Elvis & Katie {preview}

I don't usually do sneak peeks, but in this case I think it is a must - for several reasons. First of all, I'm dying to post about this wedding, but I'm not quite ready to do a full post, AND because when I went through the pictures and tagged the ones I wanted to blog, I ended up with 105. Not even kidding. This wedding was seriously so incredible. But - you don't get to hear about it's incredibleness yet. You just get to see a liiiittle glimpse of it ;)

Let's just say this wedding included the sweetest first look, a vintage car, a groom with a really cool accent, the most adorably in love couple I have ever seen, and an ice-cream truck - amongst other things...

(and yes, I do realize that there are 7 photos in this post, call it an extended sneak peek ;)

And I'm off for a busy weekend! I'm second shooting two weddings this weekend, and then next week I have a fun little surprise I can't wait to share with you ;)

Happy Friday y'all!

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

jessica@jessicashae.com || 512.590.2573 || jessicashae.com

I am not a photographer {personal}

No, let me explain what I mean by that - before all my clients get very worried that they've hired a fraud. Photography is my main trade right now. It's what I do to earn money, and it's one of my favorite things to do. I am invigorated by it, I love the way it stirs my creativity, and the fact that there is always something new to learn about it, some new discovery to make. I would be happy if it were something that I got to do on a regular basis for the rest of my life, but I don't know for a fact that that's how it will pan out.

And photography is not, and cannot be the only thing that defines me, and who I am as a person.

A friend sent me this quote a while back, and it has stuck with me ever since:

"A human should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." --Robert Heinlein

I don't want to be just a photographer. I want to be an artist in the full sense of the word. I want to take a painting class, and a calligraphy class. I want to learn to see and create beauty with more than just my camera. But even outside the realm of being an artist, I want to be continually working on being a better daughter, sister, friend, cook, organizer, teacher, learner, listener, reader, and speaker. And guess what? Most of those things cannot be learned while sitting in front of a computer screen, which is where I find myself most of the time these days. Yes, I have an obligation to my paying clients to do my work in a timely manner, so there are some days when I will need to shut myself up and plow through my work. But I never want my calendar to be so full of "photography" work, that I don't have time for all of my "other" work - some of which is so much more important.

I want to make time to cook more meals, give more hugs, go on more bike rides, read more books, tuck little siblings into bed and kiss them goodnight, watch a movie, have real conversations with real friends, keep up with journaling . . . and the list could go on and on.

And let me be very very honest here, I'm terrible at it. I know this, and I want to change it. I don't want to look back and see that I spent two years of my life building a business in a way that left me with nothing but just that - a business.

I made dinner the other night, because I hadn't really cooked in forever, and was dying too.

You just can't beat homemade pretzels (with cheese and jalapenos on them!) fresh corn on the cob, and grilled chicken salad.

Best Summer meal eveeerrrr.

We've all heard it said a million times, but I think it's worth saying again: No one ever comes to the end of their life and wishes they had spent more time in the office.

I have another friend that posted this as his status the other day and boy did it strike home: "Priorities are what we *do* -- everything else is just talk." I don't want this to just be "talk" that I post on my blog, and then never do anything about, keep me accountable my friends!

So, I guess I should say - I am not (just) a photographer. And I hope I never am :) Now I'm off to "butcher a hog..."

I kid I KID.

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

Bill & Beth: wedding {west chester, pa}

Getting to shoot Bill and Beth's wedding came about through a rather random a different set of circumstances. Beth is a dear friend of Kristen's and for years their plan has been for Kristen to shoot her wedding. Buuut, when the time came and Beth got engaged, planned her wedding, and called up Kristen to see if she could shoot it, Kristen was already booked. So Kristen being the crazy wonder woman lady that she is, said that since her other wedding that day was at night and Beth's was early in the day, she would come, start shooting the getting ready stuff, etc. and then find someone else to finish the wedding out when she had to leave to go to her other wedding.

I was super happy to when Kristen called and asked if I could come shoot for her, although quiiiite a bit nervous to have to try and fill little miss "I'm Kristen's" shoes, because come one, we all know her feet are HUGE. Ummm, yeah...laaaame joke. But you get the idea.

And Oh my was I in for a treat - Bill and Beth were just about the cutest thing I've seen since --oh goodness, I don't know when the last time I saw something as cute as them was. They were just adorable, lets leave it at that. They were so welcoming and gracious to me, a complete stranger to them until the night before their wedding, but treated me just like a good friend the whole day!

