February 14, 2018
Tess & Caleb
We literally did a happy dance when this beauty and her man said a huge “YES!” and leaped at being apart of our Love Salt Light Feature Couples. We have admired them and their gorgeous little fam for their authenticity, honesty, creativity and passion for life through the Instagram lens, but it’s been the biggest cherry on top to chat with these two and see the genuine sweetness oozing out of them ‘behind the scenes.’ You’re in for a treat!
ABOUT US
Simply put, since the first day we met (nine years ago) we both knew adventure would be a central theme of this love train. Mutually tenacious about living life in colour we have found ourselves being led by the wild and it suits us both just fine. Our choices of work/career and lifestyle have been reckless and all in the name of creativity and passion. We both had an early revelation that “we get to choose”—that life is like a “choose your own adventure” book and the Creator of our universe has a plan that by all means is even more exciting then the dreams of our own… So that combined with our crazy ideas of life—a recipe for a life full of colour and adventure.
Caleb is a Stuntman and does cabinetry on the side and Tess is a full time Mumma / Artist / Dabbling poet who just quit her career as a full time graphic designer to be challenged in new and other creative mediums and focus on motherhood. We have a four-year-old bundle of imagination who replies “hello” to the name of Peaches Wilde, and crazily we are expecting to add a double hit of femme to this already girly tribe as we await the arrival of identical twin girls. Mix our love for God, travel, family, tribe, hospitality, people, and adventure—throw it all together like a cocktail in a little rainbow shack by the sea (our soil, our foundation) and there you have it, our humble little life. We could never call life boring.
1. TELL US YOUR SIMPLE LOVE STORY
CG & TG: We first met when Caleb was 15 and I (Tess) was 18. An 18 year old woman-to-be certainly doesn’t have a 15 year old boy on her radar. We met on a church leadership retreat and it wasn’t until Caleb was 21 that he decided to pursue me—he did it so tenaciously and with a kind confidence that yelled “I’m not looking back” —I couldn’t help but fall for him and his gentleman like romance even though I had only ever seen him as a brother the years previous. We fell for each other pretty quickly from the moment he decided to chase me down and before we knew it we walking down the isle. I can’t help but look back at our love story and smile, it was and is a story of wild wild love and somehow by the grace of God we have kept this as the culture of our relationship after eight years of being married. We love—LOVE!
2. DESCRIBE ONE WAY YOU EACH INTENTIONALLY GROW YOUR LOVE?
CG: Being aware of Tess’ needs and making sure her love tank is full. Words and romance are important to her, so making intentional decisions to daily meet her needs keeps our marriage fresh, strong and interesting. I also think making intentional choices to do things that enrich marriage even if you think things are going really well eg: Marriage courses, dates, holidays together etc.
TG: I’m a big believer that romance isn’t something that magically falls upon some and flies over others—it’s a chosen choice. So in this underlining belief I like to keep things fresh with weekly gestures of love for Caleb eg: Love notes, simple and selfless acts of love whether it be having all the good kinda vibes sparking in our home upon Caleb’s arrival after work—candles, music and dinner etc or just being awake and aware of his needs as a man, friend and lover. Words are also powerful in our marriage, we both thrive under encouragement like most humans do, but this for us is key. COMMUNICATION IS KEY!! Speaking words of life to each other and about each other when we are apart has been a central foundation of keeping love and respect alive in our marriage. We also set aside one night a week which we call “date night”—It belongs to us alone and this allows us to make weekly solid time to chill together or go out somewhere to connect. I think choosing to be on each others team is also something that really enriches our marriage, assuming the best and always having the other as no.1.
3. SHARE YOUR MOST RECENT, OR FAVOURITE GO-TO DATE
CG: My all time favourite date to take Tess on is—Pancakes cooked in an open field. I did this for her before we were married and she often reminisces on it. I’ll pull this little date out as a surprise here and there because I knows how much Tess likes it. I think the most simple/thoughtful of dates are the best!
TP: To take Caleb on his perfect kind of date I would usually plan for an afternoon beach swim, dinner out (steak and whisky), maybe a movie and of course—Some sweet loving. He’s pretty easily pleased. Food and sex haha
4. HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN BALANCE BETWEEN BEING A HUSBAND/WIFE NOW THAT YOU’RE PARENTS?
How fitting! This question comes a day after we have arrived home from our babymoon (11 days in New York City kid free)— It was romantic bliss to say the least. This trip is a very extravagant example and by no means do we do this kind of thing often, but we do it in other and more simple forms. We make time together priority. We absolutely love being a family and love raising our 4 year old daughter and love experiencing life at it’s fullest with her by our side (we are better together!), but—we also know how important it is to make time for “just us”. If we aren’t ok, our family isn’t ok and our household doesn’t run at it’s optimum levels of Love.
We find that regular weekend trips together (we are blessed with incredible parents that will often have our daughter because they support our marriage and the importance of time together), date night, putting each other first, and allowing each other to still pursue our personal hobbies and passions really helps the balance in our home, marriage and family. Caleb is incredible at releasing me to do the things I loved doing before motherhood and in turn I feel such importance around releasing Caleb to pursue his passions. This keeps us both growing, refreshed, inspired and in turn we are better parents and lovers and our family dynamics are at there best! We haven’t got it all right but we certainly give it a good shot.
5. SHARE YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE TO KEEP A MARRIAGE THRIVING
CG: Keeping God in the center of our relationship, chivalry, keeping it fresh, speaking praise to and about each other even when we are apart, patience & selflessness, keeping our hearts/eyes/minds for each other.
TG: I think having a “not looking back” attitude keeps us committed to each. I have no plan B, I made a promise to Caleb 8 years ago and I take my promises seriously. Even in the not so romantic moments of our relationship I choose love. Love is selfless and a choice. My relationship and family is one of the most important parts of my life and I will fight to keep them healthy and thriving till the day I die, it’s my promise to Caleb.
MD & LD: We hope you were just as blessed and encouraged by reading Tess and Caleb’s story as we were! Everything they wrote just resounded so deeply with us and it is SO SO inspiring to know there are other everyday couples out there with the same dream, to see their marriage stand the test of time and be the best and most beautiful thing it can be!
If you want to see more from this lovely lady, check out Tess’ website https://www.tessguinery.co/ and get your hands on one of her stunning rainbow prints and prose and check out her Instagram for daily pearls of wisdom @tessguinery.
It’s been the biggest pleasure having them on here chatting to us, what a dream!
x