Summertime is for... {dallas, tx engagement & wedding photographer}

. . .Color.

And lots of it, please.

You don't really have to pick a favorite color during Summer.  At least not according to my "Rules of Summer."

(Yes, there really are such rules, maybe it's just in my head, but they are definitely there ;)

Love them all, wear them all, and if you can't pick just one color to paint your nails, then pick 5, or 10! ;)

Any of you gals have fun "summer nail" ideas??  I'm looking for creativity here. . .send me a picture or post a link to one in the comments! ;)

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

Summertime is for... {dallas, tx engagement & wedding photographer}

. . .sundresses.

In every shape, size, and color please.

I'm kind of addicted to them, and there are so many different kinds I don't know that I could ever have to many.  And they're so comfortable, and feminine, and easy to throw on, and cool, and cute, and fun to accessorize with...

the list could go on and on.

So yesterday I was finally able to spend a gift certificate I'd been saving since my birthday, and bought a gorgeous knee length lace dress from Urban Outfitters.  I scoured their website looking for a picture to show y'all, but can't find one anywhere, you're just going to have to trust me, it's so prettiful :)  But while I was looking for it, I came across a few more dresses from their store that I wouldn't mind adding to my wardrobe.  Anyone have some spare cash they'd like to send my way?!

I just love all the dainty feminine looking summer dresses that are in style right now.  I'd wear sundresses all summer long if I could.  And I probably have enough to do just that...my closet will attest to that fact. But a few more wouldn't hurt?! ;)

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!  Anyone have any fun Memorial Day plans!?

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

Joel & Jessica: married {niagara falls, ontario wedding photographer}

"Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down;
perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose,
until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music;
perhaps . . . perhaps . . . love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship,
as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath." 

|| anne of green gables

Jessica was caught off guard when Joel first expressed interest in her.  They were friends, good friends, but she didn't realize he was interested in something more.  And as they walked around the lake up in northern Michigan that day, she told him she'd pray about it, because she just wasn't sure.  Joel could wait, he was ready to do whatever it took to win the tiny blonde girl with the big green eyes.
And there definitely was alot of waiting involved, their relationship spanning hundreds of miles and several years, from just friends, to more than friends, to courting, to engagement.  They took time to pray and seek God's guidance in the relationship, to work through fears and dreams + goals for the future, and somewhere along the way, they fell completely in love with each other.
So after months of flying back and forth between Minnesota and Canada, countless long late-night phone calls, and daily texts, Joel and Jessica got married on a rainy Monday afternoon in Niagara Falls, Canada.  With their circle of closest friends around them they said their "I do's" and officially became one of the cutest couples I've ever had the privilege of shooting.  They braved the pouring rain (and I'm not exaggerating when I say pouring. All. Day. Long.) with me all day to get what have turned out to be some of my faaaavorite pictures ever.
Joel and Jessica, I love you two, and it really was an honor to shoot your classy + beautiful and Christ honoring day.  Thank you for including me!















































Much Love.

Jessica Shae

Summer internships {dallas, tx engagement & wedding photographer}

Hey hey!  It's back, hoooray!

I was getting ready to march myself right up to photobucket HQ and put someone in timeout until they could get themselves straightened out!

That little hitch in the giddy-up kind of threw off my blogging groove for the week, so instead of blogging the pictures I was plaaaanning on blogging yesterday, I'm changing my mind (I do that alot;) and we're gonna talk about intern/mentorships.  

The good news is, I'm doing more!  The even good-er news is, I'm doing alooot more!  And the good-est news is, I might even be doing one near you! :)  Oh, pluuuus, there's free stuff involved ;)

So, because of some very sweet and convincing emails over the last few weeks (I'm such a sucker when people butter me up;) I'm not only hosting several more internships this summer, I'm going to be holding some of them out of state.  Meaning--yes, I will be doing several here in my great state, Texas, at my homestead ;)  But I am also for sure planning 1-2 weeks of internships in Colorado (my second favorite state) aaaand I'm open to the possibility of doing one in either Minnesota, or Georgia.  And if you want to see a few more details about what an internship with me looks like you can watch this video I made of my first interns or read either this or this post about two of my spring internships.

