We were in Sydney last week and took pictures of this beautiful little family. My heart is full.
We shot Neil and Tegan’s engagement session and wedding three years ago. It rained buckets during their engagement shoot (hair and makeup by Karen May Reyes, styling by Rabbithole Creatives), but they were total troopers and we had a great time. I remember going home on a creative high. On their wedding day, Tegan’s father walked her down the aisle and at the end of it, shook Neil’s hand and held it for a very. long. time. A hush came over the entire church. Neil did not flinch, and I was quite impressed, really. And then that look from her dad, and hello, my tears.
I’ve been able to stay in touch with Tegan through Facebook, and love how passionate and kind she is. One time, I was trying to help an aunt gather donations for the young women’s shelter she’s been volunteering at for years now. It’s a home for single mothers with infants who have nowhere else to go, and their cribs were literally falling apart, among other things. Tegan was one of the first to message and ask how she can help. She gathered donations from her friends in Sydney and sent them all the way to the shelter in Manila. That, and the help from all the other moms (mostly former brides of ours), was immensely moving. Whenever I start to feel bad about the state of the world, I just remember that a mother’s love will always be big enough to extend to another’s child, and that is enough love to see us all through.
When Tegan got in touch about a family portrait session in Sydney, I pretty much squealed with excitement. Jeff and I love shooting family portraits of our former brides and grooms. The history means so much to us. Being able to see a couple through their year of wedding preparations, engagement shoot, wedding, and being able to see them with their own children and these little families they have made, it’s an incredible feeling for us that very few things can surpass. It’s a continuity of these stories that we have kept with us all these years.
Neil and Tegan, thank you for sharing this part of your lives with us, and for being a part of ours. Sydney will always be one of our favorites, and you’ll forever be attached to our memories of the place. I couldn’t be happier. Please give Ibby a huge squishy bear hug, and tell her Tita Lisa misses her heaps! You have made such a delightful little human, and we’re excited for the other one on the way. Much, much love from our little family to yours.
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