Bryan & Tammy

She plopped down in her chair fresh-faced with folded legs, breakfast in hand, and hair that looked like she just jumped out of the shower. He was right next to her with the warmest, most genuine smile. I liked them right away and even on FaceTime, I knew I was going to have a conversation with good people.

Bryan and Tammy contacted me to do a photo session in their home a few weeks ago (along with a marketing session for their biz that I’ll share soon). It had been a while since I had photographed an in-home session and my game face was already on.

Tammy then sent me a few pics of her home filled with light and neutral grays and decor that I immediately wanted links to so that I could decorate my own home the exact. same. way. Then she explained their “why” for wanting to do the session and I was all in.

This session was to capture Bryan and Tammy’s love for each other. These two are passionate not only about their marriage, but God is leading them to speak and minister to others about marriage.

These two have a love story that is special (their words to me many times) and without asking, it became clear to me through my lens that they were right. We didn’t talk about the actual story, but in our time together I knew that their love was deep. That there had been brokenness and incredible healing and that there was an unmistakable joy between them. Most of all, I could see that their love story is now centered in the love of Christ.

I wanted to share their session with you, but knew that it would do a justice without a bit of their own story in their own words to accompany it. If you’d like to read more about them and follow along with their journey, check out Tammy’s blog here. 

 

[Looking back at our] sophomore year at our high school dance, it was easy to love back then. No fights. No broken promises. No major let downs. Enter a string of really poor decisions. It became very difficult for me to love. I was broken. He was broken. We were broken.

Enter Jesus. As Jordan Lee Dooley says, “Your brokenness is welcome here.” That’s exactly what God said to us. He redeemed us. He restored us. Because of Him, it is easy to love now. 23 years we’ve been partners in this adventure called life. Are we still broken? Yes. Do we still make messes? Sure. But nothing is impossible to those who believe.

[These photos] show us having an incredible time, so maybe you’ll dismiss this right away because maybe you are married and there is no laughter. Friends, please hear me, I mean it with every bone in my body when I say that these two humans in this photo used to be ?????????. There was no ???. It took being REAL. It took getting HELP. It took two people who didn’t want to GIVE UP. For us, our biggest shortcomings led us to our biggest blessing, a relationship with JESUS. ?Was our relationship worth fighting for? SO MUCH. YES!! Now I know that. But during the really, really, really hard times did I know that? Nope. It felt like the biggest risk. Is your relationship worth fighting for? Are you ready to take risks to make it even richer, fuller, more filled with laughter than it is today? I’m in. ????? I want continued growth, deeper intimacy, love, and respect. ?

To anyone out there in a committed relationship that you really want to work, but right now you don’t see how it can, take it to Jesus. He won’t lead you astray. He’ll help guide you. That doesn’t mean every story will go the way ours has, so please don’t compare, but it does mean you won’t have to go it alone.

Forgiveness is possible.
Change is possible.
Redemption is possible.
He fights for you.

I know relationships are not easy. Especially the ones where you live together, have sex (1 million possible complications in this department and I have lived through most of them ?), possibly kids, & beyond. Bottom line, relationships do take effort. Don’t believe the lie that “if you’re growing apart, you weren’t meant to be.” Also note: HUMANS MAKE MISTAKES. Sometimes big ones and sometimes little ones. How do you handle those? Do you expect perfection? Do you throw past mistakes in your partner’s face time and time again?

To my single friends out there who think their smile hinges upon finding the right mate-I encourage you to get up each day and live your best life. Don’t wait to have fun until…don’t wait to show up to the events until…wake up, put on your attitude of gratitude, believe the best is yet to come and act like it. In living your best life, you will attract your best mate.

I pray you laugh all you can and enjoy the little things, don’t sweat the small stuff, and seek help when you need it.

Xo, Tammy