Leah & Tyler | Mini E-Session | Cleveland, TN Engagement Photographer

What can I say about this gal right here?  I’ve known her literally FOR-EV-ER! No really!  She was born and we’ve lived side by side our whole lives long.  She’s my “little sister” as God didn’t bless me with a real one, but in some ways I suppose having a bestie that’s a sister is better… you can’t get on each others nerves as much. 😉 Haha!

We’ve had our fights of course, we’ve built forts, machetied our way through the woods clearing bike and later 4-wheeler trails.  We’ve had club houses, sleep overs, hating on our brothers festivals (she has 2 and have 2, but the younger one is the one who ran with us back in the day). We ran away on our bikes with our brothers…much to all of their babysitter’s shagrin… played home-run derby, smacked golf balls in to their Pappaws cow field, and went swimming more times than we can count.  We played “school”, we played with dolls, we went sledding when it snowed enough, we’ve laughed, we’ve cried, and done everything you can think of in between.  I unintentionally got her stung by a wasp once in a game of “Murder in the Dark”…but I also “healed” it…with Orajel…hey, her whole leg may have been numb but at least is didn’t hurt anymore! HA!  (And I still contend that was the BEST hiding spot ever!)

We’ve lived LIFE together.  No matter how far apart we are, she’s there, I feel her.  We’re those friends who call or text each other right when the other one needs someone.  Those friends who no matter how long we go without speaking it’s like we never stopped. I’m the one who told her when she “swore off men” to “never say never”, and when she said she’d NEVER get married again, that indeed she would because God was still working on the right one.  Yeah, she didn’t believe me then….but you’d think she’d learn by now…’ “B” is always right!’ 😉 HAHAHA!

Now, about the man who’s captured her heart and soul!  They hadn’t been dating long, but she’d told me of Tyler briefly.  One day on the way home she and the kiddos were outside playing ball with this tall fella I didn’t recognize…not one of her brothers!  So, I waived, and Pam and I pulled in with her kiddos in tow too.  We all unloaded and I was introduced to Tyler.  He shook my hand, looked me square in the eyes and said “I’ve heard so much about you.” To which I replied “If it’s bad it’s all lies, but if it’s good it’s all true!”  I was assured it was all good of course 😉 Better have been! Haha!

We hung out a while and all 5 of the babes played together like we all did (Pam used to live in our neighborhood too across the street from Leah when we were all in High-school together) when we were younger, and I couldn’t help but think how lucky we were to have friends so close and like them.  Friends who our parents always knew where we were, and if we weren’t in our beds in the morning they knew just where to find us.  Her parents are another set of my “second parents”, and her Mammaw and Pappaw are another set of my “second grandparents”!  Amazing people, wonderful Christians, inside and out!  Sorry…back to Tyler! LOL!

Pam and I had to leave, but I told her as soon as we were backing down the drive way that “Leah’s going to marry that boy!  I can feel it and I like him!” Of course I told Leah he had my seal of approval, the final test 😉 as he’d been warned!  I didn’t see him again until a couple weeks later when the 3 of us headed to see the midnight premiere of Breaking Dawn…now THAT’S a man….going with 2 women to see a chick flick…at midnight…when he had to be at work in just a few hours.  Bless him! We met up at his house and left my ride there, and given he’d just left a basketball game for the school he teaches/coaches at he had to change.  I meandered out of the way and Leah showed me to his room where I immediately took notice of the Bible and the Scriptures he had on his mirror.  He was scoring mega brownie points with this BFF and he didn’t even know it!  I’m stealthy like that!!

We departed quickly a few minutes later for the theater and I noted he opened her car door, more bonus points!! Real gentlemen do still exist!!!!! Whoo hoo! He had my final vote that evening when he didn’t roll his eyes when I said “lets take a picture!”…Leah of course did roll her eyes as she hates pictures….but he didnt!  SCORE! I think he was still trying to win my vote 😉

He surprised her at Christmas by proposing, and as you can guess…she said YES!  Then I got the phone call telling me I’d be Maid of Honor, Wedding Planner, AND Photographer sooner than I thought…not a December wedding like we’d talked about previously, but a July wedding!!  Yes…Yes.I.Will! and Yes…Yes.I.Can! I’ve done it before and I’ll gladly do it all again… Weddings are my thing, after all, and this is my “lil sis” so I’m a no limit soldier til the end!!

So here we go…let the shoot fest begin!!  First with their mini E-Session! I know Leah is just “thrilled” about all the pictures to come! Ha! 🙂 But aren’t they a mighty fine couple?