Elizabeth & Justin's wedding day started out pretty similar to today- gray and overcast.  It quickly devolved into a bunch of rain with out sun in sight according to the forecast.  After stalking WAND, I knew we would end up having a decent window to do all of their photography later in the day so I truly wasn't worried- even if that meant gray and overcast- I knew it would be beautiful.  What I wasn't expecting was the gorgeous light we ended up finding every so often throughout the day, especially the last 20 minutes I was with them!  Swoon!

I've known Elizabeth & Justin for over five years each now and have photographed the boys since they were babies.  Their wedding was such a beautiful one as they joined the boys together and created a gorgeous family.  Their families are some of the nicest I've ever had the pleasure of working with, and I look forward to many sessions in the future with the now Mr.

This is something that has weighed on my mind for sometime now.  I want to help.  Bare with me.  I get quite wordy (but you know this by now, RIGHT?)

Since I can remember, I've never considered myself a creative.  I would watch friends draw, paint, sculpt etc.  I rode horses.  There's not too much you can do creatively besides getting creative at cleaning stalls as fast as possible.

Now I've found what I can consider a creative gift.  I create art through the lens of my camera; it's my craft.  I visualize a set, incorporate the subjects (you all), and picture how this would look in an album, on a canvas, in a frame. In your homes.  Well loved now and for years to come.

So now I need your help because now is the time to give back.  Over the years I've searched and nothing panned out long term. 

Ten years.  The Mr. & I celebrate 10 years today.  I've honestly been thinking about this blog post for months.  Trying to piece together a few thoughts, but for once, I'm a tad speechless. For a good seven of those years I've been photographing weddings.  With every wedding, there have been reminders of why we've persevered, why we've fought to have what we have.  Pastors, ministers, JOPs, and priests have all shared lessons on life and love.  How to love, how to forgive, how to grow, how to pray, how to prioritize each other, how to sacrifice, how to communicate.  You'd think I'd be a pro at this marriage thing with all the weddings I've attended. Nope!  We've had to work on it day in and day out.  There have been many times we've loved when we didn't want to.  Forgiven when it wasn't easy.  Did the exact opposite of what we really wanted to do in the name of the other. 

Pregnancy is amazing.  What our bodies do to grow tiny humans is incredible.  But.  SO many aspects of pregnancy are less than comfortable.  In fact- with my second, I'd say that the discomfort started well before my first trimester ended.  I think Ella started out as sciatica, and my SPD flared up shortly after.

Somehow. it never occurred to me to get a prenatal massage.  For me, pregnancy tended to be super stressful.  With Gemma, we had personal issues, financial, housing, you name it, we had it.  Typical of Jen & Dan, we managed to get through them.  When Ella came along- I found out I was pregnant with her THE DAY AFTER I OPENED THE STUDIO.  So just after dropped five digits on a reno and building up HGP, up pops Ella.

Anyways, I love massage.  So how it never came up, I have no idea. 

Calling all March & April babies!

My calendar opened up a bit unexpectedly, so I'm running a little special.  It expires at the end of February- so you do have to act now.  Since it's adding a nice little perk- I'm only taking FOUR babies for each month since I have a few other sessions already scheduled as well.  Obviously- that means only eight spots- and when they're gone- they're gone (much like the newborn phase)!  I'll be giving YOU a complimentary mini newborn lifestyle session with the purchase of every newborn session that takes place in March & April.

MINI LIFESTYLE NEWBORN SESSIONS!

I'm launching my lifestyle newborn brand this spring/summer and to kick it off, I'll be visiting all of my March & April babies for an in-home lifestyle session (if you'd like, of course) after the studio session (not the same day).