And this is our why . . .

It was NEVER the plan to be wedding photographers.

In 2008 we lived in Little Rock, Arkansas and were quietly working on careers that had nothing to do with photography. Monday through Friday we worked our 9-5's and on the weekends we did what all newlyweds do: we hung out with friends, got caught up on household chores, and felt that spike of dread in our stomachs at 9:00 every Sunday night because we had to be at work Monday morning.

But Cara had a camera.

Cara had been in love with photography since she was a teenager. Creating beautiful images - mostly nature - was a major pastime for her. Anyone that knew Cara, knew her as the girl with the camera. And eventually, it happened: one of Cara's co-workers asked her to photograph her wedding. It was going to be a small affair and it really wouldn't take that long if she wouldn't mind? Always down to try something new, Cara agreed. And she roped her husband into coming with her.

It was hot. We had no idea what we were doing. We had no plan. And it was hot! SO hot! But we made it.

As soon as the day was over and we got in the car to head home, we looked at each other and said, "We are NEVER doing that again."

Then there was another one. Someone had seen the photos from that first wedding and liked them?! What?

Brent tried to get out of it. But Cara had already agreed and that was that.

And then, you guessed it, a couple of months later, we got another request. But since the last wedding - the second EVER - a couple of things happened pretty quickly.

Brent saw a photograph of his grandfather as a young man for the first time, and Cara suffered a death in her family - her grandfather.

Brent's grandfather had died before he was born and seeing him, young and full of life, was almost a shock. They looked SO much alike it was uncanny. He felt connected to his family in a way that he hadn't before. Here was a huge piece of his history, his heritage, that had always been missing.

For Cara, her grandfather's passing meant hours of sorting through family photos deciding which ones to show at his funeral. Photos which she had only seen one or two times before were suddenly very important to her. This was her grandfather's life, laid out in snap shots, one small piece at a time.

Experiencing these things together during the first year of our marriage brought home to us the importance of family - and friends, and what it means to leave a legacy.

The common denominator, was photography. It didn't take us long to realize that the wedding photos we had taken as "a favor" were a huge part of those couples' stories. We helped tell their story, preserve their legacy. Those photos would be passed down until one day, their grandchildren would be looking at them and seeing their family in a way they never had before.

That was an emotional realization for us both. So, we set about getting better, and we got better. We shot that third wedding and it led to a fourth, then fifth. Then Cara left her job to become a full-time photographer and it was SUPER SCARY! But she did it. And it felt important. It was important.

Four years and a move to Ruston, Louisiana later, Brent joined her full-time and Buie Photography was officially born.

This is what we were meant to do and we absolutely love it, but more than that, telling our couples' love stories is an honor.

And that's why we do what we do.