Hi, we’re Tom (the Brit) and Melissa (the Yank). We’re on a journey to save our marriage. How will we do it? By meeting married couples in cities around the globe and asking them to share their secrets. It’s called The Long Haul Project.

We were inspired to create The Long Haul Project after a hectic three years of marriage which included a transatlantic move, multiple job changes, buying our first home and two deaths in the family. We’re documenting our adventures, and the stories of the couples we meet along the way, via film, photography, lomography, blogging, tweeting and Facebooking.

We are also the founders of Long Haul Films, a video production company dedicated to creating personal documentaries for discerning clients. For more information about our video production services, visit longhaulfilms.com or email info@longhaulfilms.com.

Our Love Story:

Once upon a time in a city called London there lived a handsome lad named Thomas Dowler. He loved to play his guitar, write screenplays and go to the pub.

At that very same time, also in London, lived a girl from America named Melissa. She loved going for runs, traveling and staying out too late drinking gin.

One night, Tom’s fairy godmother came to him and said: “I know a young lady from a far away land called America. She’s just your type and she’s going to be at this party tonight.

Why not come along and meet her?”

Tom thought it over. He was happy in his bachelorhood and didn’t think much of Americans as a general rule. But he didn’t have better plans, so he decided to come along and see what happened….

It all happened so quickly—love, marriage, moving. Animals adopted, relatives mourned. Bags packed and unpacked. Furniture picked out, walls painted. Jobs left and new ones started, and then all over again. How many decisions, big and small, in six years as a couple and three as husband and wife? Thousands, millions, billions?

Then one morning, Melissa and Tom woke up and looked at each other. They said: what’s next? For the first time, neither one had an answer. In fact, they only had more questions.

Questions about whether it was weird to be married and not want a baby. Questions about what to do instead of having a baby.

Questions about how married couples keep the passion going for years. Questions about how sustainable monogamy really is.

Questions about how they could know that all those thousands, millions, billions of decisions were the right ones.

Tom and Melissa had an existential crisis. They realized that these questions were pretty fundamental to the survival of their marriage. But they didn’t have the answers.

That’s when they realized that maybe others did. Perhaps other married couples could shed some light on their own experiences. Or at the very least, reassure Tom and Melissa that they had some of the same unanswered questions.

That’s when The Long Haul Project was born.

The idea is that Melissa and Tom will travel around as many places as possible, meeting and interviewing married couples, asking them about how their marriage works (or doesn’t) and how they define modern marriage.

Armed with a laptop, several lomo cameras and a camcorder, Tom and Melissa will be blogging, tweeting and filming all of their experiences.

The Long Haul Project is an ongoing exploration of marriage today, in all its facets and forms and in as many cities, towns, states and countries as possible. Until they find the answers, this is where you’ll find Melissa and Tom.