Young love gets a bad rep. We’re pretty sure teenagers don’t know what they want, or if they do, they want the wrong thing. Young love is practically synonymous with Romeo and Juliet… and we all know how *that* ended.

Megan and Christophe met as teenagers – at 15, in fact. Like Romeo and Juliet, they fell for one other fast and hard. Even now, Christophe can still remember how sad and lonely he felt the next day when Megan, whom he had known less than 24 hours, left for France. But unlike those star-crossed lovers, this couple didn’t rush into anything. They waited, grew up together, and let their love mature through high school and college.

There’s another, very significant, difference between that infamous love story and this real life romance. Rather than two families that waged wars against one another, Megan and Christophe’s family seem, in the words of Christophe’s mother, “destined to be together.” If the glimpse I got of the two families at this engagement party is any indication of the truth of that statement, well, then I couldn’t agree more. Most toasts are awkward, dutiful, emotional words directed towards the couple… a few are touching and well-said and funny all at once. But this time of toasting was the best I’ve ever witnessed. It began with lovely words from Megan’s dad, with all the afore-mentioned elements. And from there, began an open season of celebration and merriment. Gracious words were spoken by many about many, and happiness and laughter reigned (by the way, sorry to those near me for that barking sound… that’s the way I laugh when I’m trying to be unobtrusive and didn’t expect to laugh). It was so heart-warming to see these families rejoice together over their children’s upcoming marriage and even though I was there to “work”, I truly had a wonderful time.

My parents met in Junior High, so I’ve always believed in young love making it through. Megan and Christophe, you’re a beautiful and gracious couple. We are honored to be there for your wedding… it’s been a long time coming :-)

Carlton is a hard-working man. He splits his six working days between real estate, bar-tending at Davis’, and serving at the Chart House. On his single day off, he and Emily relax in Annapolis. But more than that, you get the sense that their relationship itself is where they go to relax. I’ve hardly been around a couple that’s as comfortable around one another as Emily and Carlton. They said they were nervous about the shoot, so they decided in advance to just have as much fun as possible… we saw all fun and no nervousness, so mission accomplished on that front.

Emily and Carlton have lived within 10 minutes of each other for years, but didn’t know the other existed. It took the internet to get them to meet, and one reason Emily knew she wanted to go out with Carlton because he had such a cool name. :)

We had a long list of significant places we wanted to stop by, so we had to edit a bit, but we still managed to make it to several of the significant spots in Annapolis. First stop was Luna Blu, where Emily and Carlton had their first date… and where Emily *knew* within minutes that she could stop dating and start a life-long relationship. The next stop was the Charthouse Restaurant, where they had their 2nd date, and Carlton now works. We couldn’t do the session without hitting Davis’ Pub, where Carlton also works, so that was our 3rd stop. Both of the restaurants we went to, Emily & Carlton were warmly greeted by many friends and co-workers. And finally, we finished up by the wharf in Annapolis, which is so lovely at sunset!

Emily and Carlton, we had a great afternoon with you and can’t wait for the wedding this November! :-)