When we put out our model call for our Paper & Cocoa styled shoot, Matt & Molly had finished a stressful day of venue searching. Coming home to the email, Molly threw off all normal wedding planning duties and set off on telling us her love story, a story that brought both John and I to tears. It is Epic in the sense that real people fell in love! Real people – in the right place at the right time – matching one another for wit and charm and enduring love. How amazing is that?! As Molly has an incredibly way with words, I want to borrow from a few of hers here:

It all started with an ugly Christmas sweater. Let’s throw it back to 2009, shall we? My best pal and I had just treated ourselves to a girl’s night out at the Nutcracker ballet in downtown Milwaukee as Christmas presents to each other. While the sugarplum fairies were done dancing for the night, we were all dressed up and ready for a night on the town, catching up and shoulder dancing (my signature move). A quick taxi ride later, we found ourselves sitting in booth, in a bar, with no idea that the night would leave me laughing until my stomach ached and wearing a tall, dark, handsome man’s santa hat to complete my outfit.

Matt stood at the bar wearing an ensemble that, on his 6’5” stature, commanded the room. He had hosted his office’s ugly Christmas sweater party earlier that day and was wearing the winning outfit: his mother’s old black turtleneck wool sweater (three sizes too small), that was adorned with a large, 3-dimensional Santa face on the front—an angry, “you’ve been naughty” kind of Santa face, to be clear.  All this topped off with a fluffy Santa hat and a whole lot of jolly.

At one point we caught each other’s eye. Before I knew it, Matt and friends had joined our booth, and we laughed and matched each other’s level of goofball into the wee hours of bar-close. Six years later, Matt and I are still weaving our love story and discovering in each other what makes our love so rich and steadfast. Our love is grade-A cuddles, quirk, kindness, and respect. It’s continuous love notes in precarious places, superfluous goofing-off no matter the location, being master sweat-pant-wearing-couch-potatoes on a rainy afternoon, and utter nerds together. Matt’s unfailing patience grounds me, and my wit challenges him. His thoughtfulness and virtue take my breath away on the daily.

Sigh. If that weren’t enough to move you with emotion, there’s another sweet aspect to their relationship that you’ll find woven throughout this shoot:

We always say to each other “You are my Everlovin’. Matt’s grandpa met Matt’s Irish grandmother when he was in Ireland during World War II, and soon after brought her to the US as his bride. They always called each other their “everlovin'” as it was apparently an Irish term. Before Matt’s Grandma passed away, she made a point to tell us that she knew we were each other’s Everlovin’.

So here’s to sweet cuddles with a hot cup of your favorite drink, cozy sweatpants curled up on the couch, real people who have the courage to fall in love, and all of the memories to come as you walk side by side, ever lovin’.