July 17th, 1996 is one of those dates we will never forget. Every year July 17th comes around and we are immediately flooded with the emotions of that day. Seventeen years later and we can still remember the details like it was yesterday. I remember waking up to the sounds of my mom sobbing as she watched CNN and heard the newscaster say that a group of High School Students from Montoursville, PA were on TWA Flight 800 when it went down. The devastation and sadness that comes over us whenever we hear of heartbreaking tragic news that happens around the world was magnified by 1 million when we saw our small town of Montoursville blasted across the screen of pretty much every major news station knowing that this tragedy was definitely hitting home. Growing up in such a small town, everyone pretty much knows everyone.

July 17th, 1996 was a day that definitely left an impact on our hearts. Through the tragedy, we witnessed our small town come together and become a stronger community. As the clouds formed the shape of an angel in the sky above our high school where people gathered to come together for love and support, we couldn’t help but know everything was going to be okay. There were now 21 additional beautiful angels in the sky who had a special way of making the hugs a little tighter.

There are no answers to the question “why”… in fact, with the most recent controversy magnified by a new documentary, there are still no answers to “how.” But the one answer that we do have is that everything happens for a reason and we have no choice but to honor those 21 beautiful people in a special way! A few weeks ago we received a facebook invite to join a group of over 200 strong in an effort to do 21 Random Acts of Kindness today in honor of those beautiful people who lost their lives 17 years ago. What an AMAZING idea.

Today, we are so excited to be out and about bringing a smile to people’s faces. With each random act of kindness, our hearts will be with each and every one of the 21 and their family and friends. With every smile, we hope we bring a million more to those family and friends as they remember their loved ones today.

Forever in our hearts… that is for sure.

We would LOVE for you to join us by doing a Random Act of Kindness today (or, I mean 21 would be awesome too! ;) !!!) Feel free to download and print these graphics and leave them with your RAK. Let’s spread those smiles today and hopefully help make those hugs a little tighter too!

As we made our way to meet TJ to plan out his Loyola Surprise Proposal, I was talking to my best friend Megan on the phone. I told her we were on our way to meet a groom who would be proposing to his girlfriend later in the week and she pretty much jumped up and down with excitement! I could feel her excitement through the phone and in that moment I pinched myself. Yes, the words that I shared did just come out of my mouth and we are definitely blessed to be able to do what we do! ;)

We met with TJ earlier in the week to make the final plans for his proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Carol. They met at Loyola University where they lived in the same hall as First Year students. Their friendship blossomed into love a few years later and here they were just days away from being engaged! TJ had this whole plan to get Carol up to Loyola before their “dinner with a few friends” in Baltimore. (We are always so fascinated with how the guys seem to trick the ladies into something crazy on the day of their proposals! (Like, how in the world did I let Ryan blindfold me and not have any clue he was going to propose?!?! ;) lol!)) Anyway… TJ had it all planned out and we couldn’t wait to be there to capture the magic of the proposal before they made their way to “dinner with a few friends” that was actually a little party to celebrate with 40 of their closest family and friends!

Friday arrived and even though the forecast earlier in the week said it was going to be PERFECT… it poured pretty much all day. As we started to get nervous, (ok, I started to get nervous and Ryan just got more and more calm because that’s how it typically happens! ;) ) a clear spot opened up on the radar just in time for TJ to do his thing! I found my spot on the porch of the gorgeous Humanities Building at Loyola. As they turned the corner, I realized my heart was racing probably just as much as TJ’s! ;) What a magical moment!!! There is something so incredibly AMAZING about being there to witness this special special moment that TJ and Carol will always cherish with their hearts! We are so grateful for the opportunity to capture it and provide them with the visuals to never forget any of the details from that special evening!!

TJ and Carol… CONGRATULATIONS!!! We could not be more excited for you!!! TJ- thank you for reaching out to us and being such an incredible man that you are to even think of how special it would be to have this moment captured!! What a special gift for Carol!! You two are the sweetest and we are so grateful you have been brought into our lives!! Enjoy every moment of your engagement and every time you say fiancee, we hope you glow as much as you did on this night at Loyola! ;)

When we first met Jenn and Ben, we immediately hit it off… maybe it was when we figured out that Ben and Ryan played college football against each other while at Lehigh and Bucknell or that Jenn is an AMAZING crafter and actually owns her own crafting business… just those two discoveries made us feel like we should be best friends! ;) However, I am pretty sure (in fact, I am totally confident) the reason we love them so much is the way their smiles and personalities have the ability to light up this world! ;)

We were totally looking forward to Jenn and Ben’s wedding at the Oaks because we knew it was going to be full of big hearts and happy smiles! Ben’s family was traveling from Texas and we couldn’t wait to experience their southern charm and “Friday Night Lights” spirit! ;) We also knew Jenn would be crafting crafting crafting and their day would be full of preppy nautical goodness! ;) Sounds AMAZING, right? It definitely was… most especially because those gorgeous smiles that Jenn and Ben have never left their faces!!! ;)

Jenn and Ben’s wedding at the Oaks was so fun, so gorgeous, and all around magical! ;) Thank you so much, Jenn and Ben, for the opportunity to share in your celebration and capture your AMAZING love story as it plays out! We had so much fun celebrating with you and your AMAZING family and friends! Can’t wait to hear all about Hawaii and that magical tubing adventure in Kauai when you get back! ;) Congratulations friends!

So much love and thanks to the wedding professionals who helped make Jenn and Ben’s day extra special!

