TWO Love Letters!

I recently received two love letters! LOVE it! Thank you so much to both of you!!

Janssen Family Session:

I had a fantastic experience with Jill taking photos of my two little girls. She was very nice and pleasant to both of them and was able to get them to play and smile. I really liked the idea that Jill did not pose the girls but just took pictures of them as they are naturally. That made it so much easier to get good pictures, especially when you are dealing with a toddler and a baby. I very much enjoyed my experience with Jill and will definitely be using her in the future to capture my girls growing up!
~ Jackie Janssen

Perry Family Session:

Jill,

I just wanted to share with you how happy I am with the photographs you took of my daughter, Ashlyn. Ashlyn tends to be shy around new people, but you made her feel comfortable right away. She loved the old camera you brought for her to use and it made her feel like a photographer too! Ashlyn told me she liked having you take her pictures because "she letted me make a flower with the flower petals."

As you know, I have yet to pick out my pictures because they are all so beautiful. I sent the link to my family and posted it on my Facebook page along with a link to your blog. I have received so many compliments! You captured Ashlyn's expressions and personality perfectly.

Thank you again for making this such a positive experience!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Perry

Jessica + Jason | Midwest Wedding Photographer

Date: August 21, 2009
Ceremony: Lavender Crest Winery - Colona, IL
Reception: Lavender Crest Winery - Colona, IL

I met this couple at a family wedding last spring. This couple actually found out I was a wedding photographer because of my youngest daughter. Her son, Dylan, and my daughter, Mary, danced the entire night away last spring. They still talk to each other on the phone... ah puppy love.

On to this love story...
This wedding had me tearing up. It doesn't happen every time I shoot a wedding, but once in a while one really gets to me. Maybe it was what the officiant said during the ceremony. He hit every important point about what being married is about. Especially that marriage is not just about being in love with the person, but that you both believe in the idea of what a marriage is and that you spend your life together creating that dream and making it happen.

Maybe it was the moment when the groom turned to the bride's two little boys and told them that he was not only marrying their mom, but that he was becoming their step-dad and that from this day on he was going to watch over them and guide them and love them. Then he presented the boys each with a pocket watch to remind them that he would always be watching over them. Oh... tears of happiness were flowing from every corner of the room.

Congratulations Jessica and Jason. I wish you both a long and full life together...

Hannah + Jesse | Des Moines Wedding Photographer

Date: August 15, 2009
Ceremony: Redeemer Lutheran Church - Des Moines, Iowa
Reception: Hickory Hilltop Banquet Center - Ames, Iowa

This was such a fun wedding! This was one bride and groom that loved to be silly, which always makes for some awesome photos. We were all over the place: the Capital, the Asian gardens, the church, Des Moines to Ames. We would have gone a few more places had the rain not decided to come. Once again, you can't control that good ol' Mother Nature!

Congrats Hannah and Jesse!

Here are a few of my favorites from the day...

More love...

I received a "love letter" from one of my recent portrait session clients. ( I love "love letters". ) This was such a fun and spontaneous session. I'm so glad they loved it as much as I did...

Jill,

I cant thank you enough for the great work you did taking our family pictures. I love them all and have NO idea which ones I want to buy, it might just have to buy all of them You totally caught my son in his element of swimming! I am in LOVE with them. No one could have been as patient as you were with my 3 year old as outgoing and non-cooperative as he was. Your work is amazing and I will defiantly refer you to everyone I know and be back for more business. Thank you once again for capturing pictures that we will have for the rest of our lives to mark this point in my children's lives!

Shannon Nelson

Thank you, Shannon!

A Dutch Wedding | Des Moines Wedding Photographer

Date: August 14, 2009
Ceremony: Scholte Church in Pella, Iowa
Reception: Pella Opera House

Pella is a beautiful community. When you take a drive down Main Street and then down Franklin, you think that you've stepped back in time. It is amazing.

Lyndsey and Jarryd's wedding was absolutely beautiful. The church was gorgeous with old wood floors, tall windows and historical from stoop to steeple. The day was full of love and laughter... including a little snicker throughout the crowd when everyone sat down on the old wooden folding chairs with a unified *squeak*. These are the things memories are made of...

I wish Lyndsey and Jarryd all of the best.

It was very hard to pick just a few of my favorites. My first attempt to narrow it down was just over fifty images. A bit much to put on a blog, don't you think? I did manage to narrow it down to these...