I asked her the same question I ask all my couples the day before my sessions with them, “What do you want to remember about your marriage right NOW in 20 years?”
Her response stopped me dead in my tracks.“That even though things don’t look how we thought they would, life is SO good.”
And for Drew and Jenna Kutcher, life does look pretty good. Not only has Jenna built a multifaceted brand centered around teaching entrepreneurs how to make a living doing what they love, but together her and Drew have created a lasting legacy around their story, one everyone wants to be apart of. They own a condo in Maui, Jenna runs a successful podcast while teaching online courses, and Drew started his own business teaching fitness and health. Along the way they both inspire and encourage, uplifting others along their journey.
If you’ve followed their story, it’s a pretty impressive thing to watch. Yet even with such incredible success, they’ve had their fair share of heartache. For the past two years of desperately trying to grow their family, they’ve suffered two miscarriages in a row. They’ve bravely navigated through loss twice, sharing their vulnerable story, and encouraging other’s who’ve gone through it as well, that they’re not alone.
What impressed me when I met them for our photo shoot was their positive outlook on life. Despite having been through seasons of doubt, heartache, and loss, I’ve never met two people so in love and ready to fight together through whatever comes their way. They haven’t let hardships knock them down or tear them apart, a feat in a world where sadly divorce has become as common as sliced bread. No matter whether their marriage life is soaring or struggling, they understand the value of sharing their story, of documenting the good and the bad, of capturing moments in photographs that will paint a picture of their legacy long after they’re gone.
I realized walking away from our shoot together, that the way the Kutcher’s share their marriage – the highs and the lows - as a part of their legacy they want to leave on the world, is such an incredible testament as to why photography is so powerful.
It’s a huge reason I love being a wedding and couple photographer. My goal with my work has always been to capture candid, emotion-filled images that take people right back to the moment the image was taken, even when viewing it 30 years from now. It’s why I always encourage married couples to do an anniversary photo shoot every year after their wedding, even when they might feel disconnected or are going through a tough season in their lives. There are a million and one excuses to avoid having photos done.
At the end of your life don’t you want to be able to look back over beautiful images through the years and remember why it was all worth it? Why it all mattered? What a powerful thing it is to look over photos that showcase your legacy,
whether times of wild happiness or heartbreaking despair, and be reminded that you stuck together, fought the fight, and came out stronger.
My hope for every couple I photograph, is that someday when their children or grandchildren ask them about their love story that they would show them the pictures we took together. For Jenna and Drew, I pray when their future children are old enough to understand, they’ll show them these photos, their season of living part time in Hawaii, enjoying the joy amidst the pain.
I pray these photos would be a testament to their children of just how diligently and patiently they waited on God to bring them into their lives, and that yes… even though things don’t look like what they thought they would… this tough season of life… is still SO good.
