Jill and Julian: Love-Filled, Emotional Autumn Wedding at St. Mary's Boat Club in Halifax, Nova Scotia

During a particularly grey day in February, I received the sweetest package from a dear friend; not only did it contain a gigantic bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups (truly one of the greatest gifts, as they are almost impossible to find here in Aachen and I dream about them every day!!), but it was also packed full of magazine clippings that she had painstakingly collected for me over time. One of these clippings was a quote from Stephanie Sinclair:

“I fall in love with almost every person I photograph. I want to hear their stories. I want to get close. This is personal for me.”

Reading this quote immediately transported me back to Jill and Julian’s wedding day. Somehow it’s already been two and a half years since their beautiful day, but there are still a few key memories that stand out: spending five hours leading up to the wedding hunched over a eucalyptus steam bath to clear out the plague that had taken up residence in my body and tying myself in knots as I worried about my ability to give my all at this wedding; the immediate warmth and love I felt as I entered the home where Jill and her friends were getting ready; the stress melting away as I immediately recognized that I was in the company of some of the kindest, most generous people I had ever met; the honest, unassuming, open displays of care and affection by friends and family; the beautiful words shared by Julian’s father during the ceremony that left every single one of us transformed; the love, the love, the love.

One of my favourite writers, Yung Pueblo, talks about the importance of finding a partner who “…can accept you as you are but also inspires you to evolve because they take their own growth seriously. Love will not seek to change you, but it will embrace you so unconditionally that you will feel safe enough to heal the old and put effort into the new. The courage you both have to stay committed to the inner journey will reflect brightly on your relationship; all the good qualities that you develop as empowered individuals will help you calmly, compassionately and creatively handle the challenges you may face as a couple. Because you both know that growing is not easy, you will warmly support each other when one of you feels down and rejoice when victorious steps forward have been taken.”

The love that Jill and Julian share is exactly that. Unconditional, accepting, inspiring and empowering. The cool thing about cultivating this kind of love is that it can’t be contained; it spills out beyond the bounds of your relationship and creates a ripple effect in the lives of those around you. Even those of us who come into brief contact with this type of love- even just to witness this type of love for a few hours- leaves us changed for the better. To Jill and Julian: thanks for changing me for the better.