I was perusing my new favorite wedding site, A Bicycle Built for Two, which provides “real wedding inspiration for lesbians, queers, and everyone else,” when I came across the engagement photos of Ashley and Leanne. I nearly fell off my chair because:
- The images were so stunning; Becky, an Ohio based photographer, did an impeccable job capturing the couple’s dashing style and deep connection.
- I couldn’t believe how sexy this couple made t-shirts and jeans look. Simple. Clean. Vintage. Dapper! After this display, t-shirt and jean lovers no longer have any excuses for not looking stylish.
Leeanne (left) and Ashley (right)Here’s more about this head-turning couple:
How we met…
Ashley and I met on New Years Day while she was living in Brooklyn. I stood on my balcony in Queens in the middle of the night and asked the universe to bring me someone to love that would love me back just as much. Two days later, she walked right through my front door and I have no idea how, but I knew.
She was in the middle of breaking up with her girlfriend at the time and going through a major death in her family. I let her drink whiskey and sleep in my bed without speaking. Just feeding her and making her drink fluids.
A few months later, she met me in the city for drinks with friends. An ex of mine grabbed me roughly under my arm and pulled me. Ashley put her hand gently on me, grabbed my ex’s hand, and said, “Don’t you EVER put your hands on her like that again.” No one has ever stood up for me like that.
Inspiration behind the shoot…
She [Ashley] always had a cigarette dangling from her mouth, a furrowed brow, always so determined, always so driven, doing whatever she feels without care of what anyone else thinks of her. So, I started calling her my James Dean. Hence, the inspiration for these pictures.
The car is a 1935 Ford, a model that is used in the movie Rebel Without a Cause, but not one of the main cars. It fit the era we were going for. The location was a historical village very close to where we live. When we take walks at night, we always walk through it, usually around when the sun is going down, and it always feels like a magical little hidden place to me. Especially the church. I fell in love with the color of the doors and it was the inspiration for my wedding colors.
And a word from the photographer, Becky:
Ashley and Leeanne are one of those couples that look at each other, and the world just melts around them. It is intense, devoted, and unbelievably sweet. I was beside myself with excitement when they asked me to photograph them, celebrating their engagement! My husband and I have known Ashley for many, many years, and when we finally met Leeanne, it was as if the world spun just for the two of them. Even now, I’m sitting here, choking back tears at the sweetness of the two of them.
