We love stories! Every couple has their own & one of our favorite parts about being wedding photographers is meeting with newly engaged couples & hearing theirs. The joy of it. The freshness of it. The excitement of it. We can’t get enough! And at the end of it, our couples always ask, “What about you?” So, we decided to share our story too. From our college campus to building our dream home, here’s our story from “I noticed you” to “I do.”
Part 9: To Whom It may Concern
Before he ever met her, before he even knew her name he was praying for her. He was seeking the Lord and asking Him to provide the future wife he longed for. Out of that longing came a desire to have some sort of connection with her, even though he had no clue who she was. So in the winter of 2010 Alec began writing letters to his future wife. He called them “to whom it may concern” after a Civil Wars song that resonated deeply with how he felt.
Some of the letters were apologies for mistakes made in the past, others sharing his desire to meet her, others were stories of what life was like at the time. He wrote faithfully for that year, and once he met Katie, he continued writing all the same. He didn’t use names because he knew God had bigger plans than he could imagine. Even once he knew it was her he continued writing about how he hoped it was her. Once he proposed and knew that he would officially be marrying Katie, he put a plan into action to give her the letters.
He pulled together a collection of photos of them together & the letters he’d written. With careful determination he created a small book that held so much of his heart for her and he saved it. The title read, “To Whom It May Concern.”
On the morning of their wedding he anxiously & excitedly gave her the book as a wedding present and asked her to read it. In the tiny balcony of their church she hid herself away to read his words. The prayers, the excitement, all the emotions he had bottled into this sweet collection of letters brought tears of joy to her eyes. She knew now, more than ever, that the Lord couldn’t have picked a better man for her to marry…
Why are you so far from me?
In my arms is where you ought to be.How long will you make me wait?
I don’t know how much more I can take.I missed you
But I haven’t met you
Oh but I want to
How I doSlowly counting down the days
‘Til I finally know your name-The Civil Wars