A sweet married couple’s session in the Vieux Carre

Arizona Beekeepers enjoy an anniversary photo session in New Orleans

Some people believe that there’s one true soul mate for every person- that somewhere on the planet there is your perfect match. Me? I don’t subscribe to that.

Let’s just say for conversation’s sake that soulmates do exist and that every person has only one- what are the odds that with nearly 8 billion people in the world anyone could find that person- and that person just so happens to live in the same city? Do we really think that every couple that has found themselves head-over-heels in love and in front of my camera was just lucky enough to meet “the one” and that there were no other possible “the ones” out there?

This may sound like an unromantic point of view for a photographer that captures more love than anything else. But hear my out.

I think each person has multiple possible “the ones” in the world. There are many people who could compliment each of us perfectly. But what it boils down to is geography and timing. You have to be in the right place at ALSO the right time to meet your “the one”. Maybe you met your person but it wasn’t time for you to be a couple yet. If you’re lucky, you’ll find each other again when the time is right,

This is Susie and Rodé’s love story.

They met, dated for a few months, then split up and remained friends. After five years keeping it platonic, the timing shifted and they tried out a romance again. This time it stuck and 18 months later they were married. And ten years later, they were sitting on a bridge in New Orleans City Park telling me that story.

You can’t tell me that’s not romantic! Great love stories aren’t always love at first sight. After capturing over a hundred surprise proposals and countless other weddings, engagements, and couples sessions I’ve learned that great love stories RARELY start as love at first sight.

I love Susie and Rodé’s story because it’s proof positive that there is always a shot at love anywhere along your life’s timeline. You may feel hopelessly single and then one day BAM! You discover that your person has been in your life all along. And when we do fall for someone and it doesn’t work out? Don’t fret. Maybe it will work out one day when the timing is better. Or maybe it won’t and you’ll have the chance to find a different someone with better timing.

Am I rambling? I feel like I’m rambling.

Anywho, Susie and Rodè recently celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary and decided to visit New Orleans as a celebration. While they were here, we went on a laughter-filled photo adventure in the French Quarter and City Park. We had a lot to talk about since I’m an avid gardener and bee-enthusiast and they are beekeepers in Arizona (they definitely tried to talk me into putting some hives in my garden and filling them with Italian bees. Apparently, they’re less aggressive? Who knew!?).

They were super flexible when my back injury flared up for the first time in ages and I needed to reschedule. It worked out really well because we had perfectly overcast weather and it was far cooler the morning we worked together as opposed to the sunny, sticky evening we had originally planned. We did get rained on at the very end but by then we had already captured loads of great portraits.

Without further rambling, here are Susie and Rodé’s New Orleans couples portraits!

Looking to book your session with your own “the one”? Start here.