J. Langley Photos

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Chalanda & Matthew

Matthew and Chalanda Samec
Married May 28, 2005

Love doesn't always read like a fairytale. It's not always by the book and sometimes there are pieces that don't seem to fit until you see the big picture. I met my husband, Matthew, of four years through a very dear friend of mine. They were both attending Sowela and they were enrolled in the Culinary Arts program. One day, she suggested that he and I meet and the least I can say is that it wasn't love at first sight. We met at a local hot spot and he seemed uninterested. The night progressed and soon we both parted ways. I didn't think anything of the meeting until a few days later when I received a phone call. It was Matt. He invited me to hang out, but I wasn't familiar with the area he was in. So, he offered to meet up with me somewhere so that he could show me the way. To make a long story still long, but not as long as it really is, the meeting didn't go as planned. We both waited to meet each other for an hour. It just so happened to not be the same hour. We both thought the other had stood the other up! At the end of the fiasco, I called him and told him that he was a jerk and to never to call me again! Normally that would be the end of this story, but... As fate would have it, he called a few weeks later. By that time, luckily for him, I had almost forgotten about the incident and he asked me to dinner. After that night, we knew there was a connection between us. Ironically, we had very little in common. We were such opposites that it didn't make sense for there to be an attraction, but we couldn't stay away from one another. Our time together seemed to go on for a lifetime, but it was only 3 short months before we were engaged. He was so nervous when he proposed. He didn't know what knee he was supposed to kneel on, so he got down on both knees to make sure that he got the right one! It was the most sweetest act of romance that I had ever seen. (I still pick on him about it to this day!) We hadn't been engaged long, maybe two or three months, when Matt suddenly fell extremely ill. We thought he had caught a virus and that it would pass, but that wasn't the case. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and I thought that I was going to lose my darling fiance'. He stayed in the hospital for close to eight months. None of the local doctors could tell us what was wrong with him. He couldn't eat. He couldn't drink. He had wasted away before my very eyes. It hurt so badly to see him suffer, but I couldn't leave his side. I was truly afraid that if I left, I would never see him again. I rushed him to the Diagnostic Center in Houston, TX to see a man who, in my eyes, is an angel sent from God. He diagnosed Matt with Crohn's
Disease and got him on the road to recovery. We've been together for close to seven years now and we have three gorgeous children. Every moment of every day is something to be thankful for. I believe whole-heartedly that God meant for us to grow and learn from our past experience. We both realize that every day is special. I love my husband and I can't imagine life without him.
Chalanda Samec

Christopher & Haley

We had a mutual friend who wanted to set us up on a blind date. Since we had never been on "blind dates" before, we found each other on Myspace and began messaging each other, and found out we actually did have a lot in common. He asked her for my phone number and we had planned to meet at Starbucks on Sunday morning after church. Well, one of my friends was in a car accident on Saturday and the only person I could think of to help find her was him, being he is a cop, and he called and let me know he had found her and was going to meet me at the hospital. He stayed for hours until we knew she was going to be fine and then asked if I still wanted to meet Sunday morning. I told him yes. We had a wonderful first date and have been together ever since!!!

=)

