A Love to Last a Lifetime-Ideas On How to Celebrate Valentine’s Day With Your Forever Sweetheart

I recently had the pleasure of capturing the sweetness of intergenerational love in a Valentine’s Day styled shoot at Promise Manor in Lynchburg, TN. I wanted to showcase the beauty and importance of love throughout your lifetime, highlighted by the gorgeous Pantone Color of the Year: Classic Blue. 

My models ranged from a couple who have been married for over 60 years to a pair of newlyweds and some sweet mother-daughter pairs. Our older couple taught us about how to celebrate love later in life, while our newlyweds explored how to celebrate Valentine’s Day on a budget. The moms and daughters showed us how to make Valentine’s Day meaningful outside of a romantic context. There are so many ways to celebrate love! (To check out the Mommy & Me Valentine’s Day Session, please click HERE).

I shot using film and digital to capture the timeless, radiant, and joyful elements that define my photographs. In addition to artfully posing the models throughout the beautiful manor, I wanted to highlight their own personal love stories! This joyful styled shoot demonstrates the importance of celebrating Valentine’s Day with everyone you love!

The Promise Manor was a perfect location for this shoot. The historic home is owned by a sweet couple who fell in love, got married, and nurtured their dream of one day owning their own wedding venue. The Promise Manor is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and I love how the history of the home reflects the eternal nature of love.

This week, I wanted to highlight the love story between Mr. and Mrs. Nolen of Lynchburg, TN. They have been married for over 60 years (yes, you read that right, 60 years) and it was such an honor getting to photograph and highlight their love story! They are actually celebrating their wedding anniversary whenever this blog post goes live, so I am so excited to get to share this specific portion of the Promise Manor Valentine’s Session with you all today!

Some fun ideas for Valentine’s day with your forever sweetheart

1- Having tea or coffee with them (and don’t forget to share some Valentine’s cookies with them) (If you live in Middle Tennessee check out Spoonful of Sugar Cookies by Emily Howell)

2- Share a meal with your loved one AND invite a younger couple so that you both can learn from each other! Time spent with different generations is so valuable.

3-If your loved one is confined to the house, perhaps spend some time together on the porch or in a special area of your home where you can talk.

4-Flowers are always a great way to show your loved one you care for them, and while you are buying flowers for your spouse, perhaps buy some flowers for anyone who may need a small gift of encouragement and cheer.

5- A simple walk in your neighborhood is always fun, especially if you have grandchildren you can share this with too (and your grandchildren can pass out Valentines to your neighbors)

6-Watch old home videos with your loved one, and reminiscence about the life you have built together. Share some of your favorite memories together.

7-If you have grandchildren who live nearby, invite them over and have a Valentine’s craft day and baking day with them! (Plus, this gives Mom and Dad a good excuse to have a date during the day!)

8-Learn something new together! Go to a cooking class, pottery or art-related class, or do a shared experience together! You are never too old to learn something new and you are never too old to have a shared experience together!

Stay tuned for next week, where I will share the final portion of the Promise Manor Valentine’s Day Shoot with you all! I am so excited! Until then, will you please do me a favor and share this on Pinterest and Facebook with your friends and family? Perhaps there is someone in your life who will be encouraged and inspired by this post! My goal is to encourage, uplift and bring joy to your area of the interwebs! Thank you so much for reading! Have a wonderful day!

Meet Your Friendly Nashville Family Photographer

Dolly DeLong is a Nashville-based family & personal branding photographer, and also serves as a business systems educator to new creative entrepreneurs (which is a fancy way of saying, she enjoys teaching how to best lay a good foundation for automating your new business).  Dolly loves serving families, and business owners with her timeless, radiant photography.  She loves capturing the joy and emotion in both digital and film photos.

She also has a heart for serving the larger business community. Dolly shares her knowledge of tools like Pinterest, email marketing, automation processes, and time management with fellow creative business owners in an encouraging and supportive way through her T.A.S.K.* method (an example of this can be seen in her Pinterest Foundations Mini-Course), through helpful blog posts, and other resources. 

Dolly’s faith and love for her family motivate her to help other business owners find the joy and freedom she’s found in running a successful small business.

Whenever she has a spare moment, she enjoys watching TV (i.e. Survivor), eating way too many sweets, and listening to podcasts while running or walking. To work with Dolly DeLong Photography LLC, please email her at thedollydelong@gmail.com or fill out her contact form here.