Well, being the curious and very insightful person that she is, she quickly saw through my ruse, and not only did she accept me, but she was impressed by what I do. But the hard part was still yet to come. After we had only been on two dates, I had to leave for two months of training. But we talked on the phone every night, and she took care of my cat and my house after my house-sitter fell through halfway into the trip. And on top of that, she sent me several care packages with her wonderful baked goodies (biscotti being my personal favorite), which would become the norm for any of my long trips away from home. I had become accustomed to meeting someone, starting a relationship, and then having the Air Force send me someplace on a trip or deployment, only to find that my partners would leave me before I got back home. I knew Elisa was different after this first trip. I knew she was special.

Since then, she has stuck by me, through months apart when I was in Kuwait, Iraq, Korea, and Alaska. Before we were even married, she stuck with me through a 5 month deployment to the Middle East in which we only got to talk for 15 minutes on the phone, two times a week. I was never worried for a minute that anything would go wrong with my house while she was watching things. Reliability and dependability are two of her star qualities. Of course, the care packages came regularly and meant so much to me. Cookies were in them, of course, but silly things like artwork from her students, and my favorite brand of New Mexico green chili salsa really gave them an added special touch. I missed our 1 year anniversary during that deployment, as well as Halloween, which was our first big holiday date together, and will always be a special day for us. When I came back, even though it was January, Elisa organized a “Halloween” costume party to welcome me home.

She stuck with me through a move to Ohio, and then DC, as well as one of the biggest challenges of them all, when I was in graduate school, and due to my studies, I maybe got to see her for an hour a day, before I went back to the lab (including weekends). But not only did she support me, she supported my classmates spouses as well. As I was attending a military graduate school, I still had the position of class leader, and due to the challenging nature of the coursework many spouses were “grad school widows” for the duration of the program. I never asked Elisa to reach out to the other spouses, she just did so naturally, and fell into the role as supporter and confidant for many others, as she had for me. I ended up getting an award for my thesis (because of her support), and gave her all of my prize money for new clothes (she deserved it!).

It has not always been easy. She had made some serious sacrifices in her career for me and our relationship. When we met, she was in graduate school herself, and well on her way to a career in dance. The arts world is a very difficult one to break into in new communities, but she found a way to get a faculty position at a college in Ohio (which she had to leave after a year and a half when I moved her again), and after months of false starts, she has finally found a job that makes her happy teaching dance to young kids here in Virginia. Her sister has not been so lucky, having lost her job as an architect, as well as having her husband lose his job, less than a month after they had a new baby. So, Elisa found ways to trim our budget (mainly by trimming any spending on herself for hair, makeup, skin care, and any other pampering products) so she can send money to her sister to help care for her new baby.

Very recently, I had to go to a training up in New Jersey, and my car totally failed on me on the highway. To keep me from reporting late to the training, Elisa hopped into her car the minute she heard I was in trouble and saved the day by preventing me from being AWOL in a marathon driving session where she took me from DC to New Jersey and then drove herself all the way back home. I signed in on time, but just barely. I honestly do not know what I would have done without her. The following weekend, I had a single day off, but Elisa still made the trek of 4 hours up and 4 hours back again to spend the day with me. When I asked her if she really wanted to put herself through that long drive for such a short time together, she told me, “You are worth it.”

My wife is the epitome of “We’ll make it work,” and has always found a way to make surviving tough situations seem fun and adventurous. Finding a job here in Virginia was hard, but instead of sit back and get depressed, she re-dedicated herself to strengthen her mind and body, and lost almost 30 pounds by changing her diet and exercise patterns. She was always beautiful, but now she looks absolutely gorgeous, and I am so proud of her. She has proved to be flexible, and adaptable to all the aspects of my service in the military and makes what I do so much more meaningful, knowing that she is there to support me. Whether it is looking out for other military spouses, sending me mail and care packages, taking care of the homefront, or negotiating the labyrinthine military healthcare system, she has always come through, and I know she always will. I am the one who choose the military, but she choose me, and because of that choice that she continues to make to support me, I am better at everything that I do.

