Theres’s a moment in every relationship where the tides just turn. It’s the point where your story goes from here and now, to every beautiful possibility before you, and suddenly there’s no turning back. For some, it comes in the form of a sweepingly romantic gesture, or else a quiet moment of clarity — in the case of Kyril & Bri, it involved a beautiful day at the beach and a slight wardrobe malfunction…
A word from photographer Emily Michelson:
“Shooting these two was a dream, they are so confident and in love. El Matador was the perfect backdrop for the occasion as this was the location of their first date. I wanted to show all of the textures and lighting this beach had to offer as well as staying true to their relationship.”
Love notes from the couple, Kyril & Bri:
How did you two meet? What were your first impressions of one another?
Bri: “Kyril and I first met in Sao Paulo Brazil while we were both serving LDS missions. At the time neither of us even thought about dating each other. Kyril was giving a presentation to me and a large group of other missionaries and I thought his presentation was entertaining but found him to be a little dorky. Kyril thought I was too cool for him.”
Tell us a funny story relating to your relationship!
Bri: “One of our funniest early moments actually happened in El Matador when I was taking engagement photos for our friends. It was the perfect cloudy Sunday morning and we had the whole beach to ourselves. We had planned to go to church after so Kyril was in his Sunday best. I couldn’t help but occasionally take a photo of him looking so dapper. I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt (my classic shooting attire) and I by the end of the shoot I had completely soaked my jeans from the waves. I brought a skirt to change into, but I didn’t realize we would only have time to change on the beach. I put the skirt over my jeans and it was at this point that I realized it was going to be very difficult to remove my wet jeans.
I asked Kyril to help me and before I knew it he was at my ankles pulling my wet jeans off. Little did we know our friends were off in the distance taking photos of Kyril in a questionable situation. 1 year later, our friend Jimmy wrote in our wedding sign-in book, ‘I always knew you two were going to get married the moment Kyril took your pants off at the beach.’ We then drove to church with my pants out the window drying in the wind. It was the perfect ending to our first of many trips to Malibu together.”
What is your favorite thing about each other?
Bri: “The things we love about each other are the same things that relate with our hurdle.
I love how reliable and hardworking Kyril is. I love the peace and assurance he gives me daily. I love how makes me feel like I can conquer the world and helps me believe in myself.”
Kyril: “I love how creative she is, how fun and adventurous she is, always wanting to travel — Bri going to keep me young… all the way until we die. She’s very kind, able to make friends with everybody which I like because I don’t like to talk as much.”
Describe a hurdle you had to overcome in your relationship.
Bri: “One of the most difficult parts of our relationship has been our plans for the future and trying to blend our passions and aspirations. Kyril and I are currently on the path to getting him into Med school. I am a traveler at heart and would love nothing more than to see the world and take photos everywhere. Sometimes these two dreams struggle together because when I want to go on an adventure with Kyril he usually has to study for a test and a lot of the funding required for traveling needs to be saved for our years ahead of schooling. It’s a challenge for sure and a hurdle we are still overcoming but it has taught us how to love and support each other in each of our aspirations.”
What is the most honest thing you can say about love?
“The best things in life require hard work. True love, while is the most natural and comfortable thing, takes a large about of work and sacrifice. Love is hard, but hard is good.”
photographer: Emily Michelson/ film lab: Photo Vision Prints
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