Marshall & Ashley

WHERE DO I START? WELL I MET THE LOVE OF MY LiFE WHEN I WAS A JUNiOR iN HiGH SCHOOL. I WAS iN IOWA HiGHS COLORGUARD ALL 4 YRS iN HiGH SCHOOL. THE FiRST TiME WE MET WE WEREN'T iNTRODUCED HiS SiSTER WAS MY FLAG iNSTRUCTOR AND SHE HAD BROUGHT HiM TO ONE OF OUR PRACTiCES THEN WE SAW ONE ANOTHER AND I FELL iN LOVE WiTH HiS CRAZY HAiR. LOL. HiS SiSTER TOLD ME SHE ASKED HiM iF THEiR WAS A GiRL THAT HE WOULD HAVE BEEN iNTERESTED iN AND HE TOLD HER THE GiRL iN THE FRONT WiTH BROWN HAiR AND PRETTY BiG EYES THAT ALWAYS WAS SMiLiNG. WELL I HAD NEVER HEARD OF HiM AGAiN UNTiL JULY 2004. MY FLAG iNSTRUCTOR DARANEE(HiS SiSTER) WAS MANAGER OF A FiREWORKS STAND AND ASKED iF I WERE iNTERESTED iN WORKiNG I WAS 16 AND iT WAS MY FiRST JOB I WAS THRiLLED! THE FiRST NiGHT I WORKED MARSHALL(MY HUBBiE) WAS WALKiNG iN LATE. HE HAD CAME iN FROM MiSSiSSiPPi TO WORK FOR HiS SiSTER TOO. I WAS SO HAPPY EVEN THOUGH HE WAS ONLY DOWN FOR 2 WEEKS. THE FiRST NiGHT WE WORKED TOGETHER iT WAS A SLOW NiGHT NO ONE WAS COMiNG TO BUY FiREWORKS SO WE TALKED ALL NiGHT AND LEARNED SO MUCH OF ONE ANOTHER iN JUST 5 HOURS. I WAS SO iN LOVE. BY THE END OF THE NiGHT I DiDNT WANNA LEAVE. OUR FiRST KiSS HE TOOK ME BY SURPRiSE. FOR TWO WEEKS WE WERE iNSEPERATABLE. AS JANUARY 5TH ROLLED NEAR I KNEW OUR TiME TOGETHER WOULD BE OVER BECAUSE HE HAD TO GO BACK HOME TO MiSSiSSiPPi. I HAD FUN WHiLE iT HAD LASTED AND KNEW I WOULD PROBABLY NEVER HERE FROM HiM AGAiN. SO JUST iN CASE I GAVE HiM A CARD AND WROTE iN iT,“THANKS FOR THE FUN TiME i KNOW iLL PROBABLY NEVER SEE YOU AGAiN SO JUST iN CASE HERE'S MY NUMBER AND ADDRESS”. A MONTH WENT BY AND NO PHONE CALL FROM MARSHALL UNTiL THAT ONE DAY. I WiLL NEVER FORGET iT. THE FiRST THiNG HE SAiD WiTHOUT EVEN SAYiNG Hi WAS,“ I CAN'T STOP THiNKiNG ABOUT YOU AND I KNOW THiS SOUNDS CRAZY BUT I THiNK iM iN LOVE WiTH YOU”. MY HEART JUST STOPPED BECAUSE I FELT THE SAME WAY. HE WAS EVERYTHiNG I HAD WANTED iN A GUY. WE TALKED ON THE PHONE FOR HOURS AT A TiME ALL THE TiME. ONE PHONE CONVERSATiON HE TOLD ME,“YOU MAKE ME WANT TO BE A BETTER MAN”. AFTER THAT HE JOiNED THE ARMY. WE WROTE ONE ANOTHER EVERYDAY FOR 3 MONTHS TALKiNG ABOUT WHAT WE WANTED iN LiFE AND OUR FUTURE. ON MAY 19th MY PARENTS DROVE ME TO Ft. SiLL,OK TO SEE MY SOLDiER GRADUATE FROM BASiC TRAiNiNG BEFORE HE HEADED OUT FOR AiT. THAT DAY WAS THE BEST DAY OF MY LiFE AFTER THE TWO PLATOONS HAD RECiEVED THEiR DiPLOMAS THEY MARCHED OUTSiDE STiLL iN ORDER SO THEiR FAMiLiES COULD SEE THEM. EVERYONE WAS TAKiNG PiCTURES ViDEO TAPiNG THEN THEiR WAS A QUiET PAUSE AND AT THAT MOMENT I HEARD THEiR DRiLL SARGENT CALL MY NAME MY FULL NAME.NOT ONCE BUT TWiCE I WAS TERRiFiED. LOL HE TOLD ME TO STAND iN THiS ONE SPOT iNFRONT OF THE PLATOON AND EVERYONE THERE. MY HEART WAS POUNDiNG AT THAT MOMENT MARSHALL GOT OUT OF ORDER CAME TO ME GOT DOWN ON ONE KNEE AND PROPOSED!! THE PLATOON HELPED OUT AFTER HE ASKED ME AND THEY SAiD JUST SAY YES!!!! I FELT LiKE A PRiNCESS! HE FiNiSHED AiT AND i MOVED THE MiDDLE OF MY SENiOR YEAR AND A 1000 MiLES AWAY TO EL PASO,TX. I WAS LiViNG THE MiLiTARY DREAM! HE SERVED HiS YRS iN THE ARMY AND I BECAME PREGNANT WiTH OUR FiRST GiRL MiSS HADLEY CORA WHOM iS NOW 3. WE HAVE BEEN MARRiED 4 YRS AS OF NOVEMBER 10TH 2009 AND ARE STiLL GOiNG STRONG. WE NOW HAVE 3 GiRLS HADLEY WHO iS 3. RiLEY iS 18 MONTHS AND OUR NEWEST ADDiTiON BRiNLEY WHO iS 4 MONTHS. WE LOVE ONE UNCONDiTiONALLY OUR LOVE iS A RARE LOVE. WE ARE STiLL GROWiNG TOGETHER BECAUSE WE MARRiED YOUNG AND STARTED HAViNG SWEET LiTTLE GiRLS YOUNG. I'm NOW 21 AND MARSHALL iS 25. WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO TOGETHER BUT I WOULDN'T TRADE iT FOR THE WORLD. LOVE ALWAYS ASHLEY&MARSHALL LANDRY

