Jenna Cole Photography-Chicago, IL » Lifestyle and Wedding Photographer

This weekend I’m headed to San Francisco (my last trip of the year, other than Christmas, and I’m so happy about it, as this pregnant body of mine is exhausted!) and I delayed the scheduling of my photo sessions so long I’m now finding out that people already have their schedules full, leaving me with a few openings! If you are in San Francisco Friday-Monday and would like to do a session with Jenna Cole please email me: jenna {at} jennacole.com.

I’d love to try to work something out!

And to jumpstart you to action I’ll leave you with a favorite from my session at the Texas State Fair last weekend…

I love portrait time. The wedding is about the marriage and I’m so excited for the couple to go through the ceremony, but for me the best part of the day is doing portraits. Watching a newlywed couple kiss and snuggle and giggle about what they just did and the life they have ahead of them is what gets me through (what can sometimes be a very long!) wedding day.

Dayna chose to do her wedding part portraits in the area next to the Camino Real hotel in downtown El Paso, a great spot with lots of variety!

Daniel and Dayna did not disappoint, they were darling together! And Dayna brought props! If I had more money I would invest it in props for all of my shoots, wedding or otherwise, because I love how adding an additional element almost always helps couples to loosen up in front of the camera.

After a few minutes spent exploring with the happy couple the entire wedding party joined us. For some reason the guys really liked it when I told them “Go sit in the background and do whatever you want for this photo, the focus will be on the girls.”

Notice all the guys but Daniel are looking right at me? It’s because he couldn’t take his eyes off the bride!

I love love love walking shots. Double bonus that everyones laughing and enjoying themself in this one.

That girl to the right of Dayna? That’s her sister. They’re super cute together.

I admit I was a little nervous when I saw Dayna and Daniel for the first time in person and realized the height difference they had. How would they get in non-awkward positions to kiss? Turns out the height worked in my favor as I think it’s super cute to have Dayna up on her tip-toes giving her new husband a smooch!

I’m always looking for movement in photos so I prompted Dayna to spin and walk toward me. I loved the results!

This though, is my favorite shot of the bunch. A beaming bride with bridesmaids really enjoying themselves in the background. Darling!

After a delicious dinner and a good night’s rest I made my way over to the salon to meet up with Dana while she got herself all prettified. I drooled all over her veil (figuratively) and whisked it away for some shots utilizing the gorgeous decor of the salon. I’m still not sure which thing I love more in this photo, the veil is to-die-for in a wedding-y way, but what I wouldn’t give to be blogging every day from the comfort of that gorgeous damask chair!

Taking pictures of dramatic and fresh eye makeup is my favorite part of the getting ready portion of the day.

Dayna is uber-crafty and the day was littered with personalized details such as these tank tops featuring her wedding date and the name of her bridesmaids.

Dayna and I drove home from the salon together and it was finally time for the best part of the day. The moment when a girl with pretty makeup and fabulous hair becomes a bride. Dayna’s hand reaching up through her mountain of a dress cracks me up every time I look at it.

This moment between moths and daughters was so touching. Blessings were given in Spanish, which meant I didn’t actually understand what was being said, but I felt the emotion in the room as it was happening. I consider myself lucky to be present for such moments.

Although it wasn’t all serious ooey-gooey stuff between these three. They’re super close and have a great time together.

My favorite shot of the bride that day.

Gift exchange!

And then it was finally time to head over to the chapel…

Not everyone looked quite ready for things to get underway though.

I love learning about and witnessing different cultural wedding traditions and the lasso used in this ceremony was particularly beautiful. It’s a tradition performed to show the love that will bind the couple together for the rest of their lives.

Did you know the first kiss in a Catholic ceremony occurs way before the recessional happens? Luckily I knew this so I was positioned to capture the big moment. Everyone in the room was beaming just like the priest you see behind them!

They made their way back down the aisle and the unavoidable receiving line began (maybe some couples like it, but I think most do it out of necessity). Future brides, would you like a quite tip? It might be a good idea to remove your veil if you are going to do a receiving line because hug after hug after hug will tug that thing right off your head!

Up next: The photographer’s favorite part of the day… the portraits!

I’m think both Dayna and I are equally excited to say that I’m done with all of her edits and ready to send off her disc. Because theirs was my first solo wedding I’ll be blogging in multiple parts because I just can’t bear to narrow things down any farther. Plus I would like to give each and every one of you who might be considering hiring me for your wedding in the future the chance to really see how I can capture your day. I hope you like what you see!

Daniel and Dayna flew me out to El Paso, TX for their spirited, beautiful wedding filled with lovely details and lots of smiles and laughter. I rode the tram up the mountain the day before the wedding and took the shot below. Isn’t El Paso gorgeous?

The details found at the rehearsal dinner had me excited to see the things Dayna had planned for the next day.

I was grateful for the chance to attend the rehearsal dinner and meet the happy couple in a low-stress situation with an air of nervous anticipation electrifying the air.

Their family welcomed me with open arms for the entire weekend (and fed me a delicious dinner that night!) and I enjoyed my time spent joking & laughing with them, and of course, taking a few (hundred) pictures in between.

Pt. II filled with Dayna getting prettified and a beautiful ceremony.

This past weekend I managed to squeeze in three different unique sessions, entirely different than what I’m able to experience on a weekly basis in Dallas. I loved it!

The first was at the base of the Brooklyn bridge on the Brooklyn side.

It was rainy and cold but we made it work.

I met Barbara Streisand on Saturday night.

Or I guess I met someone who looks a lot like her at a wonderful bridal shower at The Bubble Lounge.

And I ended my trip with a gorgeous engagement session at Central Park.

I’m excited to share the rest with all of you. What a lucky girl I am to shoot in NYC!