huge” memory, but the truth I realized in it has stuck with me.

We keep a picture of that sunset on our desktop at home + every time I look at it, I remember.  There will always be work + life stresses + kids to distract us, but it’s a constant reminder of what I want to hold onto in all this: us.