{The Blue Canoe}

Many people have asked about it. I really want to tell you about it. 

Probably my favorite question in the past two months has been, "so you were in front of a green screen in that picture, right?" Actually, no. Weeksville, N.C. is just really that beautiful and Sydney Paris Photography, is really that talented. 

So why a boat? 

Well, like any blogger would do - I read a ton of blogs to answer one of life's most complicated questions: what should my engagement pictures look like? 

I knew that I wanted them to be unique - it was my one requirement that they not look like everyone else's. But, in my blog reading I continued to read something along the lines of, "bring something that is important to you and that describes you." Quickly, my mind went to this canoe. 

Adventure not only describes me, but I hope it describes Louis and I's relationship. I hope that no matter how old we get, we will always be adventurous. Boats are a source of adventure and often a symbol of it.

One of my all time favorite adventures during childhood happened in a canoe. Not any canoe, but the canoe used in our engagement photo-shoot. 

The canoe is my Papa's. He is my biggest fan and one of my favorite people. While my desire for adventure comes from my crazy mom, it also has a great deal to do with my Papa. He took me on a lot of adventures, like the time he taught me and my sister how to jump out of an airplane (well, actually we were jumping on the couch), or the time he transformed me into a chief (well, actually he just taught me to cook for the first time.... pancakes), or the many times I sat on the back of his bicycle for him to drive me to Weeksville Grocery to buy M&M's (it felt like a big deal at the time). But out of them all, my favorite adventures with my Papa were canoeing down Sawmill Creek with him, in his pretty blue canoe. Because he is a tree man, the entire journey down the creek, he pointed at trees, taught me their names and told me every fact their was to know about them. He would tell me old stories about Weeksville and what it used to be. Then, on the journey back to land, he would quiz me on all the trees to see what I actually listened to or what I actually learned. As we got older, we were allowed to canoe without grownups, and it seemed like such a big deal. Then, my sister and I or friends and I would walk that same blue canoe down sawmill road and load it into the creek. 

I eventually got older. So old I had to go to college - and Raleigh was the city of my choice for that phase of life. While I eventually grew to love Raleigh, initially I hated it. Its lack of water made me feel so trapped. The older I have gotten, the less time I have spent on the water - making me realize even more how blessed I was to grow up on the Pasquotank River.... even more so, how thankful I am for time in that blue canoe. 

So, what a joy it was to introduce Louis to one of my favorite childhood memories and favorite adventures. The day after our photo-shoot, we for the first time together loaded the old blue canoe into sawmill creek. It wasn't just any old adventure.... a few minutes in we saw an alligator (that was a first). My dad doesn't believe me that it was an alligator, but I promise you it was. 



So excited for a lifetime full of adventure as Mrs. Griffin, with my Mr. by my side. 

I HIGHLY recommend Sydney Paris Photography. Go look at her other work, it is amazing!

Dress is from an awesome Elizabeth City favorite, Honey and Hive Boutique. They also are sellers of Africa Love Jewelry!