Guemes Island Anniversary Session

To celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, Walt & Sandy dressed up and had photographs taken around their cozy property on Guemes Island in Washington state. A tiny little island off a tiny little town, not many people know of Guemes. You drive right past the ferry when heading to the much larger ferries going to the bigger San Juan Islands. However, it’s a picturesque place with quiet rocky beaches, friendly neighbors, and beautiful places to have your photos taken.

↓ Keep reading to see more images of this beautiful anniversary session! ↓

Anniversary Photos to Celebrate a Lifetime Together

Thirty years is a very long time. For those younger, it’s an almost inconceivable length of time to spend tethered to a single person - but for Walt & Sandy, the past 30 years sometimes feel to have flown by.

This anniversary session captured their joy at being together in a place they love, after a marriage marked by change and upheaval.

They got married a little later in life, both in their late 30s (and they’ll be mad you’re doing the math right now, but, yes, they’re a tad older than most couples I work with). Walt was already deep in his military career by the the time he met Sandy, and she’ll be the first to admit that meeting upended her life as she knew it. Except for a short stint in Alaska as a child, Sandy had lived her entire 30+ years in Tacoma, Washington. Quite the opposite, Walt grew up in New York but had already traveled to Vietnam & Korea, lived in Florida for 7 years, and recently purchased a bit of property in Washington state. After dating for nearly a year, they were engaged. About a year after that, they were married. And Sandy began to regularly travel for the first time during the second half of her life.

From Washington state to Washington D.C. to Virginia to Oregon, back to Washington, to Alabama - the first 20 years of their marriage included two children, a handful of houses at different times, and split time between the east and west coasts of the United States. Where Sandy put her foot down was wanting to not live overseas. Whether it was fear of travel or fear of missing home, there were multiple instances where Walt traveled to Germany, Albania, Greece, Turkey, and beyond while Sandy stayed home with the kids.

A Family Session At Their Favorite Home, Together

Now, on Guemes Island, they enjoy sitting on the porch and listening to the birds sing and the wind blow through the trees. Walt retired while they were living in Alabama and the choice to relocate back to Washington, where they met all those years ago, was to be closer to family and the ocean.

It’s a quiet life, this island life, but they love it. They love the routine, and the calm. They take daily walks on the beach and enjoy visitors. One of whom is me, Jenn, because these two are my parents.

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to capture these images of a couple who have no only been around my entire life, but have lived separate and distinct lives all their own.

Together During The Hard Times

At the time of writing this, Walt hasn’t left the island in four months because of COVID-19.

Almost 3 years ago, Walt was diagnosed with a fatal lung disease. This diagnosis put him in the category of “most vulnerable” when the coronavirus pandemic began sweeping through the United States.

In a horrible situation, Guemes has been the best possible place to be. Located at sea level, with some of the cleanest air in the country, and access to the best medical professionals a short drive to Seattle, Walt has surpassed any expectations by his doctors over the past couple years. Instead of degrading, he’s maintaining. Some days, he’s thriving.

But when the pandemic raged through, the island haven became a necessary hideaway. Already damaged lungs couldn’t possibly handle another hit. The permanence and impermanence of this diagnosis has left Walt & Sandy to really look hard at their future and hold tight to their bond. This anniversary photo session marks a shift in their lives when realistically, they have more time shared in their past than will be in their future.

A lifetime with one person is something absolutely worth celebrating. A season with someone is worth celebrating. Your life is worth celebrating. Walt & Sandy have told me numerous times how grateful they are to have these photos to look at.

Guemes Island Links & Vendors

Want to visit this island? Check the ferry times & expect to be patient - Guemes runs on island time.

Photography | Wild Coast Photography

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