Where there is love there is life. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
The man had a point. Love is easy to describe and impossible to define. Of course, the dictionary will disagree but I personally believe that love is undefinable. We all have a different vision of love- a different view of its incomparable emotion and desire. Everyone has a different amount of need to be loved and show love. Everyone has a varied experience with love. To define love is to describe the sky to someone who has never been outside… so you may agree or disagree with my description… but here it is.
To me, love is more than just a feeling. I’m not naive enough to believe in prince charming whisking me away and the story ending with “and they lived happily ever after.” There’s more to it than that. Who knows maybe my prince charming will come riding in on his Harley someday (hey now, don’t judge! That’s horsepower too! Right?) but the “happily ever after” part; that’s where those fairy tales lose me.
Love is work and its sacrifice. Being in love is like riding a rollercoaster blindfolded. Those butterflies of anticipation show up out of nowhere. It throws you in opposite directions and shakes your until you feel it in your soul. Where those loop de loops make you dizzy and the corkscrews knot your stomach. Falling in love is exciting AND terrifying.
I think my favorite thing about love is being on the outside looking in. No, really, I’m serious! Yeah, I have been in love a few times and I love my current crazy amazing man whom hopefully one day I will be able to refer to as my husband *hint hint* *wink wink*. But I live my love story every day. I know the ups and downs and twists and turns. It’s a familiar rollercoaster where the heights aren’t as scary and I know what’s around the next bend. I like seeing other people’s journey; or at least a piece of it.
Arriving at a location and seeing the excitement in a bride’s eyes fills me with a special type of joy. At that point they all become my sisters. I find happiness in their nervous smiles and anxious cracking voices. Watching a groom see his bride for the first time in her dress is like being on the rollercoaster myself. Capturing that moment while he’s fighting back his tears is such an immense honor. I fall in love with their love each and every time.
Having an outsider’s perspective on so many different couples and their unique love stories gives me a chance to change my feelings about love over and over. Getting to experience other people’s profession of love takes away any jaded notions you once believed. It becomes pure again. It’s like getting to see your favorite movie or read your favorite book again- but for the first time!
So every time I photograph a wedding, newborn, engagement, or family session I relate to my clients in a way that I can actually sense the love that surrounds them and in turn feel it deep within myself.
So to me, love is many things and many feelings all wrapped into one. It’s a deeper connection mind body and soul. It’s a heightened sense of self mirrored by the look in someone else’s eyes. It’s security even through argument. It’s inner peace and tranquility when you’re surrounded by chaos. Love is what makes life bearable one way or another. Whether you love a person, a pet, a hobby, or even yourself… “Where there is love there is life.”