I hate goodbyes.

I’m not looking forward to this one.

I still remember the first time Anna and her friends came walking into the TCU McAlister’s to meet with me about their first shoot back in 2016. She’d won one of our contests, and from all the super-glamorous photos I’d seen on her Instagram, part of me wondered why she would even want someone like us to capture photos for her.

Little did I know, I was about to meet one of the most influential people in the early life of Square 8 Studio! Anna has been such a huge advocate of our work, and anyone who’s spent any time with her at all can’t help but love her – she is one of the most down-to-earth, kind-hearted, generous people you’ll ever meet. She’s full of life, always up for an adventure, and loves her people fiercely.

Especially her boyfriend, Jake.

As etched in my mind as our first encounter at the sandwich shop is, far more permanently entrenched in my memory is the first time I got to photograph Anna and Jake out at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego. To watch the way these two love each other, you’d think you had a front row seat to a real-life Hollywood Romance playing out right before your very eyes. These two are magical together, and the images we captured last December helped launch Square 8 Studio into a completely different stratosphere. I wish I had a nickel for every time a bride-to-be has asked “can we take a picture like this one?” only to show me a photo from Anna and Jake’s shoot.Anna, I’ve been looking for words for this post for sometime now, simultaneous thrilled for you and the amazing journey ahead of you, and saddened by the reality that the photos of you and your friends below are the last we’ll take together in Fort Worth. It would be impossible to fully measure the value of all you’ve done for our business over the past 3 years as our unofficial spokesmodel and “spokescouple”. Yet, as much immense gratitude as I have for your willingness to let us capture breathtaking images for you, what will always stand out in my mind from our time together over the past 3 years is your heart. You are a gem… one of the most confident and loving people I know. I appreciate your sincerity, your constant support and belief in me, and your eagerness and enthusiasm for helping me take this company to heights I could have only dreamed of.

Anna, I’m hoping this is not goodbye.

I’m hoping it’s “until next time.”

And I’m hoping “next time” is real soon.