Ruth and Joseph are an adorable couple who finally closed the long-distance gap when they got married at the Orange County Courthouse in downtown Orlando.

Note: this couple requested my bright and fresh editing style

In their booking questionnaire, Ruth and Joseph told me a bit about themselves and their upcoming marriage, “We are a long distance couple who are finally closing the gap. This wedding is the next step to us living together forever.”

Ruth is American. Joseph is from Peru. And they are just one of the hundreds of couples I’ve worked with who get married at the courthouse after the process of obtaining the K1 “fiance” visa that allows them to travel to the USA for the purpose of marriage.

If you know anything about this process, you know that it’s a great way to decide if you really want to be with this person forever. While often marriage can be as easy as one little bit of paperwork, for these couples, getting married isn’t just the start of something new—it marks the end of a very long, often painful, journey of reaching across oceans for a future lived in real life, in real love, forever.

While every couple I support makes my heart sing, these couples are especially touching because I know from experience the road that came before this moment.

So Ruth and Joseph, thank you for inviting me to witness the end of something hard and the beginning of something new in a moment that you dreamed of for years. xx