Sometime last year I came up with the idea of photographing couples who have been married 50+ years. I always love anniversary dances at weddings and feel like those are the couples we should be celebrating. It’s like 300 people come to cheer you on when you get married, but for some reason, the longer you are married, the less people celebrate or cheer for it.

(PS: If you know of a couple who has been married for 50 or more years, get in touch, I’ll take their photos.)

I don’t know if I could have picked a better couple to kick off this little series.

Vernon and Gwen were married January 16, 1965. That’s about 50 years and 4 days ago. ;) They were so so sweet and kind. Their relationship has such a security to it. One is not trying to outdo the other. As they tell a story they take turns handing off parts of the conversation to each other like olympians passing a baton. One of the first things that came up was the topic of movies and this was their exchange.

Gwen: “I love Cary Grant. How can you be so funny and look so good?”

(3 second pause.)

Vernon: “There’s only a few of us.”

I was hooked.

As I photographed them they told stories about their journey and what it means to share a life with someone. I felt my marriage getting stronger just by listening to them talk about theirs. I loved watching them flirt like a pair of newly-weds. I loved the little looks she gave him when he was about to cross a line. I loved that Vernon’s office has a photo of the Mona Lisa next to a photo of John Wayne.

At first my plan was to just do a few photos of them, but after about 30 seconds of hanging out with them, I knew I had to film them answering a few questions about marriage and life.

It’s not a LOL Instagram cat.
It’s not a dog riding a skateboard on Youtube.
It’s not even a super funny 21 random facts you didn’t know BuzzFeed list.

It’s just 2 people who have been married 50 years telling you what it takes to make that happen.

They may also give opinions on wedding budgets and saying yes to the dress. ;)

So, if you have 5 minutes to spare, you should watch this video.

Jo & I had the privilege of taking a trip to Belize last week with some friends of ours and their church group.  Our goal was to love on some kids by doing a little Vacation Bible School, building part of a basketball court, and teaching them some basketball skills.  I took 3.8 million photos and made a little movie.  The photos will be ready later this week, but the video is ready now.  Enjoy.

I LOVE when couples get their wedding filmed! My favorite film makers The McKellars are doing a giveaway to celebrate 10 years in the world of weddings! This is great news for you. If you are getting married, you can enter to win a Love Story. (Super Super Cool.) If you are not getting married, you can enter to win all other type of great things. If you don’t win, it’s ok. I’m sure they will be happy to take your money if you want them at your wedding. It’s worth it. I promise. This contest ends tomorrow so jump on it!

Watch this trailer from a wedding we did together a little while back.

Now that you totally love them and need them at your wedding keep reading…

The McKellars have been filming weddings, events, and families for 10 years! To celebrate this milestone, we’re doing a fantastic giveaway worth $1200-$2500. If you’re engaged, a small business owner, or a parent, this is for you. If you’re not, you can give it to someone who is! Just share this image on your Facebook page, “like” our Facebook page if you haven’t already (www.facebook.com/TheMcKellars), and leave a comment on any of our blog posts (find the blog at www.TheMcKellars.com). The winner will be announced on our Facebook page on April 15th, so be sure to check back then.

Here are examples of the films:

Love Story

Family Film

Promo Film

The fine print: Must be redeemed within one year. Travel fees apply for shoots over 60 miles from Tyler, TX. Prize is transferable.

so, last month we took a little family vacation to disney world.  it’s kinda our favorite place. :)

luke, getting excited as we pull up near the magic kingdom.

sara got a make over.  the rest of us sat and watched.

avengers monorail!

“use the force luke.”

a self portrait by sara.

i love this guy.

i don’t know who this girl is but someone needed to take this photo so i did.

to the lady in pink.  thank you for “enhancing” our photo.

we celebrated 10 years of marriage at ‘ohana.  it was yummy.

danielle always kills all of us at this attraction.  she is legit at the space ranger spin.
merlin ain’t got nothin’ on my wife.  she packed 6 people for a 2 week vacation in 1 suitcase.

and, if you are still in the mood for more, you might like this little music video we made while we were there.

so last week danielle and i had a little vow renewal ceremony at elmwood gardens.  (that place we were married 10 years ago.)  for the past 5-6 years we have held a little ceremony in our backyard with just our kids and it’s always been a blast so this year we decided to go all out. well, as all out as our budget would allow.  rule number one was pay cash.  after all it’s only 1 day. right. (more on that later.)

the main reason we wanted to do this was to give our kids a tangible memory/moment to look back on so they know that we are committed to each other till death do us part.  (that’s code for when danielle kills me.)  so, in keeping with that theme we really let them decide on most of details of the day.

HUGE HUGE props to elmwood for making the day run smooth, brandi burkett for all the wonderful images, and vanessa mckellar for a killer video that you’ll want to view at the end of this post.

on to the images.

this was danielle’s bouquet from our wedding day and it made for great potpourri flower girl basket toss dealy boppers

this is as dressy as jo gets.  (all our kids selected their own outfits)
luke and eli at almost 2 years apart but they look close enough to where people always ask them if they are twin.  lately they ave decided to start saying yes.  the latest part of this phase has involved matching outfits.

you can’t get married without a ring bear.

sara was totally into the vows.  including creeping on what i had to say before i said it.

we are not too big on jewelry over here.  i ditched my ring for a tattoo and danielle has only ever had a $300 band.  so far so good.

awesome tasting cookie/cake thing from edible art. (i may have eaten 6 pieces of leftover in one sitting later in the week.)

why get boring monogramed napkins when you can blow all your money on fancy plates?

we had 2 options for cool getaway photos.

1. give lots of little people fire stick to hold.
2. come up with something better.

we went with option 2.

i’m not gonna lie.  it was super fun to get married all over again.  need more proof?  watch this 3 minute trailer.