New Orleans Anniversary portraits

Friends, you are in for a real treat today with this New Orleans Anniversary celebration!

I first met Stephen and Chelsey at the United conference a few years ago. When you’re attending conferences like that and meeting so many new people, *it may sound bad* but the people you meet and remember, by default, are always the keepers! Stephen and Chelsey left an impression on me and were some of my favorite “new friends” I left with.

Fast forward to last year when we saw each other again — new conference, same sweet, thoughtful friends! I love that we’ve gotten to see each other consistently over the last few years! They’re a couple who prioritizes their marriage so well and talk about each other so respectfully, even to “strangers.” Spend time with them for more than an hour and you know that they mean it all sincerely!

Each year, to celebrate another year of marriage together, Stephen and Chelsey have anniversary photos done. I’m amazed by their dedication and I love that this is a part of what they do to celebrate each milestone! Now, some of my dearest friends have had the honor of photographing these two, so I was incredibly delighted when Chelsey reached out to me and asked me to photograph them this time around! Since they live on the West Coast, we tried to coordinate our travel schedules and it just happened to work out that we were all planning to attend the RTS Leaders’ Retreat in New Orleans.

What a perfect takeaway from exploring a new city! I’m sure Stephen and Chelsey will get to tell their kids one day all about the adventures they had and then show them the tangible evidence too! These two love traveling to new places, so it only made sense.

Plus, there was Spanish moss and epic oak trees… how could we go wrong?!

These two… they’re the real deal. They’re kind and thoughtful. They serve everyone that they meet! The best part? When they look at each other, I’m pretty sure they still look like they did back in high school, only better… with admiration and adoration in plenty!