DECEMBERS OF LOVE : Luke & Hannah’s Anniversary Session || Richmond, VA

It was the wedding that found me being the photographer, florist, coordinator, hair & make-up stylist, and maid of honor. Did I mention that the engagement to pull it all together was 3 weeks? Only for your best friend do you drive through the night, in the middle of a December blizzard, for her wedding! But boy, it’s one of my all time favorite memories to date. Hannah and Luke are the most laid back couple you’ll ever meet. Anything we planned was “just perfect” and she was the type of bride that was simply happy to be in love. This December marks their second anniversary and oh my how adorably in love are they?!…

When Luke and Hannah traveled from Indianapolis to Richmond I was not only thrilled that my childhood best friend was finally seeing my new home city, but also pumped at the opportunity to photograph them. So these out-of-towners not only had an anniversary session, they had a destination photo shoot! I mean, hullo, they were just too photogenic – I “died” so many times during it all. And! they were kind enough to write out a bit of their “perfect” love story for you today…

“You know when you’re young and you walk into a place with a crowd of people and you think to yourself, “I wonder if my husband is in this room?” I’ll admit it, that was me. In the December of 2012 I was invited to a conference (yours truly invited her) hosted by the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri. Now this conference was large – 25,000 people sort of large. There was an altar call at the end of the first night of which I participated in along with what seemed like 500 others. And standing next to me was this guy…

Fun Facts: Hannah is a body builder with the gentlest personality possible. And the dress she’s wearing was supposed to be her Rehearsal Dinner dress (sadly she didn’t have time to change in the midst of all the activities). Luke has such a high falsetto voice that I literally thought angels were singing when I first heard it. Also, the pants he’s wearing were the ones he said “I Do” in. *Insert swooning & heart eyes!

They also have this thing for repeating each other’s sentences: “Luke, I am having so much fun. I love youuuu!” “Hannah,” he says back, “This is so much fun! We’re married! I love you…” and then this happened.

 “I know that ‘love at first sight’ is an often used cliché, and I’m not sure what exactly I felt the first time Hannah and I met, but what I did know was that there was something so different about her. Something that said, “I don’t imagine I’ll see her ever again, but I really, really hope I do.” She was so pretty to me, yes, but more than that, she seemed so filled with a purity and a love it honestly caught me completely off guard. In the moment, I think I was too naive to know for sure but an honest answer would confess that I was indeed in love with her…”

“I thought I’d never see him again. But we did see each other again… In fact, my friends (yours truly) came searching for me several times at the conference only to find me sitting next to Luke. What can I say? Luke and I were instant best friends. Luke told me that he felt like God might be asking him to remain single for the rest of his life. I, who had no intentions of even dating him, wondered why I felt my heart sink.  Little did we know what was in store for us.  After the conference, Luke and I both went back to our homes but that didn’t stop us from talking to each other every night!…

“Hey babe, is this a spicy enough walk and look on my face?” She died laughing (as did I), “Oh, your walk and face is perfect!…”

“Two months later, Luke moved to Indianapolis and in April we began dating. It wasn’t long before we just knew…

“We married December 7, 2013 – less than a year since our first meeting! A December later we had our little girl, Avalee. And this December finds us buying our first house! It has been an exciting and crazy ride, this whole being married thing. And I just have to say, I never knew that I could marry such a wonderful, God-fearing man who adores me. God is in the business of love stories, let me tell you!”

“Like Hannah loves to say, ‘God is in the business of love stories.’ It is now almost three years since we met, and two years since we committed our love to each other. And I’m honestly short of words to say. I have always desired marriage, but I never knew that I could be married to the very one I most enjoy spending time with.”

Luke & Hannah – as the amount of pictures in this single post can attest to, I can’t get enough of you two! Thank you for exploring RVA with me and more importantly, thanks for being a couple to look up to in both the silly and tenderness of loving someone well! You are beautiful, contagiously curious, and authentic through and through. I love youuu both!

If you thought they were as adorable as I do, feel free to leave some love for these two in the comments!…

Always,
–Tara M.