At the start of this year, I felt heavy.

Not busy season tired. Not creatively drained. I mean the kind of heavy that sits in your chest. The kind that comes from watching the news and thinking how is this real life. The kind where so many people around you feel anxious and unsure of what is next.

So I did the only thing I know how to do when the world feels overwhelming.

I gathered good people and we made something beautiful.

For the New Year, I teamed up with Secret Life of Florals, Sidesaddle Saloon, and Sweet Boom Bakery to give away a small but intentional wedding experience for a couple getting married in the first few months of 2026.

The giveaway included half day photography coverage with me, two arrangements of your choice, the first round of drinks and an appetizer at the bar, and a tiny Lambeth cake that absolutely deserved its own spotlight.

Couples entered on Instagram by following all of us and commenting their wedding date along with which courthouse they were scheduled at. Simple. Accessible. No hoops.

Lauren and Tunde were the ones.

They were married on January 22, 2026 at Justice of the Peace Precinct 3-1 in Dallas, Texas. A courthouse wedding. Sweet. Simple. Intentional.

The judge was genuinely excited to marry them. You could see it all over his face. He even had a bubble machine ready to go. It felt like his favorite part of the job and that energy filled the room.

After the ceremony, we headed to Sidesaddle Saloon for drinks and photos. There was no intense timeline breathing down our necks. The only things that mattered were their ceremony time and their six o clock dinner reservation. We hung out. We laughed. They sipped their first round as newlyweds. It felt relaxed and easy.

Later that evening, they had dinner at Sixty Vines back in Dallas. Drinks were ordered, everyone settled in, and right there at the table Lauren and Tunde cut into their tiny Lambeth cake from Sweet Boom Bakery. No spotlight. No grand announcement. Just a sweet little moment folded naturally into dinner.

The entire day was calm and full of love. No production. No pressure. Just two people choosing each other.

That was the whole point.

I did not put this together as a marketing stunt. I did it because I wanted to give something good at a time that feels far from it. I cannot fix what is happening in this country. I cannot make the heaviness disappear.

But I can document love.
I can collaborate with kind vendors.
I can create space for softness.

Lauren and Tunde reminded me that weddings do not have to be massive to be meaningful. Sometimes the quiet ones are the most powerful.

If you are planning a courthouse wedding in Dallas, if you want something simple and grounded, if you care more about how your day feels than how it performs, I would be honored to document it.

Even when the world feels uncertain, we can still make something beautiful inside of it.

This wedding day was photographed on both digital and 35mm film.