I loved this shoot!!  Melanie and Bikila met while studying together at Harvard University.  Their friendship and eventual love developed while living in Cambridge’s Harvard Square, and Melanie wanted to document their love story by photographing the places that are important to the couple.

Although a Nor’easter was expected, we received the gift of a beautiful, but COLD, New England autumn day and spent the afternoon touring Harvard Yard and the square.  So many thanks to the wonderful couple for allowing me to take a peek into their happy life together.

Melanie & Bikila: The Anatomy of a Love Story

M&B had many of their classes together at William James Hall on the Harvard campus.  Though they don’t like remembering all the work they had to do while in this building, it still holds a special place in their hearts.

We took a stroll through Harvard Yard, where the trees were in perfect autumn form and the picturesque  old buildings also provided a great backdrop

After the Yard, we walked into Harvard Square and had to make a quick stop at the T station

Our next stop was the Harvard Coop bookstore, a very special place for the couple as it is the first place that they said “I love you.”  Since that is such an intimate memory, I used my longer lens and shot from across the store to give them some privacy

Off to the Redline bar, where Melanie and Bikila shared their first kiss

We spent some time on the patio of Au Bon Pain, a place where they spent many nights over coffee, talking well into the night and getting to know each other

Finally, after some more strolling, our last stop was the Harvard Bookstore, the spot where they used to meet when each came from their respective apartments

I really can’t gush enough about how much I enjoyed these two and I am so excited to have brought their love story to life.  This is a hard year for Melanie and Bikila as he is in law school in Philadelphia while Melanie remained at Harvard to finish her PhD.  I hope these photos will be a small way for them to feel closer together.