Heirloom Box :: Our new wedding gift

For us, this love for photography began with the photos themselves. Old, black and white, torn edged, well loved photos kept in a shoe box. Our Grandmothers and Mothers keep these boxes in attics, basements and little back rooms. We always ask to see them, and they always oblige. We gather around the kitchen table, carefully slide the lid away to reveal what seems like more photos than the time before. Slowly, carefully we choose them one by one, pulling them out into daylight from their hiding place. The place where they stay safe. And with each photo we remember. The faces of loved ones, places, moments we witnessed as children come back to us a little clearer with the help of these images. Sometimes, we’re introduced to people we never met. The great grandmother who was gone before we arrived looks right at us through the paper. Her cat eye glasses. Her shoes, and the way she crosses her ankles while she sits. A handsome young man sits on top of a WWII tank and we question which uncle he is. Iggy? Piggy? No… that’s Hammy. Babies coo at the camera and in their eyes we see someone familiar, then look up across the table to realize they’ve grown up. Grandfathers become boys in these photos, their wrinkles gone but their eyes still the same. Old cars, old pets, old houses even can be remembered. The lives of the generations before us are well documented. Our memories are well preserved. These faces, these smiles, these single moments live now in this box, in these photos. Our children’s children will have a chance to know these faces and these people too.

The stories behind each photo are what we love. They are the spark that lights a blaze of memories, conversations, sometimes tears, but always love. And these photos, are why we became photographers. Because for us it all started with a box of old photos… but it’s oh so much more than just a box.

Our heirloom boxes… hand crafted, custom engraved, wooden boxes are our gift to our couples. Inside, there is of course a flash drive of their wedding images, but more than that we wanted to give them something real. Inside the box, there are also a handful of gorgeous printed photos. These boxes, these photos, can serve as the first of many we hope will end up in someone’s attic. 50, 60, 100 years from now we hope youthful hands of the generations to come will hold these photos. They’ll see their grandparents on their wedding day, the day this story started. The day this branch of the tree was created. And they’ll look at faces they barely remember, or they’ll be introduced to faces only their parents knew, but the stories will be told and the love will be shared. And there our couples will remain. Youthful, happy, hand in hand. The lid will be slid away carefully. One by one each photo will be brought into the daylight from the place where it stays preserved. And with each photo, our couple will be remembered. When the wedding is over, when the flowers have wilted, the dress packed away, and the novelty has worn off, this will remain.