Victoria & Mark

High School Sweethearts
By Victoria Trahan
January 17, 2010

It was our junior year at Sam Houston High School. I needed a date to the homecoming dance. Mark was friends with all the same friends I had. Even though we had gone to school together for 10 years, we never really talked. But in 2005, it was different. We started to hang out in the courtyard at lunch, and eventually exchanged numbers. I then proceeded to call him all the time. I had never dated a football player before, but Mark was my type of guy because he liked to skateboard, play guitar, and listen to rock music. Our friendship grew over the two weeks preparing for the homecoming dance. On homecoming night, we ate dinner at D’Angelos restaurant, and then went to the Boardwalk. Looking over the lake on that hot and humid evening he asked me to officially be his girlfriend. We happily went to the dance as a new couple on September 17, 2005.
One year later, it was 2006. To celebrate our one year anniversary, we went back to where it all began. We had dinner at D’Angelos, and thought back to the year before when we first ate there for homecoming night. By this time, we were seniors in high school. I was so proud going to the Sam Houston football games on Friday night to watch my MVP defensive lineman. We had a lot of fun together in our senior year. By the time we graduated high school in May 2007, we had become a well-known item. Our peers were always saying we were going to get married one day. We went on our Senior Trip together with a large group of friends. We had so much together in Panama City Beach, Florida. It was one of those times we realized how strong and stable our relationship was, because we could balance having fun as a couple and having fun as individuals.
On September 17, 2007, we reached our two year anniversary. We were four long hours apart. I had decided to move to Monroe and attempt my undergraduate studies in pharmacy. Before I left, Mark and I exchanged what we like to call “pre-engagement rings.” My ring was a step up from the promise ring he’d given me seven months into the relationship. His ring is the same one he plans to wear as his wedding band today. We had a plan that he would move to Monroe after he attained his two-year degree from Sowela. We also decided that if our relationship could survive the distance and other struggles, we would know that it was meant to be. We didn’t like the distance, and I came home every other weekend to visit Mark and my family. My first college experience was a lot of fun, but I missed home.
I moved back home in May 2008 and enrolled at McNeese. Mark and I were pretty much inseparable. After being apart so much for one year, we never wanted to do that again. We practically lived together. Our lives, from family to friends, started to become one. By September 17, 2008, we were celebrating our three year anniversary. We always wanted to go to D’Angelos again, but it had perished in a fire.
For Spring Break 2009, we returned to Panama City Beach, Florida, with a small group of friends. Mark and I had been talking about engagement, but the last thing I expected was for him to propose on our spring break. We both love the beach, and there we were on April 13, 2009, enjoying the white sandy beach listening to the sound of the waves and feeling the cool night breeze. He told me he loved me, and asked if I loved him enough to marry him while surprising me with a sparkling diamond ring! Of course, I said yes. When we got home, I started anxiously planning the details of our wedding, little by little.
By the time we celebrated our four year anniversary, we had just moved into our 2 bedroom, 1 bath rent house in the city. We looked back and were kind of amazed that four years had already passed in what felt like such a short time. We know that has to be a good sign, because time flies when you’re having fun! Today, January 17, 2010, marks four years and four months of our relationship. We are four short months away from our wedding on May 22, 2010. I saw Mark in his tuxedo yesterday, and I felt so lucky to be marrying such a handsome guy who makes me happy. I look forward to our one year wedding anniversary in May 2011, because D’Angelos is open again and we can start celebrating a new anniversary there

