My Funny Valentine | Cheyenne, Wyoming Photographer

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d write a post in honor of my own Valentine. And I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’m sharing one of my favorite photos from my own wedding, which happened 17 years ago.

I’m dating myself here, but we’ve hit that mark in our lifetimes where the time we’ve known each other outweighs the time we haven’t known each other. So I guess we’re also in that phase of life where we don’t really do a whole lot for Valentine’s Day. We had a conversation this morning about how weird the card aisle is around Valentine’s Day. A bunch of random people are trying not to get in each other’s ways as they flip through sappy pink and red cards, reading cliche statements about love and relationships. It’s bizarre, and it all just seems super contrived. He and I both try to find the least sappy cards we can and jet out of there asap.

I get to photograph some of the most gorgeous days imaginable for a living. And as stunning as our couples are, and as beautiful as their days are, my favorite parts of each wedding are the parts that have nothing to do with decor or style. My favorite parts are the moments that tell the real truth about who my couples are when they are together.

Which brings me to my own wedding day. My favorite photo from the day is one that tells one of the truest stories about who we are as a couple. It makes me smile every time I see it. And the funny thing is, it wasn’t even taken by our photographers; I think this was taken by one of Andy’s aunts. We got married before social media was a thing. Heck, we got married before digital cameras were in existence (I know, I’m old). Photojournalism wasn’t really a thing in terms of wedding photos yet. Wedding photos meant formal portraits at the church. No one really got getting ready photos. Very few photos were taken at the reception at all. Long story short, I clearly gravitated toward photojournalism even then, because this photo has always been one of a handful of photos from my wedding that I can even recall.

Let me tell you why this photo tells a story of us. Those of you who know us probably see it right away, but my husband and I are complete opposites in so many ways. He’s the life of the party, while I’m usually sitting back watching people. He’s energized by social time, and I usually recharge by quiet alone time. I’m a planner, and he flies by the seat of his pants. But his playfulness and spontaneity are two of the things that attracted me to him in the first place. He is a master at pushing my buttons, and this photo says so much about all of that and about how we approach life, individually and together. And don’t you just love the fake potted plant backdrop? Yeah, let’s just say choices for venues were a bit limited back then.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great Valentine’s Day celebrating your own stories. Keep it real, friends.