Photography: Liz and Ryan | Photobooth: Liz and Ryan | Hair Stylist: Jen Horsman, Salon Tusey,  | Makeup Artist: Sarah Strunk, The Still Point | Florist: Divine Designs and Events | Wedding Venue: The Oaks Waterfront Inn | Officiant: Mary Tankersley | Ceremony Music: Chesapeake Strings | Bakery: Georgetown Cupcake | TOP TIER: La Cakerie | DJ/Band: Jacob at Absolute Entertainment | Transportation: Blackwater Paddle and Pedal | Bride’s Attire: Franscesca’s Bridal | Groom & Groomsmen’s Attire: Men’s Warehouse  | Bridesmaid’s Attire: J. Crew  | Wedding Bands: Smyth Jewelers

A few weeks ago we had one of our brides and grooms and their families over to share their wedding photos with them for the first time. As we gathered in our living room, the family started asking us about our family. We quickly pulled out our “What Does Family Mean to You” album and started sharing all about the fun we had making the album! Then we got really crazy and decided to share the video we made to go along with the album! As the tears filled my eyes again, I was reminded of how truly special our family is! Our bride and groom and their families were in awe. The love that radiates the pages of that book and the truth that is shared through the words on the video struck us as if we had never seen the pictures or heard the words before. That evening we were blessed with the reminder of how truly special family is… and even more importantly… how truly special OUR family is!

During the photo shoot for the album we asked everyone the same simple question, “What does family mean to you?” Today we wanted to reflect on that a little further. So we decided to think of a word that starts with each letter in family.

Faith: Family is having faith in each other. Faith that we can count on each other no matter how hard or difficult something may seem. And having faith that someone will always be there to stand by our side.
Always: Family is always there. If we need advice on taking a new job, taking care of each other when we are sick, or just someone to make us laugh and turn a not so good day into a happy day, we can always count on family.
Memories: Trips to Disney World, campfires outback, graduations, weddings, and so many more. The most important memories in our lives have always been when family surrounds us.
Inspiring: Family is inspiring! It amazes us to see all the incredible things our family does each day with their lives. We are all unique and different but all amazing and inspirational!
Love: Family is unconditional love. No matter how difficult things may seem in life, family is there to love us unconditionally.
Youth: Thinking of family brings back memories of our youth, playing tag, baseball in the backyard, and fun family picnics. Youth is also the refreshing of family with new children, nieces, and nephews. No matter what, when we are around family, we never feel old, but instead like we are always in our youth.

I think Liz’s MeMe summed it up best: “I pray every night that our family loves one another and does for one another… When anybody is in need that they will be there to help them. That’s my prayer of life.” – MeMe

So tell us, What does family mean to you?

Since we’ve been married, finding happiness together has always been one of our biggest goals. We’ve always believed that the choices we make in life lead to our overall happiness. If there is just one thing we could have in life, it would be to always be happy. When we are happy, the day goes by so much quicker, we get things accomplished faster, we are excited to wake up in the morning, and we are more pleasant to be around. Liz and I have always tried to communicate with each other as much as possible about what makes us happy but just recently, we decided to take a more strategic approach to our happiness. Ok, I must admit, as a former engineer, this made me super excited!!! :) I am a bit of a nerd for creating plans, processes, and designs. :)

As we were in the car driving to photograph a recent wedding, we began chatting about our dreams for the future, living in Annapolis, owning a café, filming a documentary, and making family a larger priority in our lives.  As we chatted, we started feeling frustrated. A lot of these dreams have been on our minds for a while now and although we are making progress towards each of them, for some reason, on this car ride, it just felt like we were not going in the right direction.

It was at that moment that I said to Liz, “What makes you happy? What makes us happy?” There was a silent pause while we both thought about the answers to these questions. The answers were simple: Spending time with each other, sharing our home with family and friends, helping others have a more amazing life together, serving others, and capturing photos that couples will have for the rest of their lives.

As we talked more during our trip, we realized that the things that make us happy were currently not necessarily the top priority in our lives and that they didn’t all match up to our future life goals. As we approached the venue for our wedding, we knew we needed to think on this further and continue the conversation.

So back to the type A part of my personality, :), we decided to create a monthly Happiness Summit in order to help us obtain greater happiness together and to make sure our life goals match up with what actually does make us happy. So you might be asking, what does our Happiness Summit look like? As with our Dream Storm meetings, we decided to hold it at a place that makes us happy. For us, that can be any of a few places: On our rooftop deck, at our favorite coffee shop, or sitting in the sand at the beach. Once we are there, we ask ourselves the following questions.

• As an individual what makes us happy?
• As a couple what makes us happy?
• What do we think makes each other happy?

After spending 5 – 10 minutes on each question separately, we compare notes. As we chat we discuss ways to help each other be happier and then we come up with a happiness plan that answers the following questions:

• What can we do each day to help each other be happier?
• What tasks, activities, and frustrations can we eliminate in order to be happier as a couple?
• What do we each do well to make each other happy that we could do more of on a regular basis?

Finally, once we’ve decided on our plan for happiness, we take some time to dream about the future. As we think about our future, we think about how accomplishing these goals will make us feel on an everyday basis. If the effort to accomplish a goal on our list isn’t going to make us happy, then we stop and think about whether the goal is something we really want to achieve. In the end, knowing that life is short and that we should spend it being happy together is the most important goal we have.

So as you go about your week, we hope that you will take sometime together to host your own Happiness Summit. Liz and I will be hosting our own later this week and we will definitely share our results. But no matter what, whatever you do this week, be sure to do the things that make you happy!!!

Thanks to all of our AMAZING Friends and Family (in and not in the photo!) that helped us celebrate the 4th of July last week!!!

Have an AMAZING Week!!!