Celebrating A 19-Year Wedding Anniversary With A Surprise Photoshoot!

Debbie & Jeff drove to St. Louis from the Lake of the Ozarks to celebrate their 19-year wedding anniversary and be treated by family. And boy, were they ever treated! Mimosas, a hotel, and a surprise photoshoot!

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I met Debbie at her daughter Brittany’s place. I walked in and went back into the bathroom where Debbie was getting her hair curled.

She gave me a big hug and that’s when Brit told her that the last part of her anniversary surprise was professional photos from yours truly!

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We went to Tower Grove Park, which is a spot listed on our Top 8 Photoshoot Locations in St. Louis blog post!

It has some gorgeous trees, which are lit up in bright oranges and vibrant yellows right now. It also has some willows, as you saw above, and a pond! I thought about photoshopping out the goose in the photo below, but I’ll let him have his moment of glory! Plus, we were all tickled the geese didn’t feel like being mean! Do you see him?

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I asked Debbie and Jeff what their secret was to a long and successful marriage. Debbie said they are constantly making each other laugh. And that showed in the photos — they were having a blast and making each other giggle throughout the entire thing!

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I asked Debbie who was funnier, and she answered “I am!” That’s when Jeff shook his head in disagreement. He thought he was funnier.

After he said that, they both laughed. If humor is what keeps marriage alive — these two are going to last forever!

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We drove together to the park since it was only a few miles from Brittany’s place. On the way, we were listening to classic 80s. “Why Can’t This Be Love?” by Van Halen came on the radio. Jeff reached over and turned it up. The lyrics blared:

“Oh here it comes
That funny feeling again winding me up inside
Every time we touch
Hey I don’t know
Oh, tell me where to begin cause I never ever
Felt so much

And I can’t recall any love at all
Baby this blows ’em all away”


These lyrics are so fitting for these two lovebirds! Although, it is love with them 100%!


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At Tower Grove Park, there are these fun rock formations. Debbie immediately started climbing up them, without me even instructing her to. She climbed up, put her hands on her hips, and laughed down at Jeff: “I’m the boss!!” she laughed.

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Not gonna lie — he didn’t really seem to disagree that much! 🙂


The weather was a perfect mid-70s and felt great when the wind blew. It was really muggy, though, so we were still sweating by the end, despite Mother Nature being oddly nice to us. That’s when my phone started buzzing — there was a tornado watch!


Leave it to true Missourians to not panic. Debbie and I just both went “ooooh!” because the fact it was so muggy and humid now made perfect sense! Then, we continued on with the shoot!

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The park has around 7,000 trees!! Most of them are now turning delightful shades of all things Fall, so we made sure to take advantage!

Jeff didn’t want to sit on the ground, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t throw some leaves up in the air and play!


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This was my first time meeting Jeff, but I have known Debbie forever. And I went to school with her kiddos! I know she’s a big goofball, but just in case you weren’t, here’s proof!

After this shot, I asked her if she has ever seen “Superstar.” It’s one of my favorite movies, and if you’ve seen it, you’ll know why!!

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Debbie calls me one of her own, so I was tickled when Brittany messaged me so I could squeeze these two lovebirds in on Sunday before they drove back home!

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Happy 19-year anniversary!! You’re both an inspiration to me — I can’t wait to make it to 19 years with my hubs!

 

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It was also Debbie’s idea to put their hands together like a heart on the tree!! How cute is that?! Just like them!!!

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