40 Years of Love, An Anniversary Celebration in Wellsville, NY

Each and every year I dream of what could unfold personally, professionally, emotionally and spiritually in my life. Every year I find myself surprised, a little bit more resilient, softer in some areas of life, harder in others, and I always feel an abundant gratefulness that I had the opportunity to weather it with those I hold dearest. 

2023, although it’s only partially unfurled, has been one full of surprises. 

I would consider myself a fairly private person who doesn’t share a lot of my personal life online… but I want to talk about something deeply personal here. 

At the very end of 2022, into the beginning of 2023, my family's life changed. 

We could have lost both of our parents in a few fleeting moments on Christmas night but it didn’t end there. Shortly after we would be spending a sleepless night in the ER waiting for an ambulance. The next few days I would be running around an unfamiliar city trying to give my parents some extra assurance and semblance of comfort. The days were long, the nights longer, as we waited for the test results determining the lasting damage from my Dad’s stroke which had caused the accident they were in on Christmas. 

Some things have changed, but my parents are okay and that’s what matters most.

This was not the anticipated hopeful start that the New Year was supposed to bring but it did bring something much more valuable. 

June 9, 2023 my parents celebrated their 40th anniversary — 40 years, I can barely imagine but someday I hope to be there too. 

One of my sisters thoughtfully hosted and dreamed up the most lovely celebration in our home town at the Wellsville Country Club. That night, the joy, the tears, the laughs will forever be ingrained in my memory. 

We gathered, we ate together, laughed belly laughs with happy tears in our eyes, and spent the night celebrating my parents' love. In many ways it felt like a celebration of life seeing them renew their vows with teary eyes – more in love then ever. 

What an absolute honor and delight it was to capture it all. It’s not everyday you get to fully, wholeheartedly celebrate the love of the ones who raised you, let alone understand that everything could have been very different. 

When people ask me why I do photography I always pause, because it’s not for the beautiful moments captured… it’s for the messy fleeting moments of pure humanity which are wholly perfect themselves. 

Life is fleeting, I want to remember it all, I want you to remember it all because it could be the last. That hug, kiss, wink, or even a raised eyebrow from your mom or grandma at an inappropriate joke — it’s all fleeting and deserves to be documented in its entirety.