Stephen & Natalie

Our story began over two years ago just before I moved to Calgary and Natalie stayed in Ottawa, beginning a relationship that has brought many hardships and joys. Meeting only 5 weeks before starting a long distance relationship was not expected, as most of the greatest things in life begin. However, as students, we had little money to spend on each other, and seeing as flying home was not realistic, the little money that we did have we pooled together to see one another. While getting to know each other we would talk for hours, phone conversations lasting from 4 to 5 hours a night and racking up impressive phone bill statements.

As time went by we grew towards each other in how we felt, but not in the distance that separated us. It was decided before the end of my program that I would finish my thesis in Ottawa so that we could be together. During this period I also worked full time to make ends meet. While things were tough, our zany lives and the fact that we were together kept our spirits up.

This past September Natalie and I flew out to Calgary where I successfully defend my thesis. With pure excitement I asked Natalie to marry me on the Bow River. You wouldn’t have met a happier couple in the world that day. While we could have waited even longer to get married, Natalie’s opportunity to attend post-graduate school next fall would have prolonged this an additional 4 years. It was after much deliberation that we decided that in October 2007 we would get married. This left little time to save money for the biggest day of our lives.

Up to this point we have managed to do everything thus far by ourselves and having free wedding photography would allow us to spend money where we need it elsewhere. We are keeping the wedding small to keep it intimate and the costs down. I had no idea a wedding cost this much if any guy reads this they will know what I mean. At this point Natalie and I are happy just to have a wedding day, but the opportunity that Jenna has provided would make the following year even more exciting having one less thing to worry about(and one great one to look forward to).

Another complication that we face is that Natalie and I are very close to our families and many of them live far away (Natalie’s family lives in Belgium on a military posting, some of my siblings are in Jerusalem, and Bangladesh); as such, the photos that Jenna will take are the only means by which some of them can remember the day by (as we see some of them as infrequently as once a year). We thought for a long time about capturing the day ourselves with personal cameras but then realized the true value of these photos to these long distance family members.

As Natalie and I start our lives together we want to be able to look back at our wedding pictures and remember the joy of that day, and not to feel the guilt associated with the things in our lives that we could not afford to have. With this opportunity we would be able to capture the happiness that everyone will be able to share when they return to their respective homes for generations to come. We would be forever grateful.

Stephen