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Instead of engagement photos, Neal and I decided to do a newlyweds session on film, at home with our amazing wedding photographer Ryan Ray. We wanted it to be authentic to us, and since we are such homebodies, we couldn’t think of a better place to capture this sweet season of our lives — and that is home.

Ryan is such a sweet soul, and it comes through everything he does. I have admired his work for quite some time, but even more than that, we love how he serves the Lord and others around him. We didn’t feel like a “client” of his, we truly felt like he was a friend of ours for years. He really cared to get to know us, and make us feel comfortable and at ease while shooting. Naturally, Neal and I felt a little more comfortable since being in front of the lens is what we do, but we don’t usually shoot intimate photos like this together. I look at these photos and think about what a great day it was, and how much these photographs are just us. Nobody makes me laugh harder than Neal, and wherever he is, that is my home.

One of my favourite authors, and friend Jefferson Bethke has a beautiful way to describe home, so I’ll leave you with this today…“You spend more time in your home than anywhere else. Home is the subtle but most powerful teacher of your life. It’s where you learn to walk, talk, eat, cry, laugh, and love. Home is a powerful force on our lives whether we realize it or not. And for Alyssa and me, that means that home is sacred. Home is prayed over. Home is thought through intentionally. And most of all, home is fun and hopefully full of joy and grace.To us, the schools, and the church, and the other institutions exist to serve the home. Not the other way around. So we are always thinking about how to create a more loving, nurturing, joyful, caring, thoughtful, and intentional home. Because home means belonging, and no where do we more belong than in the embrace and love of Jesus, and home is our opportunity to show that to our kids by showing them what He’s done for us.”

Photography: Ryan Ray | Florals: Sweet WoodruffÂ