i am excited to share these photos, this story, this couple with you. this blog is a lot of work sometimes, a lot of effort & thought goes into what i write about these photos, but i can’t imagine having it any other way. i need to know the story. when i learn the story, the photos mean more. in order to give you the same privilege, you should know shandelle & britton’s story. i guess it all started eighteen years ago; when britton & shandelle first met. britton, 7, shandelle, 12. their parents were friends, their families grew up together at church and in the same social circles.

years later, britton & shandelle had a very close mutual friend named joyce. she brought them together in the sense that they were always around the same group of people: though they never hung out one-on-one. though both grew up in the suburbs of vancouver, they shared a huge heart for the people living on the downtown eastside. shandelle & britton both volunteered downtown, making the long commute from langley to vancouver together frequently. eventually, shandelle moved to vancouver & left the suburbs behind. after britton graduated with his nursing degree a couple of years later, he also moved to vancouver.

the two of them were out for drinks one night when britton mentioned wanting to move neighbourhoods. shandelle found an available apartment right next door to the house she currently lived in with 3 other people. how convenient! the boy & girl next door. one year passes, one of three people living with shandelle move out; britton decides to fill the roommate spot. britton writes that, “we got to know each other better than we ever had. we shared life’s highs and lows, prayed together, and sometimes commuted to work together. we dated other people & i always looked for someone comparable to shandelle, and i could never find what i was looking for. i had always thought shandelle & i were maybe too sibling like, we knew too much about each other…”

britton continues the story, we had one of those if you turn 40 and are single-jokes, however, i NEVER thought it would actually happen… except I needed to find out for sure so i didn’t continue wasting my time. after two years of living in the same house, britton comes home one day & announces to shandelle, i’m going out, i’ll be back soon & when i return, we are going to talk about our relationship. when britton returned, the two of them sat on the back step [the photos with the blue wall and green chair in this post!] and talked. britton explained how he didn’t want to wait until forty; if they didn’t know now, if they didn’t figure this out now, they never would. they decided they could date to get married, or not date at all. shandelle said, jump.

shandelle & britton took eighteen years to figure it out [as their adorable wedding invite so kindly put it] but it’s finally happened… happening. these two are getting married on march 19th, a few short weeks away now & i am so excited. i only met these two about fifteen minutes before we started shooting: i love them. i love their story, their style, their home [well, shandelle actually moved out when they started dating, but used to be their home.] these two encompass so many things i love. people all about good coffee & tea, conversations, urban living, acoustic/folk music, indie-vintage style. mmmm mmm good. they also listed old town bellingham as one of their favourite places to go. um, i feel like all i ever blog about is bellingham. we’re obviously a perfect couple/photographer match.

i loved shooting right at the gorgeous heritage home, not only because it’s yes, gorgeous as all get out, but also because that was really where it all started. as we took photos in the kitchen, the living room, the porch, the front steps, the back steps & then next door in and ON shandelle’s apartment [her living room and the rooftop] — i felt like we were documenting the last three years of memories. i’m excited to be a part of capturing these two on their wedding day. hope you enjoyed the photos!

to see more of shandelle & britton’s engagement session CLICK HERE for a slideshow!

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