Wow, Kirk that video is magic. I sat here, mouth open, then smiling, then just generally swooning the entire time.

We are all about the handmade, my husband and I. Each Valentine’s my husband presents me with a completely handmade card – and a musical composition. He’s a pianist, so every year I get a scroll of sheet music – each one saying “I love you” in a different way. Sometimes it will have a sentimental tune, others an upbeat and frolicsome feel. I love the journey they represent – another year of living together in love.

I am so smitten with your photography! It’s all so beautiful, I couldn’t help but dream a little that you would shoot me and my beau sometime. So here’s our story… we met at a bonfire on the beach in Santa Barbara (where we are both from) and I completely fell in love with him from the moment I saw his smile—that was over 9 years ago. We will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary this July. We aren’t engaged yet but our working towards getting our ducks in a row to make it happen—I feel it coming soon though . We’ve literally grown up together (I was 18 he was 20 when we met) and have been through the good and the bad. I’ve been coming to Seattle my whole life, as I have tons of family there and use to dance at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. It’s such an amazing city that we have so many memories of together. Would be a dream to finally have beautiful pictures together in a place that is so special to us.

The retweeting and the liking are working, Kirk–I found my way here through a friend.

It’s hard to write a short paragraph about Kristin. She was the girl next door, we went to high school together, and we shared the same friends, the same mountains, and the same lakes for ten years. We used to backpack together, bantering like siblings, and then we learned to swing dance.

Kristin’s an incredible dancer. She’s agile, quick and light, and just a little mischievous, which is perfect for swing. When you spin her, she smiles, and if you lift her, she lands on the balls of her feet and never breaks form. It’s fun. For the first half of our twenties we’d spin each other around the dance floor on New Years, or on the beach by an Independence Day bonfire. We dance well together.

Then my old middle school called me and asked me to chaperon their Valentine’s Day dance. They knew I knew swing, and thought a simple lesson would encourage the boys to dance. I needed a partner, and I called Kristin–promised her dinner if she’d help me out. And it was odd day. I cut my hair, spent 20 minutes picking a tie, and arrived early with sweating hands to pick up a girl I’d known since I was 16. She didn’t tell me until later, but she was doing much the same thing–bought a new top, brought 3 changes of clothes in case she changed her mind. At the dance, I couldn’t banter with her anymore. I brought her punch instead–watched myself do it. And it was different dancing with her that night. I can’t quite explain it. Something had sparked, and we weren’t just friends from high school or former almost-neighbors–we were a team, we knew how to move together.

We got the middle school boys to dance with the middle school girls, and when their night was over, Kristin and I kept dancing, barefoot, beside my car under the moon. At my house we started talking about everything we never could when all we could do is banter, until she fell asleep on my shoulder.

That was last Valentine’s Day. By next Valentine’s Day, if everything goes well, we’ll be engaged. Over the last year, I’ve been able to meet her like she was someone new. I love her.

Thanks for letting us write about our loves here, Kirk. Great to read the stories.

your photography is gorgeous, it would be a dream to win a shoot for my family of five ..this year I started a new project of dating my husband in the midst of our three little ones four and under. I have decided to stage little thoughtful dates at home every other week and put the kids to bed early, stay in and focus on each other for a change. Our first date night in was on Valentines Day and I blogged about it here – http://rebekahgough.blogspot.com/2011/02/dinner-at-eight-valentines-day.html the project is called dinner at eight and you can read a bit more about it here if you want – http://rebekahgough.blogspot.com/2011/02/dinner-at-eight.html…thank so for the inspiration it is so fun to find amazing talented artist in Seattle!!

I almost decided not to enter, because Christopher and I have never had a Valentine’s day that really stands out. But… heck, why not? In the years we have been together, we have actually only spent two together, one two years ago when I flew to meet him for two days in DC, and this year. This year was the most special to me because we finally found ourselves in the same city, and it was novel and wonderful even though we stayed in and ate sloppy joes and a somewhat undercooked pear cake. We watched horror movies, teased each other (me: I love you! Christopher: You do? Sucker!) and went to bed early, but it was comfortable, we didn’t have to worry about being separated again in a few hours, or when we might see each other again. We’ve stayed in love over the past 6 years, though we’ve lived apart… from Minnesota, France, Seattle, Iraq, Baltimore, Arizona. This Valentine’s Day we talked about finally moving back to Seattle, started talking about the possibilities of finding a place where we can have a garden, and that was more special and fun than flowers and champagne, at least to me. Being together, finally leaving behind the chaotic lives ruled by grad school and the army, and being able to plan instead of dream. Maybe some day we will have a crazy, beautiful, original and romantic Valentine’s Day, but I’d be happy if they are all just like this one.

In 2007, my friend was looking for a place to live, and I happen to stumble upon a church bulletin announcement advertising for a great apartment in a Capitol Hill home. So I called her and insisted she look into it. Shortly thereafter, she moved in and met Joseph, the son of the person who owned the home. He was a nice fellow and helped my friend to change a light bulb in the laundry room. Given Joseph’s kind gesture, my friend thought it would be sweet to thank him with some brownies, and she enlisted me to help her make them. We knocked on his door, I introduced myself and passed Joseph a brownie. He smiled and was sort of surprised. I was, too. There was an instant connection, we still to this say don’t know how to explain it. It was like we both knew there was something loving about the other person; we wanted to explore and get to know one another. From there, we grew a friendship, and quickly realized that although we were different, we were more alike than we knew. Joseph and I fell in love, and three years later, we are engaged to be married. This year for St. Valentine’s day, we went out to dinner at our favorite pizza place, and went square dancing, which is one of the first activities we did together with friends as we got to know one another… that night three years ago was a magical kind of night! I am so grateful to have a friend and companion for life in Joseph. And, it happened all sort of started with a brownie.

Thanks for the opportunity to reflect on this experience Kirk… given how busy I am with work, grad school, and planning a wedding, it’s hard to find time to just sit down, be still, and be thankful for such a wonderful person in my life. Blessings on your creative work!

The first Valentine’s Day my boyfriend, now husband and I shared was a complete disaster. We did the traditional going out to eat and try to make it awkwardly romantic. Couldn’t find the restaurant, sat in chocolate, drove through a red light, and skinned my knee. We decided to stay in the next year.

Valentine’s Day comes around again, we are still madly in love and know better than to try and be romantic. We cooked a great dinner together, listen to the Love Actually sound track, and shared so many laughs about the last Valentine’s Day. After wining and dining ourselves we danced until the wax from the candles dripped all over the table and floor. The rest of the evening we spent cleaning up candle wax, drinking wine, and chuckling about our lack of romance.

Over the next four years our new tradition has held strong. We cook a comforting meal together, drink a nice wine, and dance to the Love Actually sound track until the candles burn out. I never thought Valentine’s could be so special, until I spent this romantic holiday with the one I truly love.