Last year, we celebrated our anniversary by cashing in airline miles on a trip to Colorado. I have family in Ft Collins and I used to teach photography workshops in Manitou Springs, so I’ve spent a good bit of time out there over the years, but Buck had never seen the Rocky Mountains, so we decided our two year anniversary was a good excuse to remedy that.

Just a few weeks before our trip, we found out I was pregnant (!!!!!), so we decided to make it a last hurrah before kids trip and pack in as much as possible. In hindsight, we probably jammed too much into the trip (and I was soooooo nauseous the entire time that I struggled to enjoy it all), but we had so much fun! We rented a car and drove about 1000 miles in 8 days all over the State, from Manitou Springs to Denver to Fort Collins to Estest Park to Vail and back to Denver. Truly an amazing trip.

On a whim I decided to see if I could find another photographer to swap anniversary sessions with while we were there, and the amazing Candice Benjamin agreed. These photos of the two of us are so incredibly precious to me!! I never prioritized anniversary photos before, but this session changed my mind. There is something so sweet, so familiar, so comfortable about these images. Wedding day photos are precious, but there’s a different level of “being known” that comes with time and within marriage that can’t be fully captured on a wedding day.

When I look at these images, I see us as we are in our every day. Buck’s strength and confidence, my optimistic+introverted personality, his crazy jokester tendencies, the way he makes me laugh, the way he lets me— a strong, type-A perfectionist who loves control— lean into him and be “just me,” even when I’m not okay. I see our love, I see our commitment, I see how we’re on the other’s team. These are images I dearly cherish, and always will.

I mean… sunrise in a sunflower field in a gold sequin dress holding onto the love of my life. DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS?!?!?

Classic Buck & Sarah— I’m smiling all nice at the camera, and Buck is doing Blue Steel. Curls for daaaaaaayyyyssssss. 😀Perhaps my favorite picture of us ever. I feel safest, most confident, and most beautiful when I can stand behind him.BABY ON BOARD!!