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

Leah and JP are getting married in Dallas next Spring. So you would think I’d be courting them to let me shoot their wedding, right? Not so much, as their wedding date is actually my baby’s due date! They have a great wedding photographer lined up, but I’m a bit bummed I won’t be spending more time with them after the great session we had.

They chose to start their session in a courtyard next to one of my favorite restaurants, Greenz Salad for Z’Adventorous (don’t mind the cheesy name). It was really hard for me resist suggesting we go get some pear salads when we were soooooo close. These two love to eat out and try new foods so there was probably a small chance they would have agreed.

JP actually wrote the following describing how they met for their wedding website. I thought it was sweet he took the time to record the events from his perspective.

The day two lost souls came back together. Was not quite the Cinderella tale you find in the book but was close. On a long labor-filled night of cleaning a close friends apartment, Larry Smith, Leah thought the daunting task of cleaning a bachelor’s apartment was NEVER going to end. When a tall handsome man from Leah’s past came walking in he quickly noticed Leah’s expert cleaning skills, not to be attempted by any amateur of not only cleaning but organizing a true bachelor’s pad. He had to have his own bachelor pad cleaned and perfected; offering a king’s ransom of $100. After hours of tedious work Leah soon realized she had meet one of her most changeling tasks of all time. Once finished with JP’s apartment he just had to have Leah over to share the enjoyment of the perfect apartment out in Addison Circle premier night of entertainment. The 3rd of July, Kaboom Town. After one night of pure flirtation, young puppy love the two where on there way to true love. That is still riding the most touching, heart riveting, and story filled times of their life!!

This is right next to the spot where JP proposed! They became all giddy and cute as soon as we got there.

They brought along the box the ring came in and let me play around with it as a prop a little bit. I adore props!

SOOC! I tell my clients that sometimes an image only works in black and white (sometimes they request a certain photo in color that I’ve only provided in b&w), and I think this before and after is a good illustration why.

Cute pose, but the photo just wasn’t jumping out to me.

I decided to try a black and white version and I loved the result! I think the two of them really pop out of the photo when the color is removed.

THAT SHOT!

My favorite because of those colors and the way the trees are framing them.

Leah and JP,

I’m so glad we got the chance to work together! Although I’m still bummed I won’t be with you on your big day in April, I think we’ll both have reasons to be celebrating during that time.

Best,

Jenna

Early in my brand new career as a photographer I had some people in my life who demonstrated great faith in me and my talents by booking sessions before I had very many examples to show them. They sent me deposits and told me how excited they were, and I prayed that I would be able to deliver the kind of product they were hoping for. Heather was one of those people who trusted me very early on, booking a Duet session for her parents to celebrate their loving and happy marriage .

Tim and Sarah have been married for 32 years and after spending just a few hours with them I wanted to run home and kiss my husband. These two love and appreciate each other so much!

This pose was Tim’s idea. I can tell he dotes on Sarah constantly and treats her like a queen.

THAT SHOT! It was a spontaneous kiss that didn’t give me time to line up the framing how I would have liked, but I love it anyway.

Has anyone seen the movie Places in the Heart with Sally Field? Some of the scenes in the movie were filmed right in this very spot!

It’s been awhile since I’ve included a SOOC shot with my post. I think it’s time to start that practice back up again.

This one, straight out of camera.

And the edited version, with a bit of cropping, sharpening, and bumps to contrast and levels. Isn’t this feed store terrific? I love all of the advertisements gracing the entrance.

A big thank you to Sarah and Tim for showing me around Waxahachie, especially for hauling that beautiful green couch out to the park for the photos. I think the effort was worth it.

Best,

Jenna

After finishing up with all of the wedding party portraits we headed over to The Summit for the reception. Everyone else took some time to relax and recuperate before the big party got started. I, on the other hand, dove right into photographing all of the lovely details Dayna had put so much though into.

My favorite detail? The cake. And it was delicious too (of course I had been working over 12 hours by the time I got a taste so even those shiny silver edible pearls would have done it for me I think).

Dayna’s fist pump as she made her way into the reception with her new husband made me laugh.

Not the typical favorite “first dance” shot, but I love Daniel’s hand placed gently on her back and the lovely backlighting.

Once the dance floor opened after dinner it never emptied. Dayna’s mom stayed out with the best of them.

Daniel and Dayna made a special request for a photo of Daniel’s dad out dancing, which wasn’t even that tough since he was out enjoying himself the whole night with everyone else!

If you’ve ever been to a Mexican wedding then you know all about the tequila shots.

Money dance time!

Little Dayna and her little mom. Both so sweet together.

Another staple at Mexican weddings? La Vibora de la Mar. The first time I saw this tradition enacted in real life I was mesmerized. The bride and groom form a bridge by standing on some chairs, the music begins, and the groomsmen join hands and run/dive through them and dance throughout the room. It was explained to me that the goal is to make the bride and groom break their connection with each other, which is why you can see Dayna’s mom holding her from behidn to keep her from getting knocked over in all the craziness! The longer the music plays, the faster the men dance.

Of course the new favorite bouquet toss song was used (All the Single Ladies by Beyonce, in case you haven’t been to a wedding lately) but handing out mini veils to all of the women was a new twist on things that I loved.

Daniel’s a pretty smooth guy. He knows how to treat his lady right just before he reaches up her dress in a front of a room full of people.

Looks like one of the guys got in on the single ladies fun as well?

I’m not sure if I can do this hilarious portion of the evening justice with this description but I’ll do my best. As soon as the garter was caught the bouquet toss catcher was called forward as well. This lovely lady stepped forward to admit that she had been the one to catch the bouquet.

All of the sudden a certain corner of the room erupts in laughter, realizing that, *ahem* the eldest woman in the bouquet toss would soon be dancing with the youngest guy who participated in the garter toss. The extremely obvious age difference was almost too much for these ladies to handle.

Though far from technically perfect, this shot is my favorite from the wedding day.

I love the tradition among photographers of getting a shot with the bride and groom at the end of the night. As a wedding photographer I spend time with two people in love on one of the most important days of their life and we establish a real connection (a good one I hope!). I want a visual record of those relationships to look back on in the future.

Daniel and Dayna, thank you so much for putting your faith and trust in me, giving me my FIRST SOLO WEDDING. What a huge step for me, and I’m so glad you let me hit that milestone at your wedding. I hope you love the finished product as much as I do. You were a pleasure to work with and I wish you the best as you embark on this newest adventure known as married life.

Best,

Jenna