Category: Weddings

The 2017 Spring wedding season was very kind to me this year in that the first wedding of the season was basically served on a nice shiny platter for Janelle and I.  Around every turn was something beautiful to photograph, and the day ran as smooth as any wedding I may have ever had the pleasure of shooting (which is likely due to Angelica from Green Orchid Events being at the helm).  Ashley and Jacob were an absolute dream couple.  You may remember them from the side of a mountain earlier in the year which will prove exactly how wonderful they were to work with!!

Ash and Jake came to Vegas all the way from the Chicago area to have a relatively small and intimate wedding with their closest friends and family.  Ashley envisioned a timeless and elegant black-tie wedding, but since she’s in medical school right now, Jacob actually took the reigns on handling most of the logistics of the day… even though his time is limited since he is an engineer.  Overachievers, right??  ha ha ha!  However, had it not been for these big aspirations then these two may have never met to begin with!! I don’t remember the name of the class, but I remember from one of the heartfelt toasts from the night that they locked eyes during one of their introductory courses in engineering which led them to down the path towards their wedding day!  Now, these two college lovebirds are the freshest newlyweds on the block.

We started our day off at Mandarin Oriental with the bride and groom getting ready in different suites.  They both had their equally as fantastic wedding party with them as they dressed, and it wasn’t long before Jacob was seeing Ashley for the first time as she descended a beautiful staircase on the hotel property.

After Ashley and Jake saw each other for the first time we hopped off to The Smith Center to have the wedding party and bride & groom portraits done on their beautiful property!  The images that came from this morsel of time are absolutely stunning, as we had the best light to work with!

Suzanne from ShePaperie created this custom signage for the couple to enjoy on their wedding day, and  it added a beautiful pop of whimsy to the day!  Amelia C & Company killed the hair and makeup on all of the ladies… and behind the scenes you can’t see them, but NewFly Films was right next to me on all of these images making sure that Ashley and Jacob have a beautiful wedding day video!!

Ashley wore this absolutely insane Lazaro gown that not only was stunning as a fitted silhouette, but also had a removable tulle skirt!  Ashley wanted to make sure to capture both looks in her portraits, and I was all too happy to oblige that request!
I don’t think that it takes a genius to figure out that Layers of Lovely took charge of this beautiful flower wall and the gorgeous arrangements for the day!  She never disappoints!

I know that this might come as a surprise, but I don’t always love going out to shoot a wedding.  Shooting a wedding day is absolutely grueling.  For 8-10 hours straight you’re on your feet, carrying pounds and pounds of gear, schlepping even more gear around with you, and being asked to stay in a creative headspace for an entire day.  Additionally, you’re dealing with an anxious bride, drunk wedding guests, and loving mothers who only want the best for their baby girl’s day.  You’re in a constant state of ‘on’ and ‘fix it’ mode.  Waves of issues come flying from every angle regarding the need for so many things thing… There’s always a need for the best light… How to pose a couple, the bridal party, the details, the family photos… Grandma can’t walk up the stairs… Brother is missing… The marriage license was left at the hotel… There’s nowhere to park for miles… it’s 115 degrees outside… Your $5K camera/lens just crashed to the ground onto the cement… The ceremony is starting an hour late… A bridesmaid’s dress won’t zip… errrr… the bride’s dress won’t zip… The groom can’t tie his bowtie… etc… etc…etc…

So, I might be committing photographer suicide by saying it on the internet, but shooting isn’t my favorite part of the job.  I do like to shoot, but mostly it’s because I like the images that the act of shooting produces.  I love the planning, designing and styling that I do before shoots, and I like to hang out with my clients and get to know them more… but my butter is this right here.  I like to do the designing that comes after the wedding.

I love to lay out blog spreads, design album pages, and I’m not too shameful to admit that my addiction to curating my Instagram feed is part of what drives me too.

The images below are a representation of just a few of my absolute favorite wedding images from 2016.  When scrolling through these images, the thing that stands out to me the most is that almost any image can be paired with another.   The cohesion of this collection of images makes my photographer heart flutter.  I can honestly say that I am finally beginning to see images that look the way that I saw them in my head, and that I am just now starting to see that all of the work is beginning to pay off.   I have such a long road to travel in order to be creating better photographs, but at least I can feel confident in knowing that I’m getting there!

MAJOR MAJOR thank you’s go out to all of my bad ass friends in the industry who made all of these images possible.  I can’t make pretty photographs without so much insane talent pouring their heart and souls in to these wedding.  These people, (you know who you are)…  are everything.

MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR thank you’s to all of the insanely gorgeous people you see in these photos!  I can’t believe that I get to spend my days with so many phenomenal and kind people who trust me with their wedding images.  You are the foundation of J. Anne Photography.  Without you this business couldn’t breathe, and neither could I.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for such a wonderfully gorgeous 2016.

I wish that I could sit and list all of the major players in all of these images, but it would be far too long of a process to go through… and there are probably another 100 photos that I could add to this blog… not to mention all of the engagement sessions, boudoir images, family photos, and that small trip to Paris in October… but, we’ll have to get to all of those on a different day, and in MANY MANY other posts!!

They just keep going and going and going…

2016 on lock.

We out.

xo.

Jodi

 

Hey, so remember the other day when I said I was gonna try to blog every day in December?  Well, I basically lied straight to your faces.  But, I’m doing my best… at least I’m showing up a little bit more than usual.

I don’t know a better way to kick off some blogging than with this wedding.  Olivia and Jace were and continue to be some of my favorite people in the world.  To work with them on their wedding was basically like being able to hang out with my friends and get paid for it.

Jace and Olivia met while working at Green Valley Ranch, so it was only natural for their wedding to be held on their beautiful grounds.  The only problem was that the weather forecast for their wedding day called for gale force winds and light rain to accompany their outdoor reception.  I saw Olivia the day before the wedding and she was devastated.  Her vendors and some of her family and friends were telling her that we’d need to move the reception into the ballroom.  Having been involved with this amazing couple during the entire planning process, I knew that this wasn’t the wedding that Olivia had dreamed of.

I told Olivia the day before her wedding that we could do this.  We could take the chance.  We could leave her wedding reception outdoors, as planned.  We needed to get a few extra blankets for her grandparents, and ask the florist if she felt as though the table arrangements could withstand the wind.  Luckily enough, she was using cement vases which were decently weighted.  Then, I told Olivia the most important part.

I said, calmly and nicely… if we’re doing this, then you have to be fully on board.  You have to embrace the wind.  The wind will now become an element of your wedding.  It is a detail that has been added at the very last minute, and should this detail cause more havoc than we anticipated; she had to take it in stride and not let it break her wedding spirit.  If anyone was able to make such a promise, it was Olivia.  She is, hands down, the most positive and wonderful person I know.  She is grateful and loving, kind and understanding.  She cares for others with her full heart, and she makes sure to say ‘thank you’ at every turn.  She is the epitome of a perfect bride.

We took on the day of the gale force winds, and we made her our own.  Ribbons twirled in the air and hair danced the day away.  This new detail added life to photos that would have already been stunning even without the wind.  The movement in their images gave Jace and Olivia a true memory of what their wedding day felt like, and with every breezy Spring day they are both reminded of how insanely perfect their wedding day really was.

Planning/Coordination: Open Invitation  :: Florals: Layers of Lovely :: Venue: Green Valley Ranch :: Hair and Makeup: Kristin Kowal :: Signage: Chrissy Makes :: Lighting: LED Unplugged