I’m getting sent on another trip by the Air Force soon, this time to Baghdad on July 27th, and I will be gone for another anniversary and another Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. And although Elisa is very sad about me having to go, she is already finding ways to make things work out for us again and even strengthen our relationship. I cannot believe I’ve only known her for 5 years. In some ways, it seems like we’ve been together forever, but in other ways, I still feel the same joy of our first dates.

Thank You,
Ryan, Maj, USAF

We tried for over six years to achieve my dream of being a Mommy. It wouldnt have happened with out the Air Force. While undergoing test after test, procedure after procedure, swallowing pill after pill, Kevin stayed strong for me. He assured me that we would someday have our child. Even though the stress and the condition I was finally diagnosed with (polycystic ovarian syndrom – aka PCOS) caused me to gain weight and be very unhappy with myself, Kevin never waivered. He managed to service his country honorably, taking care of nuclear ballistic missiles and then taking care of his new wife. He juggled leave time, taking off of working their 4 day shifts every week to be at doctors appointments and to be present for procedures that he was, shall we say ‘necessary’ for.

Kevin being ‘deployed to the field’ four days out of the week, every single week, put a lot of stress on our marriage. We still werent pregnant and had been married for 2.5 years. (We were trying before we got married, obviously). Kevin applied to come here to DC to be apart of the Honor Guard. We took a long break from trying to conceive and just concentrated on us. When we were finally ready again, we went back to the doctor. After being referred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, we found out that several of the treatments we had been paying out of pocket for were available for much smaller costs. The doctor tweaked the regiment that we were doing before hand by just adding ultrasound monitoring of my follicles and ‘triggering’  me to ovulate (I had to let my husband give me a shot!!), with an IUI (intrauterine insemination), we were finally pregnant!

Our beautiful baby boy was born on April 28, 2008 – six years after we decided to start a family.

The stress of unpredictable schedules, (which vary from day to day here at the Honor Guard), trying to conceive for so long and the hopelessness, plus the PCOS and then finally the successful pregnancy have all taken a toll on my body. While I am no longer the thin girl I was, I realize now that my body has produced a miracle (and hopefully many more!), and will never be the same.  My husband loves the me that I am, and I want to show him that I can love me too!

While he is away for 5 months this winter, I believe that he would LOVE to have a wonderful album of photos to…ahem, enjoy. I want to show that I have the confidence to pull this off, many sizes and stretchmarks later. I would love to prove to myself that I am STILL beautiful!

Chelsey was the winner of our annual Valentine’s Boudoir photography contest. Here are a few of her beautiful images. Chelsey was married this month and gave the album we made for her to her husband on their wedding day.

Chelsey told us the boudoir photo shoot was an amazing and totally liberating experience.

To view the available openings, please use this link:
www.taitphoto.com/2009/june14

Regaining popularity among today’s fashionable brides, the birdcage veil is certainly in vogue. Seen among Hollywood weddings, the birdcage veil was spotted last year on the Grey’s Anatomy star, Katherine Heigl. She looked stunning in a birdcage veil for her wedding to Josh Kelley, serving to further popularize the chic style. Recently Drew Barrymore also wore a birdcage veil on the Red Carpet for her film “Grey Gardens”.

The birdcage veil lends a flirty, glamorous look to your wedding style, masking the bride’s eyes, but leaving the mouth visible for a sexy and playful, yet classy look. Many of my boudoir clients look gorgeous in a birdcage veil in their boudoir pictures, and this is why I love having a black and white one available for clients to use.

The birdcage veil is an easy style to wear, and it is suitable for a wide variety of features. The veil itself can be made slightly longer or shorter to suit the bride’s individual taste, as well as what is most becoming on her. The birdcage veil is usually worn with either with a pinned-up hairstyle or by women with short hair. This is a nice option for women with shorter haircuts who may not be comfortable wearing a long, cumbersome veil.

