Like many last year, Mary and Brooks were planning on having a celebration with friends and family. January of this year, they decided to have an intimate elopement session with just the two of them. I drove up to The Woodlands where we had a forest wedding portrait session, starting at the chapel they originally planned on getting married at.
A Sweet Story
Before we left the chapel location, while I was taking pictures of the happy couple in front on the steps, we noticed a car pull up. An older gentleman seemed very interested in what we were doing and he got out of his car. I smiled and said a warm “hi”. With tears in his eyes he said, “My son was supposed to get married this year. They had to postpone.” After telling us that it was so nice to see people still celebrating love, he asked if it would be alright to take a picture of them on his phone. They wholeheartedly agreed, and posed on the chapel steps. I gave him room so he could get a good photo of them, and then, nodding in tears, he walked back to his car.

I am encouraged that Mary and Brooks were able to bring joy to that man’s day. They were beacons of light to someone who needed to see that love is still being celebrated. We drove off next to the Sam Houston National Forest, encouraged and ready to wander.