So here are the details.

The dates are flexible and subject to change slightly, but right now it looks like that's what's going to work best for me.  I already have 4 girls who are coming to my Colorado internships and I'm only going to be able to accept 2-3 more, so if you're interested in coming to that one, email me asap!  I also loooove to have out-of-towners for my TX internships, so if you're from out of state, nooo prob!  

If you're from one of the other two states I mentioned as possibilities, and are interested in hosting one near you, then shoot me an email and we'll talk!  Basically I'd need to have at least 4 girls interested in attending from that area before I could start planning definitely :)

The second opportunity that I want to tell you about is mentorships!

I get soooo many emails every week with questions ranging from, how to set up pricing, to who do I order prints from, to "I'm about to shoot my first wedding, do you have any tips??"  And let me tell ya, not only am I terrible at replying to emails, it's sooo hard to type up clear answers to some of those kinds of questions!  I'm a face to face kinda gal, so here's the dealio ;)

I'm offering a limited number of free mentorship spots.  You can take me to coffee or lunch, orrr if you live far away we can set up a a skype date, and talk!  You'll have 1-2 hours of my undivided attention and I'll try my best to answer all your questions!

The reason I'm doing this?

Several reasons.  One, because I know everyone doesn't have the time or the money to come to an internship.  And maybe you don't need a whole week of teaching you just have a couple of quick questions.  I want to do it for free because when I was just starting out, there were soooo many people that gave of their time to answer my million and one questions about everything under the sun.  Actually, forget the "when I was just starting out" part, there are still people to this day who I know I can call for help if I need it.  So I want to do that for someone else, or maybe several someone-elses ;)

So if you're interested in a mentorship spot, email me at jessica@jessicashae.com and let me know 5-10 questions you have for me.  

And I just have to say as a disclaimer to alllll of this.  I don't have all the answers.  I'm not the best qualified photography + business instructor in the world.  NotEvenClose actually.  But I love making new friends, I love teaching, I love helping people learn, and I love photography.  So come join me in all of that!

You have until the 25th of April to apply for both the internship and mentorship positions, and then I'll be announcing who's been accepted on April 27th!

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

Flip-flops: personal {dallas, tx engagement & wedding photographer}

When I was little I told my parents that sometimes I woke up with flip-flops in my stomach, and it meant that something exciting was going to happen that day. Usually it was something I already knew about so I woke up expecting the happiness that was coming that day. But sometimes I would wake up with "flip-flops" in my tummy when nothing exciting was planned. . .and announce to mom that "something exciting is going to happen today!" And I firmly believed that my stomach knew something that I didn't. . .and waited expectantly all day for the "exciting" thing to come along.

Confession: I still wake up with "flip-flops" in my tummy.

But this morning I knew what they were about, internship week #2 starts today! It was a mixture of excitement and "Oh My Lands, I hope I can think of something to teach them this week!!" Haha, I kid I kid. . .kinda ;) I definitely have things to teach them, I just hope I can make it come out in co-herent thoughts ;) Hannah flew in from Washington State last night, and Jayne drove in this morning from College Station, TX. . .time to get the party started!

I bought some flowers to brighten up the Jessica Shae office/brainstorming room.


We started off with yum food. so SO important ;)


My desk is on it's best behavior...


We'll be having story time with Jessica later on ;)


It's supposed to be in the upper 70's/mid 80's all week. WElCOME SUMMER!(yeah, forget spring, we're just jumping right into summer;)


Starting things off with a little Brooke Fraser, she's my new find, (I know, so behind the times;) and her song "Love is Waiting" SO BRILLIANT.


Oh, hot pink socks with rolled up skinny jeans...to impress my interns with my awesome fashion style ;)


Me, and my flip-flopping tummy.



Ohhhhh, it's going to be a funnnn week!
Much Love.

Jessica Shae