And let me tell you about their day. Despite the fact that two days before their wedding a huge wind/thunder/rain storm had torn through their town leaving everyone without power and with huge trees down across roads and powerlines everywhere, they were still happily moving ahead with the wedding as planned. No power in the church? Not a problem, open the windows, bring some fans for the guests, and it would be just great. No stress, no drama, everyone was just happy that Bill and Beth were getting married, and they certainly weren't going to let a little storm mess up any plans ;)

And then Saturday morning they found out that because of the storm and the power going out the alarms were going off at the church and no one could get them to go off. ::pause:: No big deal - we'll just have the wedding here in the backyard where the reception was going to be! And just like that Beth's mom started making phone calls, all the while smiling and laughing about how crazy this was, but wasn't it great that it was working out so nicely?!

I just loved getting to watch it all. Good grief--they had just had to move the location of the wedding 3 hours before it was supposed to start and they now had to notify about 200 guests of the change and never once did I see someone stressed out.

Beth came back from having her hair done and when her mom told her what they had decided to do she just smiled and said "sounds good to me!" She didn't care . . . today was the day that she got to marry the man that she loved more than anyone else, why would she care if it happened underneath the cover of a church roof, or a big white tent?

Her day was full of simple elegance. . .not alot of fuss, just alot of natural beauty and gorgeous little accents.

Her dress was a simple long dress from J. Crew, that looked absolutely stunning on her, her shoes were just her favorite pair of floral flats . . . how fun is that?!

One of my favorite shots of the day - is she not just the most stunning thing?!

These girls were all so sweet, and so much fun to work with. Lots of laughter and smiles!

I am of the opinion that every girl should get to look and feel like a princess on her wedding day. I'm pretty sure she nailed it, better than anything Disney could have ever come up with. ;)

And my favorite shot of her that day.

Look at these studly guys - if I have one complaint about them it's that they wouldn't stop laughing and cracking jokes the whole time I was taking pictures, which actually isn't a bad thing, so just kidding about the complaints ;)

I love it when couples are from big(ger) families and include their siblings as a part of their day. Pretty beautiful/handsome little group, yes?

oh oh oh. I just love this little sequence. She was like little girl ecstatically clinging to her daddy's arm and grinning happily at the man waiting for her at the end of the aisle, and the look on his face when he saw her - priceless.

I have to admit I have never seen a couple act so cute during the ceremony. The whole time, I don't think they ever thought about the other people around. They would look at each other and grin, and then laugh. He would whisper something in her ear or make a funny face at her, and she would giggle, I'm telling you, they were just the cutest things ;)

They rarely ever actually closed their eyes during the prayers. It was so cute to watch them, Bill would peek open his eyes and look at Beth, only to realize she was already looking at him. Their eyes would meet, they would grin, and then quickly close their eyes again.

It was so easy taking pictures of them, because they were so easy with each other. They laughed SO much. And I'm a huge fan of laughter . . . so we definitely had fun!

Bill just adored her, that much was evident in every interaction with her. He liked to make her laugh, and then he would laugh with her.

And Beth quite obviously thinks he's the funniest person in the world . . .

They came (practically) skipping into the reception when they were announced, like two little kids who had so much joy bottled up inside they just couldn't contain it.

This adorable little flower girl became my new best friend that day and followed me around everywhere during the reception, and we had quite a bit of fun together ;)

The two men she loves most, this is probably my favorite part of any reception, Daddy/Daughter dance, and First dance as a couple.

And I end with a picture of Bill and Beth that seems very typical of them, and their relationship ;)

Bill and Beth, your wedding day was everything a wedding day should be. Happiness and beauty everywhere, free of stress and full of love. Wishing you a lifetime more of all of that, while making each other laugh. Thank you so much for making me a part of your day!

And a huge thank you to Kristen for giving the opportunity to shoot this wedding, and Courtney for second shooting with me all day!

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

I'd love to hear from you!

{ jessica@jessicashae.com || 512.590.2573 || jessicashae.com }

[ promise reminder ]

Dusk is my absolute favorite time of day.

I love the way the light turns this golden yellow color and dances across the grass and makes you feel like you are basking in the warmth of a great big dandelion. I love watching the light fade from golden yellow to the colors of cotton candy, light blue, pink and lavender. It never ceases to amaze me, and during the Summer, almost every night I find an excuse to be out in it - to watch all the magic happening around me.

And I never never get tired of it. How could I, with an infinitely creative God designing each one every night? These pictures are from one of my favorite sunsets of the Summer so far, (taken with my cell phone) because it seemed like a special sunset - designed just for me, by a Creator who knew just what was going on in my heart.

Something I've been focusing on alot lately is trusting God, not only because He commands me too, but because I really want to learn to believe He is worthy of my trust. It may seem simple, and cliche, but it's alot harder than it sounds . . . for me at least. And so because of that, I have been thinking alot about His promises, and how He has fulfilled or is in the process of fulfilling every promise that He has ever made to me.

So when I saw this rainbow in the sky while swinging on the swings at the park the other night with my little siblings. . .I felt like God had put it there just for me.

