Katie & Alex are two very special people. Each has, at some point while we grew up together, been one of my best friends, though at completely different times for completely different reasons. There is nothing purer or sweeter than watching two people you care very much about fall so madly in love with each other. 

I like to think that after all the time that has passed, I know these two pretty well, but seeing them interact with each other, grown and incredibly in touch with the other’s thoughts and movements, makes you realize all the intricate details that only someone who loves Alex the way Katie does or someone who has watched and laughed with Katie for as long as Alex has can actually pick up on. A person who is wildly in love is no longer the same person they once were. In the seventh grade, I sat next to a chubby, Pimply faced Alex who thought it would be funny to break my glasses and squeeze the guts out of the squid we were dissecting in science class to make me have to throw up. In ninth grade, Katie and I feuded over a horrendously regrettable crush and listened to too much Owl City in gym class. Those two people I knew are most certainly not the same two people today, and while part of it is age, puberty, and general maturity, I believe being in love caused the most change to each of them. They are so put together, so eloquent, poised, and passionate about each other in all the ways you rarely have the chance to see in old friends. 

We tried to plan this shoot for many months, but it seemed like every time we had a date nailed down, something would come up— something that always seems to happen when we try to catch up with those we care about. The last time we planned one, Alex called me and told me that we would have to reschedule because Katie was in the hospital. If you know Alex at all, you know the last words used to describe him are scared or wavering in any way. Alex radiates confidence and sureness in everything he does. He wears skinny pink ties, for f’s sake, and he rocks them. When I heard Alex talk about Katie in the hospital, my heart literally broke. That was the first time I ever was able to comprehend just how much he loves this woman. He was the saddest person in the whole world for those weeks that she was going through so much. It was such a thick sadness that you could hear it over the phone, just kind of hovering. 

don’t worry y’all, Katie’s good now. clearly. she’s more than good, she’s magnificent and gorgeous and absolutely radiant. I’m so glad we finally got this shoot complete, and at a freakin carnival no less! These two are incredibly lucky to have each other, to have found something so gentle and pure and to have been able to hang onto through the worst of times. I am so thankful to have these two still in my life and to be able to see them spread their light through the world together.

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