GREG & KRYSTLE MILLER

Photos For Heroes at Stoy Family Farm | Boonsboro MD

They say the first year of marriage can be the hardest. Though I’m not quite sure who ‘They’ is, I can contest that the first year of marriage is usually a big adjustment for most couples. But some couples have more obstacles than others. Like 8000 miles worth of obstacles! Yep, you read that right, 8000 miles! Can you imagine being married and celebrating the greatest moment of your life and a month later, saying goodbye to that love for a whole year?? I can’t! But that is exactly the situation our next PHOTO’S FOR HEROES winners, Greg and Krystle Miller, found themselves in a little over a year ago. Their love story is just like a fairy-tale filled with fables of true bravery, a noble quest, perseverance and above all else, love!

8000 miles worth of obstacles!

I am so excited to introduce Greg and Krystle Miller! And let me tell y’all, these two are one of the most sweetest and humblest couples that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Even though it was a chilly February evening and they were both fighting colds, they were so enthusiastic and excited for our session, and brought so much energy and love despite the circumstances.

Greg and Krystle have been married for 1.5 years and together for 5. Krystle says “we fall in love with each other all over again every day.” It’s so easy to see how proud Krystle is of her husband, and how honored he is to have her as his Wife. Greg has been serving in the US Army for 7 years and just recently finished his first deployment, fulfilling a life-long goal of serving his country in a deployed environment…

“We fall in love with each other all over again every day.” – Krystle

Greg and Krystle met over social media. After connecting they realized they had many of the same friends and were actually hanging out in the same places, but somehow never met. Once they finally decided to meet up Krystle was an hour and half late to their first date, but Greg patiently waited for her. Despite having an amazing time together, their courtship was one of patience and persistence. Greg never gave up, working everyday to win Krystle’s heart. He called and texted her everyday, and would even bring her Chick-Fil-A at work every Saturday (the way to every girl’s heart). After months of patient devotion and love Krystle realized that Greg was someone special and knew she was going to marry him. Three and half years later they tied the knot!

But their newly wed bliss was cut short, because four months after getting married, Greg left for a one year deployment to Afghanistan. Krystle said “This was the hardest thing for us to go through. Not only were we trying to navigate being a married couple, but a married couple 8000 miles apart…” Greg and Krystle admit they faced many ups and downs during this deployment, but they came together every day to work through them and “create our way of loving each other”.

“… trying to navigate being a married couple, but a married couple 8000 miles apart.”

For Greg and Krystle, home is where the heart is, so owning their very own home was a big goal for them. During Greg’s deployment, having this goal in mind gave them an objective to achieve and focus towards, and something that made the deployment feel more like a stepping stone for their marriage as opposed to a forced separation. A month and a half after Greg returned from combat, they closed on their first home together.

For them, this new home symbolized a new chapter benchmarking the start of their life together.

Both Greg and Krystle are extremely family oriented and credit the success of their first year of marriage to their parents and Greg’s sister. Krystle says, “They were great support systems for me during Greg’s deployment.”

Greg and Krystle, it was an absolute pleasure and privilege to have met you and some of your amazing family. I am so honored to tell your story. Thank you Greg and Krystle for your service and the sacrifices that both of you make on a daily basis for the community and our country! Also, Krystle, I would like to recognize you and your service as a nurse for working on the frontlines during this pandemic. The last few weeks show us all just how quickly life can change, and I am truly thankful and grateful that I was able to capture these moments for you all before the world was turned upside down. Krystle and Greg, your selfless service through both of your professions is what makes you such an amazing couple, and again, I am truly honored to have spent this time with the two of you. Thank you from the bottom of my family’s heart.