As a stay-at-home mom and business owner, I don’t have a lot of free time to watch TV, especially during the day. But one day, a few months after having a baby, I sat down to relax and started watching Ellen. Little did I know, I would see for the first time a couple whose love story I would be blessed to share!
Watching the excitement of these people from my own St. Augustine, I knew I had to find them! I leapt off the couch and started searching online. Unfortunately, the video wasn’t up yet, and all I had to go on was a first name. I did my best to find Shelton and his lovely fiancée, but it was all but impossible.
Finally, the video was posted, and as soon as I saw it, I wrote in the Facebook comments, explaining how I wanted to offer a free wedding collection to Shelton and Katelyn. I shared the video as well, hoping someone would see it and help me get in touch with the couple.
Eventually, one of their friends commented, tagging both of them. I was thrilled! I could finally get in touch with Katelyn and Shelton and tell them how I wanted to make their wedding day special. I messaged them right away, but I didn’t receive a response for a while. I worried that they thought I was crazy or that I was trying to get attention, instead of offering them this gift straight from the heart. By the time 24 hours had passed, I was sure I would never hear from them.
But then, on Thanksgiving Day, Shelton sent me a message to say that he and Katelyn gratefully accepted my gift. I was over the moon and so glad that all my worries had been for nothing.
After several phone calls, I was finally able to meet Shelton and Katelyn in person. We found out that Shelton and I had actually met in the past when we both took our laptops into Best Buy for repairs. We also learned that neither of our laptops were able to be fixed, so we both had to get new ones—and we picked the exact same computer! These coincidences just helped to convince the three of us that our meeting was meant to be!
Katelyn also told me about her father, who had been sick for over two years with a rare condition called Churg-Strauss Syndrome. He was told he’d never walk again and that there wasn’t much doctors could do to help him. But he was determined to get better, and in fact he can now walk with a walker and is working on being able to walk again on his own. He even gained back some of the weight he lost while he was sick.
“He is the strongest person I know!” Katelyn told me. “He knew he couldn’t give up because he has his family. He is such an inspiration to never give up. I am so proud of him! He told me several times that he would be there for my wedding and as of today, he is improving so much and will most definitely be walking me down the aisle.”
I loved spending time with Shelton and Katelyn and getting to shoot their engagement session, as well as their gorgeous wedding at the Riverview Club in St. Augustine. I’m so grateful that the two of them accepted my gift, and I’m honored that I could give them memories that they can cherish for the rest of their lives—and that their children can cherish one day as well.
