1. People love kissing each other!
2. Everyone has their own story. Some are intimate, others are fun, many embarrassing…but all are romantic.
3. Monogamy is not artificial or unattainable.
4. Life-long partnerships do exist and we will be one of them.

So what does this mean for the future of marriage? Above all else, it confirms that it will survive to see the 21^st century. Much like common sense, integrity and faith, society is attempting to squelch its existence.  But refusing to become extinct, it has managed to remain. If we can find thirty couples, couldn’t we find hundreds more? People by nature are selfish. But in the lives of these couples, we found one common thread…all were attempting to become selfless.

Tiberius Images is a Grand Rapids wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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Meet James and Melissa Hoekzema. These two have been involved in our lives for the past several years and we have watched not only their relationship grow, but also their family! When we first met these two, they were a young, newly married couple excited about the future. Add a few years and they now have two lovely girls, Abby – 4 1/2 and Ella – 22 months. These two keep them both busy to say the least! James is a landscaper by trade and has been for several years. Melissa is a stay at home wife and mother who has become quite the amateur photographer. Her photos of her children adorn their home and look fantastic. They both continue to surprise us with their gentle spirits and willingness to serve others. They were kind enough to help us move into our current home just over 4 years ago (we borrowed their truck and trailer).

How did you two meet? Melissa: “We met at Calvary Church’s singles class. I had been going for a few years when HE finally showed up!”

James: “I had been going to Calvary for a while and decided that it would be better to meet people through the singles group rather than by going out to the bar, so I figured I would give it a try. I met her on the first Sunday I attended.”

What was your first date? Melissa: “When we first met it was October but our first date wasn’t until the following January. We had gone to several social events with larger groups, but our first ‘official date’ was to The Honey Creek Inn in Cannonsburg. I was head over heels for him and he told me later that knowing that slightly scared him because he knew how serious I was about dating him. He picked me up, we had dinner and we kept it very low key.”

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day memory? Melissa: “My favorite memory has to be our first one together. James called me early in the day and said I’ll pick you up around 7pm. I asked what I should wear and where we were going. He said it didn’t matter what I wore and where he took me would be a surprise. Well he called back later in the day saying, ‘I’ll pick you up at 6pm and now you have to wear something very nice.’ I was freaking out wondering where in the world we were going. We ended up going to dinner with his parents at Blythefield Country Club! I was a little nervous before he picked me up, but once I knew who we’d be with, I was even worse! It went well though and that night, when he dropped me off at home, he kissed me for the first time.”

Tiberius Images is a Grand Rapids wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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Meet George and Nancy Samra, some of the most instrumental people in our lives over the past decade! This wonderful couple did our pre-marriage counseling in 2001, mentoring us for many years after. The kindest and best of men, George can recite more of the Bible than anyone we know. Nancy is his perfect match…a lamb in the kitchen and a lion in her faith, she never ceases to amaze us. At times, their lives remind us a little of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and it is a blessing to have been adopted into their large family (they have three children and 11 grandchildren).

How did you two meet? George: “Her mother sent her to a Syrian Orthodox Church convention to find a husband. Because I was heavily involved in that same church, I was there. A friend introduced us, but I later found out she was catholic, which was a pretty big hurdle for me. After ignoring her for most of the convention, we got acquainted and I was hooked, which shocked a lot of people because at 37, I was a declared bachelor. The older women in our community had tried playing match maker for a long time.”

Nancy: “I went to that convention to help George’s cousin, Georgette! She was the one on a mission to find a husband and didn’t want to go alone.”

The jury is still out…

What was your first date? Nancy: “At that time, in the Syrian culture, we didn’t date. If someone was interested in courting me, they had to first be ‘approved’. George traveled from Grand Rapids to my home in West Virginia in order to present his ‘credentials’ to my entire family: dad, mom, grandparents, aunts and uncles! He even had to bring a relative to speak for his mother. After grilling him, they approved. For a few months he would drive down on a Thursday and return on Sunday. We met around July 4, were engaged by Labor Day and then married on November 15.”

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day memory? For the first few years we were married, we would fly to Las Vegas. In those days Vegas was run by the mafia, so when George ran around in his suit, he looked like he was “in the family”. One trip, we were going to see Dean Martin’s show and Nancy wanted to arrive early to get a good table. George was hot on the craps table and so he asked the pit boss, ‘to take her down?’ Once he was done, we were escorted down to the show and there were no tables left. They motioned for us to come up on stage and we were seated at “Table X” which was just two chairs, a small table and Dean Martin about 3 feet from us. Dean sang to Nancy all night long! Looking mafia can go a long way.