Brian & Aurora

Brian & Aurora

Brian and Aurora’s Love StoryIt was Easter Sunday, April 12th, 2009, when Aurora and I met online through E Harmony. Aurora was home with her son, Noah, and I was working a 24hr shift at East Side Fire Dept. While on shift I was checking my emails and noticed a request for more information from E Harmony a dating site. I clicked on the request and started looking over Aurora’s profile. First thing I noticed was how incredibly gorgeous she was, she had a terrific smile and a very handsome son. As I started reading more about Aurora and her life and interest, I thought to myself, I just had to at least get to know her and if nothing else be friends. Even though I was hoping for a lot more than just being friends, we had so much in common it just seemed we were meant for one another. As part of the getting to know one another process I started answering some of the questions she had sent me. In one of the questions I answered I gave her my IM screen name and told her if she wanted to chat to contact me there. A little while later we were called out for a traffic accident down the street from the fire station. My crew and I responded and took care of all the patients, but had to remain on scene and wait for the Sheriff’s office to respond. As I was directing traffic my phone went off with an IM from Aurora. Being the guy I am and wanting to talk to this very interesting woman I answered her back. So here I am in the middle of a very busy intersection directing traffic with one hand while texting with the other. A few hours later after the first IM and getting the basics out of the way I asked if it was possible for us to talk on the phone because my fingers were getting tired. Aurora of course said yes and a few minutes later we were talking on the phone for the next 8 hours we talked and talked about everything, by that night I pretty much knew that I really liked this woman, she had a very sexy voice and we had so much in common. For the next several days we talked on the phone, texted back and forth, and of course chatted by IM. That Friday April 17th, we had our first date, nervous as all get out; I drove the two hours to Lake Charles. I arrived at Auroras’ house and she had a friend Rebecca over, I guess to make sure I wasn’t a psycho or anything. Aurora answered the door wearing sweats, a t shirt, no make-up and her hair was not fixed. LOL. But she still took my breath away, my heart racing and trying to catch my breath I handed her the dozen Fire and Ice Roses that I had gotten her, and walked inside to meet her and her friend. After talking with her friend for well over thirty minutes she finally left, and I finally got time alone with Aurora, I immediately went over to her and gave her a hug and kissed her, little did I know that was going to be our last first kiss, Aurora and I spent the afternoon doing nothing but hanging out, talking and just being together. Finally getting to know one another face to face, it was everything we hoped it would be…just perfect. Except that Aurora lived in Lake Charles and I live in Baton Rouge, we thought it could be a little bit of a problem, we made every effort to see each other as often as possible, and if we weren’t together we were texting or on the phone. My fellow co-workers use to give me a hard time about it because I stopped hanging out with them and spent my time and money on Aurora, which if you ask me was a great investment. Aurora and I grew madly in love with one another in a very short time, she and I both knew what we wanted and knew that we were “that” for each other. I brought her to meet my parents in July and they fell in love with her as fast as I did with her. Not long after we got back from visiting my parents in Virginia I took Aurora engagement ring shopping, I had a good idea of what I wanted to get her but in all fairness wanted her opinion on it as well, she found the perfect ring, which was very much like the one I had already picked out but was a lot better and shinier. On September 4th, 2009 I had made arrangements for Aurora to come to Baton Rouge. (My hard work put into this night leads into the proposal to the love of my life with hopes her answer would be “yes”.) While she was on the road I was racing around the house getting over 65 tea light candles laid out, sprinkled rose pedals out leading to the hot bubble bath waiting for her to get into as soon as she walked in the door. I ordered pizza for dinner, which the delivery girl was very impressed and jealous wishing her husband would do something like that for her. So after lighting the path from the door up the stairs and into the bathroom, I had just enough time to post a note on the door for her to read before she walked in. The note simply said “You are the light of my life now follow the light” she walked in and I was hiding in the down stairs spare bedroom waiting for her to get up stairs and into the bath. I then went upstairs and kissed her hello, sitting on the floor next to her, once again nervous as could be, my heart racing we just talked for a little bit. She enjoyed her bath for awhile as she relaxed from the road trip to come see me. When she got out and I led her to the bedroom where the dinner (pizza) was waiting. We ate and I just couldn’t wait any longer, I reached over to my dresser and grabbed the ring and asked Aurora to marry me, she of course said “YES”….Here we are now 11 months later happy as can be planning our wedding in Jamaica. I couldn’t be a happier man, I am very glad and blessed that I have Aurora and Noah in my life. I could not have asked for a better wife to be or son. Brian Harkins