Week 2.41 Determination

Week 2.41: Determination is a photo I took this month while I was "working." I still can't believe I get paid to do what I love. It's amazing. Really amazing.

Determination is also a photo of two really gorgeous people who are madly in love with each other and who pledged their lives to one another on the day I took this picture. And, incidentally, Determination is a photo of two of my friends. Friends I grew to love over the past year, and really, friends I loved the instant we met back when they were searching for a wedding photographer and newly engaged.

Determination is the word I use when I think of them for a few reasons. First off, I know they worked pretty hard to even find each other. Match.com, Baby. Even still, it was a long, time-intensive labor of love (quite literally). Lots of duds and people who didn't quite click. And then, Determination paid off. Big time. A Michigan man and a New Mexican beauty found each other and fell in love.

Determination got them to the same town and eventually engaged. Determination led them to do homework and research and planning and then more homework and research and planning. Interviews and countless phone calls. I got to pitch my work at them at the eleventh hour. They had already made an appointment to sign with someone else when they heard about me. Something told them to give me a shot. They warned me that they were set to sign a contract with another photographer but they wanted to give me a chance to win them.

Once again, Determination paid off. We met in a busy cafe after work. Tired. Hoping for a match. We clicked. When I got home and checked my email I had one that said: "You're the ONE!!" They asked me to be their photographer. I did their engagement photos. We went out for drinks afterward. Determination showed up again. I heard their story and then got asked, "Are you dating anyone? You should really think about online!!!"

It took a while. A long while. I thought about it. We kept planning. Meeting up. Texting. Calling. Emailing. Mapping. Planning. Talking. And all the while, we kept becoming friends. I did go online. I kept them updated. We kept planning for their wedding.

And then, on July 10th, 2010, Determination paid out in a big way when we celebrated together. A gorgeous summer day radiant with heat and clear skies. Solemn vows and revealing speeches. Traditional music and dancing all night. The groom's mom told me that he'd confided that he felt like he'd won the lottery. The bride cried with laughter and tears and danced with her father to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland. Her dad hadn't told her which song he had picked.

Determination let me go early and stay late. It let me go behind the scenes and into the thick of it all. And. And it let me shoot with my dear, dear brother, Gabe, who flew out from Atlanta to be my right-hand man. I couldn't have asked for a better person to shoot with for 11 hours. I love his work. I love his attitude. I love his creativity. I love his Determination.

And at the end of the day, I have to say I believe in Determination. Not just the "hard work" definition, though, this photo is an example of Determination paying off. But then there's Determination as in "fate" or "Something bigger than me, bigger than us." There are things in life that are in the words of dictionary.com: "the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose." That's comforting.

Some of my favorite verses talk about this concept: "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being," ~Acts 17: 26-28a NKJV

Yes. I believe that Determination showed up in a few different ways when I met this pair. And the story has only just begun...Here's to your new life together as man and wife, Jason and Kim! I'm rooting for you!! And thank you for inspiring me to have Determination to be just as hard-working, patient and madly in love when I celebrate my own match/wedding!

(In case you want to see the photos we took: My Gallery and Gabe's Gallery)