Morgan Trinker

A couple of weeks ago, I got a phone call from Jenna. She wanted to know if I’d be interested in photographing something a little different… a surprise anniversary session for her parents Phillip and Cindy, who were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. Goodness knows I LOVE surprises (even though I make it very difficult for anything to be a surprise because I love to interrogate until I figure things out :) ), and the thought of ME being part of the surprise was kind of cool! So I of course said yes, and began scheming with Jenna and her brother Kyle and sister Terra via email leading up to the big day.

The morning of September 4th, I met up with the kids and their significant others at the Birmingham Flight Center, because the first part of the day was Cindy surprising Phillip with flying lessons for his anniversary gift. The catch was that even Cindy had no idea I would be there to document everything, so when they got out of the car, she was just as surprised as he was. After Phillip got on the plane and took off on his discovery flight, Jenna explained to her that they had no idea what to get the woman who had everything she wanted (apparently her husband enjoys spoiling her ;) ), so they thought they would give her the priceless gift of having these memories captured professionally. Needless to say, she loved it!

Later in the day, I met back up with them to take some portraits of Phillip and Cindy before they headed out to their celebration dinner, and it was such a joy to document their love for each other. When I posted a preview photo to my Facebook page, I mentioned that since I usually spend my time with young couples just beginning their lives together, it was wonderful to see a couple still going strong after 30 years. When I told them this, Cindy said, “Oh, it just keeps getting better!” You can tell that this outlook on life has really influenced the rest of the family, because it was so obvious, having Jenna and Kyle be there while we were shooting, that they have an endless respect and love for their parents. The whole family was truly an inspiration to be around that day, and I’m beyond honored they chose me to capture it all.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that they ALL work together at their family business, Alabama Aquarium and Pond. (Even Jenna’s husband and Kyle’s girlfriend!) It was so fun to listen to them chat business throughout the day, and to even get to see some of their beautiful work when we went to one of their clients’ homes for the portrait session. Highly recommended for your aquarium and pond needs! :)

Thank you, Moon family! xoxo

The third Moon child, Terra, was unable to be present because she lives out in California, so they FaceTimed her to join in on the fun. :)

At the end of the day, we gave Phillip and Cindy their wedding album to look through on the dock together. I think it was an emotional moment for everyone, and the perfect way to wrap up our session.

I had such a great time with you guys, and hope you had the happiest of anniversaries!