Alli & Justin | 10 Year Anniversary in Nice, France

Alli & Justin | 10 Year Anniversary in Nice, France

There’s a song that came out in the 1980s, 1983 to be exact, by a group called Katrina & the Waves. Its title, Walking on Sunshine. The chorus goes like this:

I’m walking on sunshine, wooah
I’m walking on sunshine, woooah
I’m walking on sunshine, woooah
And don’t it feel good!

On this day, in Nice, France, I felt like I was walking on sunshine. The ironic thing is, that it was cloudy and gloomy. Not something you often think of when you think of Nice, France, as Nice has more than 300 days of sunshine a year. But this is a city on the sea, and storms do roll in. In the previous days the rain came down in sheets, on and off. Tropical type storms, not with tons of wind, but tons of rain. So much that I started to worry this day could be marred by flooding.

But when I woke up, the rain had stopped, but it was gloomy. But not to worry, because then I met my couple, Alli and Justin, from St. Louis, Missouri. From the moment I met them, it truly was like walking on sunshine!

Alli and Justin were in Nice, France to celebrate a milestone in their relationship–10 years of married bliss. Now, with two young children, they live a happy life together and love to travel a bit when they can. Alli had explained to me that when they were married a decade ago in Colorado, where they lived, there had been a once-in-a-generation type storm that made their wedding day a bit of a washout. It was Alli’s wish to have some pretty photos with her husband in a pretty place like Nice. I was happy to oblige! As a Nice, France couples photographer, I love what I do!

From the moment I met this couple, their positive energy radiated from them. They were happy, and truly, really in love. The way they looked at each other, the way they interacted–you could tell they are best friends, and their love for each other was so romantic.

We met in the old town of Nice, and began our walk around the neighborhood. I loved Alli’s white dress, and her cute brown sandals. Justin has the best hair, the warmest smile, and a great sense of humor. They told the story of how they met. They met the modern way, not on a dating app, but on a well-known dating site that’s been around since 2000, called eHarmony. Justin knew instinctively when he saw Alli’s profile that she was the one, or at least, he was mesmerized by her. Alli wasn’t as sure, she’d had lots of frogs and hadn’t yet kissed a prince.

They met for coffee, and Justin knew immediately. He would marry Alli. Alli liked Justin, but wasn’t as gung-ho at first. She knew how these things could sometimes go. But after the second date, she began to feel the spark and she knew something was different about this relationship. They’ve been together ever since!

I took Alli and Justin to my very favorite spots in old town to capture their love story with the colorful buildings. Despite the fact it was cloudy, the buildings are so colorful that they lend a lot of light to the scene. There are so many cute and hidden corners in old town and it was really a joy to walk around with this happy couple!

From old town we had a couple of choices. Often, I take couples to the Colline du Chateau, also known as Castle Hill. From the top of this hill, there’s a breathtaking view of Nice. However, as it was cloudy on this day, the light and view would not be as good as usual, so instead, we elected to hit the beach. And wouldn’t you know it, as we did, the sun came out!

Being late September, the big tourist crowds of summer were gone, and because it had been a stormy couple of days, the water was churning up some frothy waves, not really suitable for swimming, so we basically had the beach to ourselves! You’ll notice the beach in Nice is made of fine round stones, and not sand. This is often shocking to visitors, the stones aren’t super comfortable to lay on, but there’s also no sand to wash off when you’re leaving the beach–a real plus!

I absolutely loved capturing Alli and Justin set against the blue of the sea. After the beach, we headed back into the old town, and selected a super cute pink restaurant that serves crepes, ice cream and more. Alli and Justin had coffees and sat back and relaxed. I was so sad to say goodbye to them, they really were the sunshine in my morning and made the clouds part!

I’m so thankful to have the job that I do, to meet wonderful people like Alli and Justin, and to witness real love right before my very eyes. Happy anniversary to them, and here’s to many, many more!