Celebrating 25 Years in Love

Surprising your wife with an anniversary portrait session is always a good idea – especially when you’re celebrating twenty five years together! I have known Walt and Juli through the tennis community for years (Walt is actually the reason I know how to play tennis). When the pandemic caused them to cancel their anniversary trip to France, Walt started searching for an alternative way to celebrate this special milestone. That’s when he asked me about a portrait session. I loved the idea!

I met up with Juli and Walt at Spring Hill College. Juli told me how much she loves oak trees, so the Avenue of the Oaks turned out to be the perfect spot for some portraits of these two. We were super lucky with the weather on this day! The slightly cooler temperature and lower humidity was definitely not the norm for August. It got me all excited for fall weather, which is still a long way off for us in the deep South.

Want to make an anniversary portrait session even more special? Turn it into a true date night and plan a nice dinner afterwards! Walt and Juli headed to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse after this shoot. While I know it’s not the same as dining under the lights of Paris, I think Walt’s anniversary surprise turned out perfectly. Best of all, you can tell these two are just as in love today as they were the day they became husband and wife.

Tips for Planning a Surprise Anniversary Session

As someone commented on my sneak peek post from this session on Facebook – husbands take note! If it’s been a while since you and your spouse have been photographed together, an anniversary is the perfect time to celebrate with a portrait session of just the two of you! Updating that family photo with an annual Christmas card session is just not the same thing. This is time for just the two of you to spend together. Here are my tips for making a surprise like this a success (ladies, feel free to anonymously send this to your husbands!):

1. Give your wife a heads up! Seriously, no lady wants to be thrown into a portrait session on the spot. We need to make sure our hair and makeup are just right. Plus, we will want to coordinate our outfits. Go ahead and get some dates from the photographer and then share the surprise with your wife in advance.
2. Make reservations for dinner afterwards. I always schedule portrait sessions around Golden Hour, meaning we’re shooting in the late afternoon. This means you’ll be finishing up pictures around dinner time. Plan to take your wife to her favorite restaurant for a delicious meal after your session.
3. Choose a location you love, or that is special to the two of you. There is no shortage of beautiful locations around here. If you aren’t sure where a good portrait spot would be, your photographer will be happy to provide suggestions. If you are planning dinner afterwards, let your photographer know and they can likely recommend a location that is relatively close to the restaurant.