Tiberius Images is a Grand Rapids wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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Introducing Eric and Barb Kaniewski, better know as Russ’ Aunt and Uncle! Married for over 30 years, they had one of the quickest whirlwind romances we have heard of yet. Together, they have 3 great kids (who were awesome cousins to grow up with) and 4 grandchildren. We appreciate each them: not jusat for who they are individually, but also for what they stand for as a family. Never one to shy away from their faith, the Kaniewski family walks, not just talks about their faith.

During the day, you will find Eric at Gordon Food Service, where he loves his job as an “Electronic Business Technical Specialist” (try fitting that on your business card).

How did you two meet? Barb: “We met on Valentine’s day in 1979. I was working in the physical therapy department at Saint Mary’s Hospital when he came in as a patient after his 3rd knee surgery. He was a dork-meister and an accountant!”

Eric: “I was just there for physical therapy, but as soon as I saw her I thought to myself, wow, she’s cute!”

What was your first date? Eric: “We spent so much time together because I was at PT 3 days a week for over 2 months, so we got to know each other very well. She was dating someone else at the time, but at one point she mentioned that they were breaking up. I had to ask 3 separate times, but she eventually agreed to go out with me in early April, about 6 weeks after we met.”

Barb: “Not only did I like him, but I was a broke 19 year old living off beans and tortillas… So when he offered dinner at the Kentwood Station and red meat, I said yes! Our first date was in early April, we were engaged in May and married in December of that same year!”

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day memory? Obviously our best Valentine’s Day was the day we met in 1979.

A true romantic at heart, Eric provided Barb with a rose every single Friday throughout the entire first year of their marriage. Beat that gentlemen!

Tiberius Images is a Michigan wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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Meet Tom and Mary Scheidel. These two are entrepreneurs in the Grand Rapids area. Tom owns a media and event production company called The Scheidel Group. He’s been at it for over 10 years and his resume is very impressive. His wife Mary is also an entrepreneur by heart, but I’ll let you know what she’s up to in a later post. I met these two at an event for Local First and we had a great time getting to know each other and Tom impressed me with his bowling skills. They are the proud parents of three and have exposed their kids to all kinds of things – including a couple of different trips to Europe!

How did you two meet? Mary: “We met through mutual friends at a party at my house.”

Tom: “We were living in Grand Rapids a couple of years after graduating from CMU. We were at a party where everyone knew a few people, but no one knew everyone. I saw Mary and thought, man I have to meet her!”

What was your first date? Tom: “It wasn’t anything super exciting. We met at the party and then a few days later I called to see if she wanted to go see a movie with me. I think we went and saw “Tootsie”. We hit it off and there was a kiss on the first date!”

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day memory? Mary: “It had to have been our first Valentine’s day together. We had only been dating a few months, but he sent me a stuffed monkey. Around the monkey’s neck was a beautiful necklace. Then later in the day he picked me up and wouldn’t tell me where we were going for dinner. He took me to the Corner Bar in Rockford. Now I grew up a city girl in Grandville and I thought we were going out to the middle of nowhere and was convinced we were lost. What’s really funny is that now we go there all the time and actually live in Rockford!”

Tiberius Images is a Michigan wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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Meet Mike and Megan Gundy. These two have been married about a year and a half and are such a great couple. Mike is a Senior Auditor at Steelcase and Megan is a computer programmer by day and chef extraordinaire by night. You have to check out her blog “What Megan’s Making” and see some of the amazing food she makes in her kitchen! Megan is originally from the Pittsburgh area, so these two travel quite a bit to spend time with her family.

How did you two meet? Megan: “We met at Grove City College in a dorm room. Mike was actually dating my best friend at the time, so he came over, spent some time with a group of us and we became friends.”

What was your first date? Mike: “We had been friends for 6 years and I had had enough. I finally flew to Pennsylvania  to visit her and spend the weekend with her. I wanted to convince her that dating me, long distance, would be a good idea and would work. We had an entire weekend of events planned while I was there.”

Megan: “We had been friends for such a long time that I didn’t want to jeopardize our friendship, so I decided that dating wouldn’t work and resolved that at the airport, as he left, I would tell him I couldn’t date him. But…we had a great time together that weekend and I just couldn’t say no to dating him. Obviously it was the best thing that could have happened!”

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day memory? Megan: “One Valentine’s day, Mike sent me a box of M&M’s (Mike & Megan) to where I was living at the time. It was the cutest thing – we even ended up using that idea as party favors for our wedding!”

