What could be more romantic than love letters itself? The words of powerful men revealing their vulnerability only for the women who have stolen their hearts. The concept itself is swoon-worthy, but then you add hand written elements, burgundy peonies, and capture it all on film and the combination will leave you absolutely enamored.

There aren’t enough words to describe the gratitude in my heart for the vendors that helped make this shoot a reality. Amanda and I have been dreaming of the inspiration behind The Loving Type for months, and to see the end result curated so beautifully is an overwhelmingly incredible feeling.

“be patient – only through quiet contemplation of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together – Be calm; for only by calmly considering our lives can we achieve our purpose of living together.- be calm – love me – today – yesterday – What yearning with tears for you – you – you my life – my everything – farewell – oh continue to love me – never misjudge the most faithful heart of your Beloved.” -An excerpt from Ludwig van Beethoven’s famous love letter, “My Immortal Beloved.”

Since our models, Kimmie and Andrew, are betrothed in reality, we decided to do a contemporary First Look with them to portray some authentic emotion in the images. Film images shot on a Mamiya 645 with a combination of Fuji 400H Pro and Kodak Portra 400 film.

Vendors, incroyable:

Photography and Creative Direction: Nikki Santerre Photography
Creative Direction and Styling: Amanda Burnette
Flowers: Anthomanic | Furniture Rentals: Paisley and Jade
Calligraphy: Letters of Grace Calligraphy | Cake and Petit Fours: Sweet Fix
Venue: Virginia Center for Architecture | Hair and make up: Emily Hudspeth
Dress: Ava Laurenne | Models: Kimberly Barkley and Andrew Denn