Imagine spotting a potential boo in church looking all delicious, but you don’t know what to say, so you don’t approach him. You do, however, get his e-mail address from a mutual friend; and then you ask your crush—wait for it—if he has any nursing textbooks. While your game may be nonexistent, you did shoot your shot. “He made me look like a stalker,” Anyeka Frith says of her now husband, Joshua Frith, whom she e-mailed over and over again about random textbooks, hoping to get his attention. Though neither she nor Joshua was in college at the time, Anyeka had indeed studied nursing. However, Joshua had been an engineering major, so books about patient care weren’t on his bookshelf. Eventually, he put two and two together, realized she was into him and asked her out. Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” was the soundtrack to a captivating first date at Coney Island.
The couple has now been married for eight years and has a daughter, Tori, 4. They also make up the international wedding photo duo known as Joshua Dwain Photography. If you follow @Joshua_Dwain on Instagram, you know that they don’t just take pictures. They beautifully chronicle love stories, from engagement shoots to the big day and through maternity. As well as working stateside, the Friths have covered nuptials in Greece, Cuba, and many other countries. Their company recently celebrated ten years, a blessing given their untraditional path to entrepreneurship.
“I’m confident enough in my ability to know that I’d be successful without her—but I don’t know how good I’d be without her. Anyeka is literally the secret sauce.”
—Joshua Frith
Joshua, a former business analyst, grew up as a creative kid in Brooklyn. “I knew that I enjoyed storytelling, but it wasn’t until 2008, when a friend hit me up to shoot her wedding, that I knew I wanted to document love,” he says.
His Jamaica-born wife’s entry into the business was vastly different. With Joshua traveling so much for work, Anyeka decided to tag along so they could spend time together. Hanging out at shoots quickly morphed into assisting and being an integral part of the process.
“Josh has been patient and willing to teach me what I needed to learn,” says Anyeka. And her aesthetic matched his creative vision seamlessly. “I lean heavily on her expertise, knowledge and sense of style,” Joshua says. “I’m confident enough in my ability to know that I’d be successful without her—but I don’t know how good I’d be without her. Anyeka is literally the secret sauce.”
This article originally appeared in the December issue of ESSENCE.