wedding pictures of Barack and Michelle Obama

The Love Story
In 1989, Michelle Robinson was working at a law firm as an advisor to a summer associate from Harvard Law; his name was Barack Obama. Though he didn’t love the corporate law world, he soon found himself falling for Michelle. After their first date, “We clicked right away...by the end of the date it was over...I was sold,” Michelle has said.

The Nuptials
After dating for three years, Michelle and Barack tied the knot on October 3, 1992. Of their vows, Michelle has said, “Barack didn’t pledge riches, only a life that would be interesting. On that promise he delivered.”

The Dress
A lifelong fashion lover, Michelle Obama was stunning in a fashion-forward wedding gown on her big day. For her nuptials, she wore an off-the-shoulder pure white duchess satin gown with a sweetheart neckline. The dress also featured floral appliques, and she accessorized with a princess-length veil and full-length gloves

Barack Obama pictures as The people man

The historic 2008 election inspired thousands of people around the world to post their Obama-themed photography and art on the image-sharing site Flickr. Here is the best of the 100,000 images TIME examined.

Artist: Anne Savage 
Made of faces from Obama rallies, Savage calls this mosaic Out of Many, We are One. It is pieced together from the faces of 5,700 people who attended the rallies she covered.

Photographer: Erica J. Baker
This mural was spotted in Bushwick, Brooklyn. 

Artist: Marco Pece 
The Italian artist produces artworks made from Lego.

Artist: Cassidy 
Photographer: Shari B. Ellis 
The children of campaign volunteers at this Obama office in Los Angeles made drawings to decorate the walls.

Photographer: Ben Kimball 
This photo was taken on the day before the general election. Photographer Kimball says he wanted "to distill exactly what I was feeling before the election.

Artist: Michael Murphy 
Artist Murphy crafted this sculpture from 1000 feet of high tension wire.

Photographer: Melvin Heng
The photographer made this shot in London's underground. 

Photographer: Jenny Murray
In October, 32-year-old Murray trudged into the muddy banks of the Huron River to take this shot of a graffitied railroad bridge near Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Photographer: Sheri Heller
The photographer spotted this poster in the Barrio Libre in Old Tucson, Arizona. 

Barack Obama on Flickr

Artist: Rafael Lopez
Photographer: Adam Snow
The artist painted this poster, entitled Nuestra Voz ("Our Voice") in the hope that it would inspire fellow Latinos.

Photographer: Rob Greenleaf
A pair of custom Keds featuring the President-elect was made by Stencil Crew. 

Artist: David Choe 
Photographer: Mark Vancleave 
This poster, by Brooklyn artist Choe, was spotted on a wall behind a building in Downtown Minneapolis' Warehouse District.

Photographer: Vince Briggeman 
The "Captains" of the Bamabus, above, drove this 1986 Volkswagen across America in the final 31 days of the election. 

Artist: Charis Tsevis 
The artist has titled this mosaic, constructed of state flags, Barack Obama: An American Portrait. 

Photographer: Travis Petershagen 
This photo was taken on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, when Obama spoke at Denver's Invesco Field.

Photographer: Benson Hendrix 
A resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico, erected this decoration on Halloween.

Photographer: Jackie Hadley 
The photographer writes, "The picture is a self portrait. It was taken on November 5. This was the first election I was ever able to vote in and I was so proud and excited to see President Elect Obama win the election I wanted to capture my exact feelings. The sun rays through my fingers represents the ray of hope Barack Obama brings to me, my family, The United States of America and the world."

Obama pics: The College Years

A 1980 photo shoot reveals a playful side of the President-elect 

 

Chance Encounter
In 1980, when Obama was a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he was approached by an aspiring photographer named Lisa Jack, who asked him if he would be willing to pose for some black and white photographs that she could use in her portfolio.

Handsome
Of her first meeting (in a campus eatery) with Obama, Jack remembers only that "He was really cute. But what else does a 20-year-old girl remember?

Styled
In the photos, Jack says, "You can see he is just posing, initially, but as the shoot goes on, he starts to come out. He was very charismatic even then."

Prop
Jack never realized her dream of becoming a photographer and is now a psychologist.

Pose
Jack and Obama would see each other only a few more times while students. But in 2005, while on a tour, she spotted Obama on Capitol Hill and yelled hello. "He knew exactly who I was after all this time," Jack says. "I was amazed."

Doubt
On a dare from a skeptical friend, Jack decided to track down her negatives from the shoot.

Searcher 
Initially, before she dug the film out from her basement, Jack never thought her pictures would have much life beyond her own darkroom.

Smile
When she found them, the images of Obama "blew me away," she says. "I had no idea I'd taken a whole roll of film."

Charm
For a while, Jack put the negatives in a safety-deposit box, so that they could not be used until after the election, when there would be no chance they could be used for a political purpose.

Thoughtful
Today, Jack says, she hopes the photos reveal a "spirit of fun and thoughtfulness."

The Man Who Would Be President
"I'm not political," Jack says, "(But) these are historic photos and they should be shared."