Portraits Of Boston: Love At First Sight

“We are a love-at-first-sight couple. We were married six weeks after we first saw each other. It’s now been almost five years, and we have a baby on the way.”

“Do you think you can describe what love at first sight felt like?”

“I always tell a story of a propane explosion inside my sailboat. It’s spherical and round — the explosion. That’s the analogy I use to describe the moment I felt Elizabeth. It wasn’t so much a direct eye contact. It was more like a full body and soul explosion of excitement and fear and everything in an instant.”

“Fear that she might not feel the same way about you?”

“No. Fear of the unknown.”

“But you knew she was the one?”

“I did not know. I didn’t know anything for a change.”

“And I felt the same way about him. It was magical. I felt very drawn to him, but I didn’t know for what reason. Then we started talking.”

“The moment I knew it was our first conversation. Some things were fulfilled: physical attractions, style. We knew we were friends for a little bit. Then one day I invited her to the beach. I thought, ‘I don’t know what this is going to be, but we have a connection. I just don’t know what it is. Then we talked on the beach, and everything else was fulfilled, including the intellect. It was all there. Completely. And it wasn’t subjective to ideas. It took them all away. It took away everything I thought I knew. That was the exciting part: the fear and the beginning of a new life where I didn’t know there was one. Because I didn’t know life before meeting her. I was telling Elizabeth, ‘Oh, back then this, back then that.’ What a waste of time! Life is so fulfilled now. It’s about sharing. It’s only part of what you know until you have someone to share it with. And we know that very well. We are together — working together, living together, all the time. We hate being apart. We are very lucky. I wish everyone could have that.”

“It’s not easy all the time, but we go with our heart. We don’t go so much with our minds or with common sense. We go with what our heart tells us. It’s how we met. It’s why we met.”

“We work hard for it. We don’t live poshy lives. We both fish together for oysters and clams. Sometimes I have to go fishing for days, and I miss my wife. But there is really no easy way to do it. Love isn’t about convenience or the right time. Most people I know have a list of things in life. It’s career, freedom, experiences; then, partner, house, children and all that. We don’t really do that, even though we can. We are doing everything now and celebrating every moment.”

Portraits of Boston is a project of independent photographer Ivan Velinov. He is regularly sharing some of his favorite portraits with WBUR. Visit his website to see the hundreds of portraits he has taken on the streets of Boston.