As we celebrated MiMi and Grandpa’s 60 years of marriage, Ryan’s whole family gathered for an evening of celebration! We gathered around the table with open ears and curious hearts as Mimi and Grandpa shared their favorite stories.

From across the table, Uncle Gary asked, “Wayne, tell us about your most memorable moment during your 60 years together.” Grandpa didn’t skip a beat when we said, “coming back from Alaska.” Thirty days after MiMi and Grandpa were married, Grandpa left for service during the Korean War. He was away for 15 months working on radio control and talking in morse code. I can only imagine how long those 15 months seemed in their hearts! When Grandpa came home, MiMi met him in at the airport. As he came off the plane, MiMi nervously and anxiously awaited the moment they would see each other again! Hiding behind the 180 other men… they finally found each other! That moment 58 ½ years ago, created a memory that is so fresh in their minds they told the story like it was yesterday!

The stories continued… and as I sat there listening to the words of wisdom that flowed from their years of experience, I couldn’t wait to hear more. I wanted to soak in every word so that we would never forget the history of Ryan’s family. I wanted to learn from their 60 years of experience and take in every piece of advice they shared! Grandpa said… “tell him (Ryan) to listen to you.” ;) With Ryan sitting right next to me, I know I will never have to repeat that! ;)

MiMi reminded us of the importance of communication and making sure that we talk about things when they are on our mind. She said that didn’t always happen for them, but that is one piece of advice she learned along the way!

Sixty years! What a blessing! And what a blessing to have the whole family together to celebrate MiMi and Grandpa… where it all began! As Mimi said, “I am too young to be getting this old!” we were reminded that you can never be too young to soak in these moments and celebrate those years of experience that will one day make us “old.” We can only dream of the day, 54 years from now, when Ryan and I are sitting around the table with our whole family by our side, celebrating our 60 years of marriage, sharing the stories of memories we are making today. What an AMAZING thought.

Even though we grew up in the area, we never imagined how beautiful this rustic Pennsylvania engagement session would be! Yes, the creek, snow covered woods, frozen pond, random wood piles and everything about the environment made this session remarkable… but it definitely was the beauty of Kellie and Matt’s love that made the session unforgettable!

We have known both Kellie and Matt for quite some time. We all grew up in the same small town and got to know each other through different avenues of life! (For example, Ryan worked with Matt during high school and was in many of the same school classes as Kellie… starting all the way back in 2nd grade!) When we received an email from Kellie sharing her excitement that she and Matt were planning their wedding, we could not have been more excited! We couldn’t wait to hear more about their love story and how this beautiful world brought them together!

Although we knew both Kellie and Matt growing up… it wasn’t until after graduation that Kellie and Matt got to know each other! In fact, it took a blind call from Matt to Kellie to start their relationship off! Matt’s cousin was looking out for him and suggested that he give Kellie a call! After just a few dates, they knew they had something special!

When Kellie and Matt are together, their love radiates from their smiles! We loved spending some time with them at a local hunt club in Pennsylvania over the weekend! It was such a beautiful and peaceful setting… the perfect place for Kellie and Matt to escape the busyness of their lives and soak each other in!

Kellie and Matt… thank you for sharing such a beautiful day with us! Your peaceful love and happiness radiates and is a joy to be around! We are so excited for your wedding and so grateful this beautiful world brought you two together!

I remember the exact moment at the What If Conference when I looked over at Lara and it seemed as though she was in a dream. She had this smile on her face that seemed to be permanent and certainly was not going away anytime soon! ;)  It was one of those smiles that made people wonder what she was up to!

At that very moment, Lara had let her mind wander and she was quickly reminded of a project that she had dreamed of starting with her husband four years ago. She had big ideas to start this business, but fears and doubts stood in their way. Their dreams were pushed to the back of their minds while they continued to live their lives day to day.

As this dream came to the forefront of Lara’s mind over and over again at What If, Lara realized it was time to make this happen. She went home and just one month later, Lara and Peter have officially launched Paper Boat Recording!  

The story behind Paper Boat Recording is pretty AMAZING and we hope that you will go read more on their site (and leave them some love on Facebook too)! Lara lost her mom a few years ago and one of the biggest things she misses is hearing her mom share the stories of her childhood. These spoken words are the kinds of things that so many of us take for granted! With Paper Boat Recording, Lara and Peter want to record the moments that make up people’s travels through life. They dream of documenting the special memories and everyday moments – “to keep them safe, so that you may travel forward, knowing you can always look back when you wish.”

With Lara being a photographer and Peter being a sound engineer, they are using their gifts and their passions to document stories in a special kind of way! We are so excited that Lara and Peter have launched this dream of theirs and are touching the lives of others along the way!

We hope that you will find your mind wandering today and leave you with that smile that makes people wonder what you are up to! Then follow Lara and Peter’s example and go and make that dream happen!

The fire gently crackling was the only noise in the cabin as we relaxed in silence. We sat together, and let the still air of the night surround us. I wrapped my arms around you and we took in the moment. Without a word spoken, we silently said I love you.

When was the last time we just sat together in silence? Sometimes I think it is as if we are afraid of silence. We are always quick to fill the air with music, television or conversation. But, in silence comes comfort. Silence strengthens our love.

One of our favorite things to do with our couples during their engagement sessions is to have them stand facing each other, hand in hand. We ask them to look at each other, close their eyes and take a deep breath. As we step back, we let the silence surround them and watch as it works its magic.