The birdcage veil is a whimsical, romantic way to finish your wedding look, and also a great addition for your boudoir photographs.  It is short, light and easy to wear, not unwieldy or awkward as some long veils can be. The birdcage veil also suits a range of dresses, from a slim tailored dress of a modern bride to a fairy tale dress of brides looking for a more traditional look. Birdcage veils are also becoming a popular choice for brides marrying for a second time. Some women feel that a long veil is suitable only for a first wedding, but still want the special feeling of wearing a veil to mark the occasion of their marriage.

The birdcage veil is an option that makes a bride feel beautiful and glamorous – whether you are walking down the aisle or snapping sexy photos at your boudoir session.

Here are a couple of online resources where you can buy bird cage veils:
www.myweddingveil.com
www.birdcageveils.com
www.unveiledbridaldesigns.com

Katherine and Drew’s Bird cage veils:

To view the available openings, please use these links:
www.taitphoto.com/2009/june6
www.taitphoto.com/2009/june7

Northern Virginia Boudoir Photography and Washington DC Boudoir Photography by TAIT.

Congratulations Chelsey for winning the Valentine’s Day Boudoir Photo contest! We will be in touch soon to go over details for your photo shoot!

Here are a couple of nice things said about Chelsey with her votes

“I just wanted to say that after everything this poor girl has been through, I hope that she wins this. Her story is so touching and she sounds like she truly deserves this! Thank you!”

“Wow! What an amazing story!!! please make her beautiful (more than she already is) with your b-pics!”

“I think that this story is very touching as she has overcome considerable challenges & societal pressures about body images. You go, Girl!”

“I have a scar on my back and I know how she feels sometimes. Good for her for entering.”

“Chelsey is an awesome role model who i met through our youth group a few years ago! she’s so much fun and she really deserves a your photo shoot.”

Although I’m not at ease writing about myself, I want to explain it’s not because I’m uncomfortable with my body. Hey, I know I’m no Jessica Simpson. As a matter of a fact, I’m fairly certain both of her breasts would be the mass equivalent of half of my bum, but I love my body. If I don’t give you a little back story, you might not understand how big winning this contest would be for me.

I was in a major boating accident when I was 3 years old. My leg was pulled into the propeller and broken in eight different places. I survived the accident despite all odds and only one of my legs was damaged. Thanks to the miracle work of the surgeons they were even able to put it back together.
Because of the severity of my accident I’ve had two leg lengthening procedures (known as Illizarov) and probably over a dozen other surgeries. Since my accident I’ve spent the other 19 years of my life in and out of the hospital. It’s been tough, and I’ve had my ups and downs. My mom raised me to believe everything happens for a reason, and I do. Approximately 80% of my right leg is covered in scars and it took me a while to come to terms with that.

I haven’t needed surgery for almost over four years now and that has really helped to cement a brighter outlook on things. It may be cheesy, okay…. I know it’s cheesy, but my scars are a part of who I am. I’ve learnt so much from my situation. I know that when people see me on the street in shorts during the summer that that’s not what they’re thinking, and sometimes it’s awkward, but I’ve come to see things in a happier light. (Sometimes I joke I was bitten by a shark to break the ice.)

A few years ago I met a boy who didn’t notice I had scars, or that I even walked with a bit of limp sometimes. He loves me, supports me, and even wraps my leg in a wrap sometimes when it’s sore.

I’ve been interested in doing boudoir photo shoots with Tait Boudoir for over a year now, but something has always come up. When I first found them, I re-wrote an email to them a dozen times, trying to come up with a way of saying “hey, I’ve got scars all over my right leg, are you still willing to take pictures of me?” I’ve put this off for so long because I didn’t know how to explain my situation. But I believe everything happens for a reason and now if they read this, it’ll be out there.

I’d like the free photo shoot to not only celebrate but commemorate the confidence I have in myself and my body. A lot of my photo albums have pictures of me recovering from surgeries, and I’d like to add a boudoir shoot to add to the collection to show how far I’ve come!