Kate Monroe | Asheville & Atlanta Wedding Photographer

Song of Soloman 2:16 “My beloved is mine and I am his.”

What do you cherish most? Your car? Your house? Or is it love? Love is such an incredible gift. It’s something that always exists within us but needs to be nurtured. It needs to be rediscovered and valued again and again throughout our lives so as not to be taken for granted.

My mom and step-dad, Terry, have always been an inspiration to me when it comes to love and marriage. I’ve never seen a woman love a man as much as my mom loves him and I’ve never seen adoration in a man’s eyes like everyone could see in his. After 7 years of marriage, Terry suffered a traumatic brain injury and my mom lovingly cared for him and supported him even though sometimes, due to his lack of memory and stubborn nature, he made it difficult to be patient. I think a lot of people may have seen the situation my mom was in and felt sorry for her, because from the outside looking in, it was a lot to deal with, every day was a challenge… but my mom every single day felt blessed that he was in her life. I found out recently that for the first 4 years after the accident my mom never heard “I love you” from Terry unprompted (meaning, he said it back, but never said it first), after his accident I think he just didn’t have the memory or emotional connection to really understand love. Can you imagine your spouse not telling you “I love you” for 4 years? They were tested in ways that most marriages never have to face and through it all their love became more and more evident to everyone around them. It was infectious. Being around them reminded everyone of what’s important in life. When Terry passed away suddenly this past May I regretted not taking more photos of the two of them together, in the moment, celebrating their love and marriage, it motivated me to follow through with a project I’d started thinking about over a year ago. A project that would help me give other married couples what I wish I had given my mom and Terry years ago. A visual reminder of how beautiful and unique their love and marriage is.

Beloved is something that has been on my heart and mind for a while. I wanted a focus on marriage, focus on love; deep, tested love. Old love. I wanted to do something that would give married couples a remembrance of who they are together: how they laugh together, cry together, and glow when they’re completely and fully in the moment with their spouse. That unmistakable look of two people filled with trust, comfort and love with each other. Beloved sessions will be relaxed, casual, comfortable sessions that focus on your love and marriage. It won’t be about the outfits or the locations, it’s simply about love. All Beloved sessions will include an online gallery and high resolution edited images on CD, albums are an optional add-on but highly recommended so that you can have a daily visual reminder of what’s important to you and how amazing your relationship is.

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Bee + Jeff = Married 10 years

Donna + Tom = Married 40 years

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