Almost every couple says the same thing to us after their wedding: “It went by so fast.”
They’re right. After photographing so many weddings, we understand exactly what they mean.
You spend months, and sometimes years, planning every detail, and then somehow the day you’ve been looking forward to for so long is over in what feels like the blink of an eye. Your wedding gallery becomes your way back to that day. It reminds you of the excitement while you were getting ready, the look on your partner’s face during the ceremony, the hugs from family members and the little moments you didn’t even realize were happening until you saw them in a photograph. Long before that gallery existed, though, your wedding photography journey started when you chose the photographer who would document it all.
Once the wedding day is over, life has a funny way of settling back into normal almost immediately. The dress gets packed away, and the flowers are gone. Before long you’re back at work, figuring out whose turn it is to take out the garbage and settling into married life together. Some of those moments are exciting, some are completely ordinary and, if we’re being honest, most of them happen without anyone ever thinking to pick up a camera.
That’s one of the reasons we enjoy first anniversary portrait sessions so much.
They give us a chance to slow everything down for an evening and photograph something completely different from a wedding day. Instead of documenting the excitement of a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, we’re photographing the relationship you’ve spent the last year building together. It feels completely different from a wedding day, and that’s exactly what we love about it. It’s a chance to photograph who you are now before another year quietly slips by.
Why the First Anniversary Has Always Mattered
Every year, couples ask us whether a first anniversary session is worth doing, and somehow the conversation almost always ends up on the traditional first anniversary gift.
Paper has represented the first year of marriage for generations. As photographers, we’ve always thought photographs fit that tradition perfectly.
Your wedding gallery celebrates one extraordinary day. A first anniversary session celebrates everything that’s happened since and sets the stage for the years ahead.
When we look back through old family photographs, it’s rarely the biggest milestones that surprise us the most. It’s the house we lived in before we moved, the dog who insisted on being in every picture or the way people looked at each other before life became busier. Those are the memories that quietly become priceless over time because nobody realizes they’re documenting them while they’re happening.
That’s why we think the first anniversary deserves to be celebrated and documented. It may not be the biggest milestone you’ll ever reach together, but it’s the first opportunity to pause, look back and appreciate just how much life has already happened since the day you said, “I do.”
The First Thing We Notice During an Anniversary Session
Bruce and I almost always notice it at the same time.
About ten minutes into a first anniversary session, one of us will glance at the other and smile because we haven’t had to say very much. That wasn’t the case when we first met.
Engagement sessions are where we begin getting to know our couples. Every relationship has its own rhythm, so we’re learning what makes you laugh, which prompts feel the most natural and how the two of you interact. While we’re photographing your engagement session, we’re also building the relationship that carries through to your wedding day. That’s one of the reasons engagement sessions become such an important part of our experience together and ones that we really look forward to documenting.
What Changes?
By the time the wedding arrives, everyone knows what to expect. You know how we work. We know how the two of you interact. That trust changes the pace of the day in the best possible way.
By your first anniversary, something has changed again. We usually spend the first few minutes catching up before we even think about taking a photograph. We hear about the honeymoon. The adventures you’ve had and whatever has filled the last twelve months. Before long, the cameras come out and everyone settles into the evening without really thinking about them.
One of the things we’ve come to appreciate over the years is how naturally these milestones connect. Somewhere along the way, it stops feeling like a photographer-client relationship. By your wedding day, we’re trusted with some of the most important moments of your lives. By your first anniversary, we’re usually catching up on everything that’s happened over the last year. That’s way before we even think about taking a photograph. That’s one of our favourite parts of this job. We get to see marriages begin and, every now and then, we also get to see what comes next.
The session unfolds differently because nobody is wondering what to expect anymore. We don’t spend much time explaining prompts or helping you feel comfortable in front of the camera. You’re simply spending time together, and we’re there to document it. The conversation keeps flowing. Someone starts telling a story, everyone laughs and before long the cameras almost disappear into the background.
That’s one of the reasons first anniversary sessions have become some of our favourites.
Celebrating Your First Anniversary
We recreate wedding photographs from time to time.
Usually, it’s one or two favourites because the memory behind the photograph is what makes people want to revisit it. You both know exactly what was happening, one of you starts laughing about something that happened just before the photograph was taken and, for a moment, you’re right back there again.
Then the session naturally takes on a life of its own. We stop looking back and start photographing where life has taken you.
The conversation keeps going, the cameras quietly fade into the background and before long we’re documenting the two of you as you are today. There’s no pressure to recreate the wedding day because that isn’t why you’re there. The session is about celebrating the first year you’ve spent building a life together.
Whether we meet at your wedding venue or somewhere completely new, our approach stays exactly the same. We want to catch up, hear everything that’s happened over the last year and create photographs that feel natural, relaxed and genuinely reflective of who you are today.
If your first anniversary is coming up, we’d genuinely love to see you again. One of the best parts of this job is watching relationships grow over time, and we hope we get the chance to keep photographing yours.
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