We met in 2008 in St. Augustine, Florida when we were introduced by a mutual friend and we started darting shortly afterwards. I’m a wedding photographer and have a passion for all things literature and history, but of course my true passion is our family.
Karlyn is a talent developer and loves being active: actively parenting, being a wife, a daughter, a sister, working and enjoying life through the fun it brings. We are both catastrophically stubborn and passionately dedicated. Normally that’s a recipe for disaster, but it has worked out quite well for us. We spent many years in a house before purchasing the one we have now, and it had been our first real home together; we became a family in that house. On the last weekend before moving, we had our closest friends gather for a farewell soiree. Karlyn gave a toast as a nod to the previous five years, and said she had one more memory to make before we left; she got on her knee and proposed. Our wedding took place in the Fairy Glen in Uig, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland surrounded by 18 of our loved ones. We each spent the morning relaxing and getting ready separately which allowed for a lot of reflection and to calm our excited nerves. We opted to see each other only after we were dressed, and we both agree that first look was the highlight of our day. We exchanged vows, rings and were hand-fasted surrounded by our loved ones, it was frigidly cold and windy, but that just helped to make the day more memorable. In choosing Scotland we wanted to be humbled by the sights around us. When you are standing on a mountain overlooking the rolling green hills of Scotland marrying the person you love, it moves you in ways you can’t expect. It was truly magical being in a place with such magnificent and haunting beauty. Being married to us might be slightly different than other couples because we didn’t know if we would ever be allowed to legally marry. We spent a lot of time worrying about what would happen if something should happen to one of us; the other person would have no rights nor say even after seven years building a life together. As time progressed, we knew it was likely, but we never knew for sure. We already felt married, we had vowed loyalty and love to each other one thousand times before that day, but when we finally wed it felt more like a privilege and less like an inherent right, which was both happy and sad.
Photographer, The Kitcheners | Kaylee’s Attire, Chris Riley Gown | Karlyn’s Attire, Slanj Kilts | Reception, Willowbank Cottage
