Today’s featured couple’s same-sex anniversary session is one that I am extremely excited about sharing with you. Brittney and Michele celebrated their first wedding anniversary last year, and I had the opportunity to photograph their portraits to celebrate the occasion. We met outside on a beautiful fall evening in downtown Columbia, SC to document some updated portraits of them, and it was flawless!

I am excited to share with you some words from both Brittney and Michele about how they met, how Brittany proposed, and their life together today. A few of the images in this post are some of my top favorites from my entire year last year, and I’m just in love with the way they capture how truly natural Brittany and Michele are when they are around each other.

I hope you enjoy reading a bit about this lovely couple today, and if you love their images as much as I do, you will leave them a sweet comment in the comment below! Enjoy this beautiful, sun-lit Columbia SC same-sex anniversary session by Jessica Hunt Photography!

From Michele:

“I’m from Dillon, SC, a small rural town about 2.5 hours from Columbia, SC. I studied early childhood education and elementary education in college and obtained a master’s degree in divergent learning. I have been teaching for four years now and I currently teach fourth grade. Education is my passion and I love seeing the positive change that I can have on children. Brittany and I love trying new restaurants and visiting new places. We are huge Gamecock fans and love going to football and basketball games.”

From Brittany:

“I am from outside of Charleston, SC and moved to Columbia, SC to attend college. I studied political science and continued that path in graduate school, obtaining a Master of Public Administration. Originally I thought I wanted a career in public policy. And I worked in the field until I lost my mother to cancer in January 2017. That moment changed my life and made me realize what was truly important. I quit my job and opened a business, 72 Coffee Company. I have found a true passion for coffee and sharing it with others, and I am so grateful that I realized this and was able to make a change in my life.”

How the couple met…

“We met in college. And we were actually both dating other people when we became friends. We talked all the time and could not wait to be around each other. The relationship eventually became something more, and we broke it off with our other partners. We both knew from the very beginning that there was something special between us. Despite some drama in the beginning (ending our other relationships and Michele’s family not being supportive), we made it and have never been happier.”

How Brittany proposed to Michele…

“I proposed October 2015 in Asheville, NC. We both love fall and the mountains, so I always wanted to do it during that time. We hiked up to the top of a mountain and I gave Michele a little book that I had made that included pictures of us through the years with song lyrics to “our songs.” On the last page, there was a picture of me holding a ring with the lyrics “I have loved you for a thousand years. I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Michele saw the picture and said, “Are you serious?” and I pulled out the ring. She started crying and I couldn’t even speak. I mumbled will you marry me and she said yes!

The funniest thing about the entire proposal is that I had a photographer secretly capture it, but I wanted to keep it a secret the entire time. The photographer thought I was going to tell Michele that she was taking pictures and we could take a few staged photos after the proposal. So, the photographer kept getting closer and closer to us with her camera and she could see that I wanted her to back off, so she finally did. Michele asked me if she was taking pictures of us and I said, “she probably was on the mountain taking pictures and as an artist wanted to capture the moment once she saw it happen.” Michele believes everything so she didn’t even question it! I gave her the images for Christmas and she was so surprised.

Michele has a single princess-cut diamond on a Tacori setting. We have matching bands that are thin eternity diamond bands. We love that our bands match and it makes us feel even more connected.”

Making it Official

“We’ve been married for a year now and the best thing about it is being able to say the word “wife.” In a same-sex relationship, there are always people that do not see your relationship as legitimate and everyone always assumes we are roommates or sisters, but to be able to say “no, this is my wife” is the best feeling. We were already living together and were basically married before we actually tied the knot, but making it official was so cool.”

Why Jessica Hunt Photography?

“We picked Jessica because we saw that she had taken photos of same-sex couples before. It can be scary to reach out to photographers because you are never sure if they are willing to take photos of same-sex couples. Actually, it is scary to reach out to any wedding services for that same reason. We talked with her and loved her style, and it was a plus that she takes amazing photos. We couldn’t be happier with our choice!”

Whew!! Aren’t these two incredible women SO lovely and in LOVE!? I hope you loved this peek into their same-sex anniversary session I recently photographed in Columbia, SC!

And to Brittany and Michele,

Thank you both so much for inviting me into your lives to document these special memories and moments for you. It is an honor to have you as clients, and I seriously *cannot* wait for our next session together!