The same summer sky - in 3 different directions. Isn't it just gorgeously amazing!?

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

Denver Portraits: Ayon Kids

I call them my Colorado family.

I've always loved the Ayons, (pronounced I-own, like "I own you" ;) Krista has been one of my best friends since I was 17, and after visiting them 5 times over the course of the last 9 months (usually for about two weeks at a time) they definitely became more than just good friends, they became family.

So getting to take individual pictures of all the kids while I was there last time to update Mrs. Ayon's wall of pictures in her living room was obviously so much fun. Who wouldn't want to take pictures of gorgeous/handsome people with great smiles?! We ended up taking the pictures over several different days because everyone's schedule was different and we couldn't get everyone together at the same time, which meant that I wasn't able to get any group shots. But that was fine because all they really wanted were individual pictures of everyone to frame.

Desiree

She laughs alot (but then again, everyone in the Ayon Family laughs alot! ;) sings beautifully, has blonde moments just like me and Krista, and can quote You've Got Mail and every other important chic flic that you should have memorized right along with the best of us. I like her alot ;) She is married to a youth pastor and lives in Oklahoma (doesn't she look like the most adorable little youth pastors wife?!) and I was so glad that it worked out for us to both be visiting Denver at the same time last month.

They can work it as good or better than any models I've seen! Look at the fierceness ;)

Stephen

Stephen and I were a part of the same graduating class in '07 (Woot Woot!) and have been good friends for years. He puts up with mine and Krista's non-stop laughter when we are together, he valiantly ate burnt pancakes back in the day when Krista and I decided to try our hand at cooking. (I can cook people . . . my defense still remains that I was working with faulty pots and pans ;) And every time you hear his laugh you want to laugh too, even if you don't know what you're laughing about. He's a pretty awesome dude.

Krista.

My dear darling best of friends, laughing buddy, chic flic quoting, gorgeous, matter of fact, hilarious friend. I have so many good memories/inside jokes/and embarrassing moments with this girl. It seems that every time I'm with her something crazy happens. She is almost 4 years younger than me but that has never hindered us being the best of friends and having the greatest times together. (In fact, I think I like it because it gives me an excuse to pretend I'm in Highschool all over again;) I can't believe that she's all grown up now and headed to college this fall...now who will I come visit in Colorado?!

Eric

So one time I visited them, and he was just a little 12 year old boy....I come back 2 months later and he's grown a foot, gotten braces, and all of a sudden doesn't look so much like a little boy anymore! How on earth did that happen? Eric is fun, because he lets me treat him like one of my little brothers. I tease him, and he teases right back. He also happens to be a pretty good lookin' dude, a heartbreaker in the making ;)

Janelle

Better know as Nellie (unless of course she's in trouble) and this little girl is just about the cutest thing you will ever see. I know I say alot of my clients are cute, and they are! But honestly....she tops them all. 3 going on 25 she has me (and everyone else pretty much!) wrapped around her finger. She knows how to get what she wants, (like the time Krista told her that if she wanted ice-cream she was going to have to give her daddy puppy dog eyes, so Nellie promptly turned to her dad and started barking and blinking her eyes. Pretty sure she got the ice-cream ;) and she alway has a very clear idea of what exactly it is she wants. Namely: "yip-gloss" (translation = lip-gloss) preferably pink, with sparkles in it. You will notice there are just a few more pictures of her than anyone else in this post . . . because I don't think anyone can argue the fact that she's the cutest ;)

Please note the shiny pink lip-gloss that had to be applied before pictures began. I'm not even kidding . . . she insisted.

I love my tiny friends . . . I think Desiree is about as short as me. And even cooler actually ;)

Everyone has different things that they notice first about people, and I'm pretty sure eyes are one of those things for me. I think it's so amazing how different everyone's can be, the different shades, and ways they can change colors etc. Well, Nellie here wins the award for the absolute coolest eyes I have ever seen, because they are completely black. Honestly there is no color difference between the middle of her eye and the ring of color around it . . . it's so amazing!

I told her to open her eyes bigger for me . . . she's so obedient ;)

This is my favorite of Stephen . . . just chillin in the front yard.

I think people are going to start getting suspicious that I make sure and pick model-ish looking best friends just so I can take gorgeous pictures of them and have an awesome portfolio. I promise that's not what's going on . . . it just happens! Lucky for me ;)

I think every boy should have a pair of converse, or "cons" as Eric calls them.

No, not praying, just . . . blissful?

That's it . . . I want to eat her up she's so stinking cute.

Aaaaand my favorite favorite favorite. :)

I had to add this picture that my friend Evy took of us when she flew out to Denver to second shoot a wedding for me. I love getting pictures with all of my friends whenever I can - because I'm usually the one behind the camera.

I Heart these people - alot.

Much Love.

Jessica Shae