Country Type of Love - Cory + Judy

We spent the evening with Cory and Judy who came down from Kelowna for their engagement session in Vancouver. We're so excited for their winter wedding this upcoming January at  Naramata Heritage Inn. 

Finding love again is a story for many couples and one that is known to Judy and Cory. Both divorced and thinking they would never marry again - they found each other some years ago. It was evident from the way they played and loved on each other these who had "it". That passion and connection that is depicted in the movies of all the great romances. 

Heres a few of their teasers from their engagement.



If you and I could ride forever into the sunset, what would that be? 
Would you hold my hand and kiss me?
I would be your forever and you'd be mine.















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Wedding Photographers in Porto, Portugal

If I was a time of day, I’d want to be sunset. I want to be that glowy warmth that changes how you feel and that craving of all you want to do is soak it up until it leaves behind the dark of night. I love how sunsets  can cause people to stop and stare. To be present and in the moment. How it can cause a feeling of serenity. 

The way the light touches everything in its sight; as if it would be one last embrace letting the surroundings know “I see you”. That last bit of warmth on the skin that makes all the small hairs on your arm stand up - like they are each reaching up, trying to not let go. A last effort to hold onto that warmth longer.

You don’t always know if you will see sunset the next day, I think that is why I try to soak it up in the moments when it paints the skies with hues of pastels. I call them ‘Disney skies’. I think that’s why I love Hawaii so much, we would catch sunrises every trip, almost every evening. For our Honeymoon in Maui - we’d watch sunset EVERY night. 


This summer while in Europe, we did our best to soak up all the sunsets. My favourite was this one in Porto. After a day of day drinking, we had all the butterfly feelings that come along with drinking aged Ports that made this particular sunset a little extra special. I walked buzzed along the Douro River that glowed golden and glassy before meeting the new destination of the Atlantic. I held Verlon’s hand, and watched the sun say goodnight to us and the rows of other tourists who were too, also enamoured with the glow. I smiled back at the sun because this - this is what everyone searches for and reaches for - this moment was happiness.



#relationshipgoals

Give me any little nugget you have or education about relationships and marriage and I'll do my best to soak it up like a sponge. It's one of the biggest investments in my life - our marriage. How do I take care of a massive investment? Time, money, care, kindness, and doing my best for the other person.


So, this is the 'beta' of what that looks like. It's a questionnaire for couples and it's meant to be done weekly. You can either print out these worksheets or text your responses to each other using the photo that you save to your phone (open the photo edit option on your phone and you can select text). It's simply meant to be a check in for couples. Life gets busy and it's hard to sit down sometimes and dive into those conversations. I found this questionnaire helps elevate that pressure while still connecting us.

Verlon and I have been doing these for a little over 2 months with lots of success and connection and I figure if it's bringing up so much joy, time to share it with others.

Click save as, to get your own FREE copies of this worksheet below :-)

I'd love to hear how it goes for you and your partner! There are TWO options, pick the one that feels 'right' for you.

A while ago I heard about the Marriage Journal and I loved the idea of "how can I pray for you", but wanted something more personalized and something that I could edit on the fly, if I got new ideas. The one thing I felt about the Marriage Journal was - what if a couple didn't grow up with the idea of prayer? These worksheets could still really work for a couple that isn't actively practising prayer in their lives, so that is why there are two versions below. Who knows what spot you're in with your spirituality -  I wanted all relationships, regardless of belief to benefit the way we have.

As a Christian couple, we have really loved the last question because it's kept us accountable in our faith life, and encouraging prayer weekly. It's so easy to get busy and really forget about talking to God or praying.

But that being said just being asked "Keep this in mind" can look like a very similar thing, say you're stressed out at work about a certain outcome, your spouse can wish you well for that particular item in you life and being mindful about it versus holding onto it alone. Two is stronger than one.

Hope it helps!


UPDATE: I've attached a worksheet that could work for parents & kids. I'd really love to hear feedback on it! One option includes prayer, and the other starts an open discussion for "hard" to talk about things that your child may want you to know. Give me all the feedback parents!





xoxo,

Ashley





Clayburn Village Schoolhouse Wedding, Abbotsford Weddings , BC - Wedding Photographer

Julie & Scott

I'm here purely because couples choose to have me be apart of one of the biggest days of their lives. That's really it. So, I'm here to be the biggest cheerleader of their love story and Julie & Scott's love story is one that fills up my heart with all the 'feels'. Their love story is uniquely amazing and I'm so honoured to have be able to help tell their story. I believe in marriage and I am a cheerleader for all my clients and their marriages.

When we first met I gushed over the books we had in common - The 5 Love Languages, Love and Respect and better yet - they loved Brene Brown.... that's when I knew these were my people! The way they spoke about their relationship and future marriage had me giddy on the inside because they "got" it. They have the "it" the "magic" that makes marriage work.

Scott had one of the most creative proposals ever. He planned an entire day of surprises for Julie with help from friends. Julie was given clues, car keys and a special voice recording was made for her to follow including mock commercial - advertisements made by Scott & friends for Julie to listen to while she galavanted on her way, navigating the clues. The scavenger hunt ended in Langley at their friend's home where they first met, over a cheese board.... heck yes cheese is the best love language. Rose petals lined the way to the kitchen and Scott was there ready to ask the big question.

 Fast forward - there I was a witness' their big day in a small beautiful church in Abbotsford - Clayburn Village Church and Reception at Clayburn Village Schoolhouse afterwards.

The rainstorm of the summer hit. It was the rainiest weekend but that didn't put a damper on this wedding at all. It was a romantic novel that played out in front of my lens. Both Julie & Scott had a 'glow' about them and were excited beyond measure. The energy these two were giving off was so infectious, you couldn't help but smile being near them. The love surrounding them with friends and family. These two are something special and so very blessed. The surreal feeling was palpable.

When I was scouting for their wedding - yes, that's something that I do, I make sure I go and check out all the wedding locations before the big day. We walked the church,reception, and portrait locations near by and that's when I was inspired.... we got to walk the properties while "Man in The High Castle" (Amazon Prime Tv Series, that was pretty freaking epic to be on set) was filming in the church and that's when I knew we HAD to photograph portraits in the church and with the rain - it was the perfect break while we waited out the weather.


















































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