This week we encourage you to embrace silence. Sit together in the morning as the sun rises and just absorb each other. Without a word, let each other know how much you love each other. After dinner, turn off the television, and relax together on the couch. Look at each other and without a word, let each other know how much you mean to each other. Embrace the silent moments and have an AMAZING Marriage and an AMAZING week!

With this winter-like spring weather, we find minds wandering to a dream getaway and visualizing ourselves at the AMAZING Life Escape in November! We are so excited to be sitting by that cozy fire place in that beautiful estate in Maine!

Thank you to you all who have expressed so much interest in our AMAZING Life Escapes! Your excitement makes our hearts smile!!! We have received quite a few questions recently and thought it would be helpful to share them with you all, just in case you were wondering the same thing! For those of you who are still making your decision… hopefully these will help!

Don’t delay… we only have 3 spots remaining!!! AND the early bird pricing ends on April 1st!! (Use coupon code EarlyBird for the $400 discount!)

– AMAZING LIFE ESCAPE FAQ –

What in the world inspired you guys to host this?
We are two people who are crazy in love. Seriously in love. Through our experience as wedding photographers, we have recognized a lot about our love! We have realized that the love we share and the love that our couples share is something crazy special! It is something that we often take for granted and very rarely take the time to acknowledge, let alone celebrate! During engagement sessions, we have cherished the opportunity to give our couples an opportunity to escape the everyday craziness of life. (The decisions to be made… even just what to have for dinner, the daily routine of appointments and work activities that are always pulling you in a different direction!) We have recognized that that time… usually just 2 hours for an engagement session is time that we all rarely take to just LOVE on each other!

During 2012, we had this dream of creating an experience where any couple could escape the everyday craziness of life and take some time to celebrate the AMAZINGNESS that surrounds them. We dreamed of a getaway surrounded by new and old friends alike who were excited to invest in their relationship and share an experience that could change their lives! Whether friends coming into the Escape together or becoming friends during the Escape, we are excited to see a community form of AMAZING people who are excited to celebrate this special love and AMAZING life we share.

This is a dream for us and we couldn’t be more excited to share this dream with you!

My marriage isn’t in trouble, why should I attend?
Ohh man. This question really fires us up! Lol. (In the best way possible, of course!) We so often look around and think… I don’t need that. Or, my marriage is pretty good… I don’t need to focus on it. Life is pretty AMAZING, friends! We are the first ones to say that! But the reality is, we could all use a chance to get away and soak that AMAZINGNESS in!

The AMAZING Life Escape is meant to be for any and every couple, who are crazy in love, and recognize that spending some extra time together away from those other “things” in life is so incredibly important! As with date nights and intentional moments we take to just soak this AMAZING life in, we often don’t recognize the power of those moments until afterwards! It is our hope that we can help people recognize that making time for yourselves and relationship is so incredibly IMPORTANT! Yes, this is a crazy fun AMAZINGly beautiful escape that almost feels like a dream (well, it does feel like a dream), but the reality is that we hope it will be a life changing opportunity for people to experience the AMAZING love that is right by their side ALWAYS!… but sometimes it is just disguised under all of the other “things” in life. We all need that AMAZING reminder sometimes!

What will a typical day look like?
We are still working out the final details for the very first Escape! However, we can tell you that it is going to be pretty darn AMAZING! ;) We are super excited about it and quite determined to make this experience like no other!

An example of a typical day might look a little like this:
06:30 AM Sunrise (Optional, but imagine watching the sunrise, a cozy blanket & the love of your life by your side!)
08:00 AM Breakfast in Bed
10:00 AM AMAZING Life Inspiration Session: Discovering Joyful Happiness
12:00 PM Lunch
02:00 PM Yoga/Meditation/Afternoon Tea
03:00 PM Mini Photo Session
05:00 PM Cook Together Cooking Class with a Professional Chef
07:00 PM Cocktail Style Dinner Party
08:00 PM Movie Night (in the in-house movie theatre) complete with popcorn & snacks!
10:00 PM Cozy Fire Place Chat

I am not married, can I still come?
Currently our Escapes are designed for couples! Married or not, it doesn’t matter to us. We just want you to be crazy in love! ;) Our hope is that you will be in a serious relationship so that when you go back home, you will be able to celebrate that special love daily!

Are you marriage counselors?
NO! No, we are definitely not marriage counselors! If your marriage is in trouble or you need some additional support, please contact a professional. We absolutely want to see couples work through their hard times. However, we are not trained professionals to help you through that!

We are AMAZING Life Inspirers. We want to encourage couples to celebrate the AMAZINGNESS that surrounds them. This life is pretty AMAZING, but the AMAZINGNESS is often blurred by the everyday activities we all find ourselves buried under. It is our goal to bring that AMAZINGNESS back to the forefront and make that an everyday priority to be celebrated!

Is this a business expense?
To be honest, we never thought about this until now! AND we are not accountants, so we probably shouldn’t be answering this question. Depending on your profession, we could see how this could potentially be a business expense. However, please contact your accountant to discuss!

We see this as an investment in your relationship more than anything, and we hope you will too! We have recently recognized that we are so quick to jump on a business workshop opportunity or purchase the next new and improved piece of technology, but somehow it is so difficult for us to spend money on ourselves and on our relationships! We find ourselves having to justify any personal expenses we make! As Kid President would say, “This is our LIFE people… “ We hope you will recognize along with us that this as an opportunity to invest in an experience that is potentially life changing! No justification needed.

Ready to join us on the AMAZING Life Escape? Register Here!