Melissa waited for Pat as he proudly served in Afghanistan in the Army, and once he returned, he has spent his time repaying Melissa every day by romantically meeting her needs, big and small! It was an honor to spend time with this sweet, self-proclaimed, “lovey dovey” couple, as I documented their first year of marriage in their first home together in Alexandria, Virginia. Melissa is obviously quite the decorator, and I instantly fell in love with her sense of style and design! The multiple antiques, photos of their wedding day and special moments, meaningful momentos from throughout their relationship, and special memorabilia from Pat’s Army days were gorgeously displayed around their home.

One item in particular was a little glass jar that Melissa sent to Pat while he was deployed to Afghanistan. It read, “100 Reasons Why I Love You,” and you could see that she listed (over) 100 reasons why she loved him on little pieces of paper inside. So sweet!! Just a small example of the many sweet things throughout their beautiful home.

Melissa & Pat cooked strawberry sprinkle pancakes together, laughed over the extremely thick syrup that Pat picked out, and toasted with mimosas to celebrate their first anniversary! They even shared some anniversary cupcakes — finally with their cute bird cupcake toppers (that were supposed to grace their actual wedding cake)!

After the lovely and intimate lifestyle session we did at their home, we headed to nearby historic Old Town Alexandria where I captured the two in a more formal out-on-the-town look! I just had to sneak in that American flag from a docked ship in the background for this patriotic couple!

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