I still remember the first call I had with Liz & Jeff. Danielle and I were in the car, and I called Liz to go over their engagement session plans. Since I was driving, I had the phone on speaker, but Danielle was just being her super, quiet self. (She’s a creeper.) Anyway, Jeff had not said much as Liz and I kicked ideas around. After hearing all of her suggestions, I kinda formed a little plan and said, “I think we should do this, this, and this, etc.” “Sound good?” There was a bit of a pause and then Jeff jumped in and said,

“How do you feel about that Liz?”

She said she was good with it, we finalized the details, and the call was over. I turned to Danielle and smiled and she said something to the effect of “That’s impressive.”

Seriously. I was floored. That little question said so much to me about their relationship. Months before they are getting married, Jeff has already realized what it took me years to understand and flesh out in my marriage.

Feelings Matter.

We all know they matter. But sometimes we tend to overlook or skip past them. We assume the other person is wrong to “feel” a certain way and they’ll get over it. We think we know best and eventually, they’ll come around. This is not a good plan. Trust me. ;)

Jeff and Liz have figured out that the more they communicate and talk through things, the stronger their relationship will be. The better you are about talking through something as unimportant as your engagement session location and time, the better you will be when it’s time to talk through a career change or move.

I adore their sense of humor.  I said, “Go stand on the bridge and hold hands with just a bit of space between you.”

Sit on the bench like you would if I was not here. :)

While shooting their session, I started to understand how and why these two seem so comfortable and secure in their relationship. I think it’s because they have been through and seen a lot. They met while serving in the Peace Corps, and together have traveled all over the place.

Singapore
Malaysia
Kenya
Canada
Jamaica
Mexico
London
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
England
France
Germany
Spain
Mexico

Not a bad list right? If you have ever been to another country, you know that sometimes the cultural or language barrier can be a tough thing to overcome. If you stay there long enough though, you find ways to make things work and figure the place out. That’s a skill Liz & Jeff have acquired. That’s a skill that will serve them well in the strange and exotic land they will find themselves in soon enough.

The land called Marriage.

I seriously loved you two as much as possible without being super weird about it.
I can’t wait to hang out on your wedding day and know you two are gonna be great at it.