They say a picture is worth a thousand words — in this case it’s also worth a lifetime of love. Mary was the Maid of Honor in her friends Lauren and Tim’s wedding back in August of 2013; her now-fiancé, David, was also at the wedding. She was standing up front during the ceremony, giving her a great view of the crowd. “I happened to see David, and as everyone else was looking up at Lauren and Tim, I noticed him pull out his camera and take a quick candid of the flower girl snuggling up to her grandma. Something about it stayed with me; I knew he was someone I was curious to know.”

When Mary got home after the whirlwind wedding weekend, it was back to reality. She lived in Chicago and David lived in Boulder — too complicated. But then she started looking through the professional photos by Ideal Impressions Photography: “As I flipped through the pictures, one caught my attention. By complete coincidence, the photographer, Ryan, had captured the same moment I had, only from another angle. I took it as a small sign and got in touch with David shortly after. We emailed, then visited. About 14 months later he moved to Chicago. About 3 weeks ago he asked me to marry him. Ryan and Ideal Impressions Photography did such a fantastic job capturing Lauren and Tim’s celebration of love. For me, however, they also managed to capture that first moment of curiosity that eventually turned into something so much bigger.”