andrea & kris, both twelve years old, met for the first time when their families moved onto the same street. these two went to the same high school, but you know how it goes, different friends, different hangout places: they didn’t end up in the same group often. it wasn’t until the may long weekend, seven years ago now, that both andrea & kris were hanging out at the cloverdale rodeo with friends that they met again. kris saw andrea as she entered, and although the stories differ slightly between the two, kris briefly suggested they should grab “coffee” sometime. they parted ways, only to run into each other later that evening — and hang out until they both went home. a week later, they coffee-dated. seven years later, they’re gettin’ married!

i need to tell you some more about these two… because i love them. one, kris was a groomsmen in kim & shawn’s wedding two summers ago. time flies. two, kris & i share the same last name, spelled the same way. andrea is about to join the peterson clan. three, they love music. kris proposed to andrea during a dave matthews band concert at the gorge. that’s pretty perfect, if you ask me. when i asked what their favourite music was as a couple, andrea responded: ahh! we are SO about music, it was the first thing we bonded over on our first date. — mmmhmm. that’s rad.

andrea loves kris’ genuine kindness. she says kris is truly one of the most sincerely thoughtful and sweet people she has ever met. when they started dating, andrea told her sister: he is just so NICE! it’s almost weird! ;) — another thing i loved that andrea wrote was that, if i have an epiphany that includes some crazy idea, he never shuts me down, and is always willing to hear me out and jump on my bandwagon. this has also translated to some amazing support throughout the years that i worked fulltime and went to school fulltime: he cooked meals while i wrote paper after paper. let’s talk about kris’ side of their love. he loves andrea’s creativity, drive and approach. kris wrote: be it painting a random canvas, decorating the house or even coming up with her outfits she definitely has a good eye for it. secondly, there is no half-assing it with her and what ever she sets out to do she always gives it her all. when she was still in university she not only took a full course load but also worked full time and volunteered with the vancouver board of trade and the kwantlen presidents ambassador team.

i have to include one more little funny thing because it made me laugh. when andrea & kris first started dating, kris stayed home sick from work one day. he remembers that andrea randomly appeared with a variety of rented movies, chicken noodle soup and a big hug for me. while i kind of wondered “who is this girl?” i think i also started to realize she was a keeper. side note… now if i’m sick, she’ll call me a baby and shake her head at me so i guess her original act was just a ploy to win me over. — oh the dynamics of a dating couple! ;)

andrea & kris live close to the beach where we had their session and often go for brisk walks together, for the fresh air and the quality time. the light we had was perfect: it was raining all morning up where i live, but by the beach? clear! we started with some photos over wine at the washington avenue grill in white rock, changed outfits and finished with photos by the water. thanks for a great evening, you two. i know michele waite is going to create some amazing images for you at your semiahmoo resort wedding.