Kaela and Kai are the winners of our annual WEDDING GIVEAWAY!  I knew these two were special from the first emails we had back and forth. First of all, it was Kai that I was writing most often.  Usually I am emailing the brides in preparations for engagement pictures. It is hardly ever the groom. I mean really. Like never the groom. It is not unusual to talk to the groom for the first time at a consultations that the Bride set up, or even their engagement session!

In fact, now that I think about it, I think Kai is the first groom to be “incharge” of communication.  At first I was worried that Kaela was missing out on the planning. This was new territory for me and wasn’t sure if she would feel left out. So, I asked Kai about it. Turns out this guy had been forwarding all our messages to Kaela the WHOLE time! Wow, this groom is on top of things! I think communication will be one of Kaela and Kai’s strong characteristics in marriage.

By time we meet in person, I felt like we were friends. I knew that Kai had a great sense of humor that made Kaela laugh infectiously. I knew the two had a strong sense of identity and understood that life will be a happy journey if you have an optimistic outlook. These are the type of people that make me want to invest more in the quality of life.

These two have known each other for eight years. And I  feel the need to brad about the two of them. The day we took these engagements, Kaela mentioned how she needed to run 8 miles for her training. Say what? EIGHT MILES? Kaela was training for a FULL marathon that she ran last week. AT first I thought it was “Just” a half. But Kai’s mother was great to let me know that it was a FULL. Kaela deserves all the extra points that running a full marathon gets. Kai, even though he had some knee problems that prevented him from running the whole race with her, he joined up and ran the difficult final 8 miles of the race with his Fiancé. What a fantastic goal to have together while you are engaged. (But I wont judge any of my other couples for not running 8 miles on the same day as your engagement session. Promise.)

The “fake ring” was Kaela’s first ring. It was the ring Kai gave her as a place holder until they found THE ring that would be her engagement ring. It was not picked it out when we took pictures, but to tell you the truth, I loved taking a few images of this fake ring anyways!  The nickel was wearing off in some parts and Kaela had painted it with some silver nail polish to keep it looking fresh.

Its meaning is just as important and significant. It still means that Kaela and Kai are wanting and willing to spend all their days together. They want to support each other as man and wife and getting ready for that joyful day!  These two are wonderful. They aren’t worried about getting lost in the details of wedding planning, but focused on the purpose and meaning behind getting married. I hope you keep that first “fake” engagement ring for all your life for the fun memory it is. I can’t wait to see the “real” one on the wedding day though!

Some photo’s just fit better in black and white. I couldn’t image this photo any other way. It is wonderful.

Like what you see and need more?