My very first Navy Homecoming at the Naval Station Norfolk was one to remember. When I got asked by Jordan to capture this special day for her and her boyfriend Matt, I immediately was excited because moments like these are once in a lifetime. I loved seeing all of the anxiously waiting family members and the amount of community they seem to all have with each other. Knowing nothing about homecomings or the military life was an experience in itself! It was also Jordan’s first homecoming, so we just went with the flow and asked a bunch of questions! 🙂 Since I had no idea what Matt looked like, there were a few conversations between us to make sure I captured the right guy coming off the plane! You’d be surprised how EASY it is get mistaken because let’s be honest they all look alike from a distance! Luckily he’s super tall, so that helped!

There were tons of anxious waiting. And I mean a TON! I think the buildup of waiting is what got me so emotional towards the end. Yes, I definitely shed a few tears when I watched Jordan finally see his plane fly in….and Matt was actually the one flying the plane! So fun!! And as soon as we got the green light, we RAN! And right when she saw him, got close and basically sighed with relief…the world kind of stopped.  It was just us three. I even felt invisible at times. And I loved that! Oh the emotion that come back as I type this!!! It was just an amazing feeling and I’m blessed to have captured it for them! The best part after the initial photos were done was when Matt flat out said “Let’s go home!” <3

After I delivered the sneak peeks to Jordan, she posted a photo the next day on their anniversary that said, “Four years ago this guy asked me to go to the top of the Pensacola Lighthouse with him. 4 moves across the country, and one deployment later, he still finds ways to make me smile everyday. I couldn’t ask for a better one than him finally being home.” HEART MELTS.

Welcome home Matt.