Tiberius Images is a Michigan wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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• What do you love about your spouse?
• What drives you so crazy about them, that you absolutely can’t resist them?
• What are your favorite moments from the past?
• What do you wish, together, for your future?
• What can you do for them in 6 short days that will change your marriage?

Make the good times outweigh the bad. We have. But most importantly, wear your feelings on your sleeve. We do.

“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.”

-Author unknown

Tiberius Images is a Michigan wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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Meet Jim and Amber Koster. They are a couple from the Grand Rapids area we met through church. They display passion in all they do. Having been married 8 years,3 daughters plus a female dog at home, Jim is the only male in the household. It doesn’t seem to bother him considering he gets all the hugs and kisses he could have ever asked for. Jim is the owner of a duct cleaning company in Grand Rapids called Duct Works Air Duct & Dryer Vent Cleaning. He has owned and operated his business for several years and yes, we too are happy customers of their services! These two serve in many areas in life, especially their families and at church. They have a fantastic relationship with each other and also with their 3 girls.

How did you two meet? We met on a blind date set up by mutual friends.

What was your first date? Jim: “We went Christmas shopping for her parents at Rivertown Mall in Grandville. She decided to purchase 4 solid oak TV trays for her folks. I then politely offered to carry them for her not realizing she had parked on the OTHER end of the mall. By the time I put those TV trays in her car I was in a full out sweat! I have yet to tote luggage ever since.”

Amber: “I appreciated you carrying them for me! After he was done sweating we headed to TGI Friday’s in downtown Grand Rapids for dinner. On the first date I had an inkling that he might be the one, but after our second date I knew he was the one for me! We’ve been together ever since.”

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day memory? Amber: “Our wedding anniversary is on the 22nd of February, so we’re typically celebrating our anniversary in February, not Valentine’s. However, our favorite time so far has to be our honeymoon to Cancun after our wedding. We ended up spending time at an all-inclusive resort and going para-sailing in the Gulf of Mexico. It was fantastic.”

Tiberius Images is a Michigan wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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Meet Joel and Susan Sportel. We met Susan through a network of Grand Rapids wedding vendors and all we have to say is…she is a blast! Working for Rev Business Solutions (providing printing items to the West Michigan business community), she specializes in wedding invitations and is a jack of all printing trades. Her  husband Joel, works at one of the largest corporations is Michigan, Amway. These two serve their community all the time and have an amazing relationship. Did we mention that during her off time she takes Latin Dancing lessons? Spicy!

How did you two meet? We met while working at a company called Zin-Plas Corp, a factory that made Delta faucets and shower heads. My (Joel) brother worked there with her mom. With a “family in” we both were fortunate to get great part time jobs in college. While at work we met, but found out that we were both dating other people. However, both of us were about to break up with our significant others, so we gave each other some serious advice on how to break the news. We spent so much time together talking about how to end our relationships that we hit it off!

What was your first date? Susan: “He picked me up from my home, we went to see a movie at the old Alpine theater called “Author, Author”, which in 1982 was “awful, awful”. Then went to the former Village Inn Pizza on Alpine and had a great time getting to know each other better. He then dropped me off at home where he was invited in and chatted with my mother about work! :-)

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day memory? Susan: “I used to work at a balloon wholesaler, so every year I would create a big bouquet of helium filled balloons and would have them delivered to him at Amway! In return I would always get flowers. We are romantics at heart!”

Tiberius Images is a Michigan wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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Meet Greg and Sharon Kaiser. They are a wonderful couple who have been married 17 years and have four little ones running around their house. Greg works in the finance department of the Federal Government and Sharon is an Assistant Director at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids. We first met Sharon through a ministry we are involved with, but we soon met Greg as well and hit it off right away. These two are great parents, servant leaders in everything they do and we know that God has great things in store for both them and their family!

How did you two meet? We met at a social event with our single friends. I (Sharon) was there with another single friend, he (Greg) was there with a group of friends. We didn’t know it but we had mutual friends there and were introduced to each other.

What was your first date? Sharon: “Our first date was at church. Greg called, asked if I wanted to go to a Sunday evening service at Calvary Church. He picked me up, we went sat in the front row(!) and then went to Denny’s with our mutual groups of friends. We even kissed on the first date.

What was your favorite Valentine’s Day memory? Our best memory was when we brought our oldest son, Stephen home from the hospital. He was born on February 12, 1997 and on February 14th we were able to come home as a family!

Tiberius Images is a Michigan wedding photographer that photographs people, places and events. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they serve clients throughout the world and are available for travel.

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Contact Us Today with your photography needs!