but it was summer I wanted {dallas, tx engagement & wedding photographer}

It was spring but it was summer I wanted;

the warm days and the great outdoors....

It was summer but it was fall I wanted;

the colorful leaves and the cool dry air.

It was fall but it was winter I wanted;

the beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

It was now winter but it was spring I wanted;

the warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child but it was adulthood I wanted;

the freedom and the respect.

I was twenty but it was thirty I wanted;

to be mature and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged but it was twenty I wanted;

the youth and the free spirit.

I was retired but it was middle-aged I wanted;

the presence of mind without limitations.

My life was over but I never got what I wanted.

|| poem by a 14 yr old.

Read this charming poem the other day on this blog, and was instantly smitten with the sweet simplicity of it.  Not to mention convicted about how I do this very thing in my life so often.  Lets be grateful for today and all the blessing's it has in it, yes?  

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

Dream list #35: personal. {dallas tx engagement and wedding photographer}

"Give me a Sunday morning that's full of grace
A simple life and I'll be okay
Here in small town USA
Oh yeah"{small town usa - justin moore}
So I think we should just get one thing straight before we go any further.I love the country.
I actually kind of adore the country, and everything that goes along with it. I love big trucks. I love Cowboys. I love hay bales. I love fields of crops. I love country music. I love barns. I love big country houses with wrap-around front porches.
That's not to say that I can't appreciate certain things about the city, or that I think it's all bad. I spend most of my life in big cities. I live in one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, (unfortunately) and travel to several of the biggest most popular cities several times a year. And I do have to admit that both Chicago and San Fran have stolen little pieces of my heart with their fabulousness. But I like for them to be there for me to visit, not to live in. As usual Anne sums it up best:
"I think I would probably come to the conclusion that I'd like it for a while... but in the end, I'd still prefer the sound of the wind in the firs across the brook more than the tinkling of crystal."
I love the fresh air that you can't find in big cities. I love the big starry skies at night, the wide open fields, and the thick forests full of tall trees. I love horses and big belt buckles and I loooove Cowboy boots.
I've been waiting and saving for a pair of my own for several years now. Dream list #35. I wanted a pair of legit, for real, Cowboy boots. And as of two days ago I'm now the proud owner of beautiful Ariat boots. I've hardly taken them off for the past 48 hours. And they definitely deserve a blog post of their own. ;)
I just had to include this first series of pictures for your enjoyment. Oh the joys of being a photographer, and trying to explain to your little sister how to take pictures.Please don't ask what I was doing, because really...this is how all the pro's look when they are teaching ;)










I just really like looking down at my feet and seeing them there ;)


I cleaned/oiled them this morning...and I felt so legit that I wanted to saddle up and go round up a few cows or something when I was done. ;)





And unlike Taylor Swift...my dream is not to someday "be livin in a big ol city" but hopefully someday I'll be living in the wide open country. With my Cowboy and horses of course. ;)
Much Love.Jessica Shae

Authentic: the blog {dallas, tx engagement & wedding phtographer}

Authentic.

It's my one word for 2011. And it's been interesting to see how that one word has already started to shape how I make decisions over the past 13 days. It's almost like having a second conscience peeking over my shoulder. "Is that really the right decision? Are you choosing that because you know it's right, or just because it's what other people expect you to do? Are you being genuine right now?" And it goes on and on and on...

It's been so so good for me. It has affected small decisions like, which pair of sunglasses I chose to buy the other day, and big decisions like, how I'm dealing with relationship issues in my life right now. I'm spending less time wondering about what other people will think if I say or do something and more time thinking about the likes and dislikes, interests, goals, standards, and personality God has given me in particular and how he wants to be glorified through them. And I'm only 13 days in...I can't wait to see what happens over the whole year :)

One of the little projects that I started on January 1st was a new blog.

It's something that I've wanted to do for a while now, and the beginning of the year seemed like the perfect time to do it. Alot of you have probably heard of project 365, which is basically just taking a different picture every single day for a year, editing it, and posting it somewhere. I love the idea, and thought it would be a fun way to document a year. I'm a horrible journaler (as much as I love the idea, and even love doing it, I'm terrible at keeping up with it) so I thought it would be fun to journal the year in pictures. But I added another element to it. I also have to take, edit, and post one self portrait every single day for a year. And I have to print all 730 pictures that I take and post, and put them in my picture journal for the year. So at the end of the year, I will have one picture of the day and one self portrait from every single day of my year in a journal. An entire year documented through what I do best, pictures.

And the name of my new blog? Authentic. Because that's what I want the blog to be about. You're gonna see pictures of me without make-up on, pictures with greasy hair because I just didn't have time to shower that day, and pictures of my life that maybe are boring to you but that mean something to me.

Seemed fitting that a blog highlighting little pieces of my world/life for a year should be titled with my one word. It's been a fun challenge (I'm only 12 days in and I'm already running out of self portrait ideas!) and if any of you are interested in keeping up with it you can click here.


Winter came to TX this past weekend, we got about 4 inches of snow and alot of it's still here!

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

p.s. I'm absolutely looooving all the emails you're sending me about the internship, I can't stop smiling, y'all are so stinkin nice! And gracious me, I was hoping that at least 3 people would actually sign up so it wouldn't be a total flop, but I've gotten 12 applications over the past 5 days!! I'm working on figuring out how/when I can fit you all in. Can't wait!

Dream list: personal {dallas, tx engagement and wedding photographer}

Some people call it their wish list, or bucket list. It's the list of things that we want to do before we die. Pretty sure everyone has one, whether you've just mentally filed those things away, or have a carefully thought out list that you've written down somewhere, we all have things we dream of doing.

I call mine, my dream list.

Some are silly little things, some are huge things, some are things that I've wanted to do ever since I was a little girl, and then some things I've added in the last 6 months. There are some things on the list that I have a measure of control over whether or not they happen, and then some of them are things that I will have to wait on God to do in my life.

Some of them have personal meaning, and then some are just things that I've always thought would be fun. It's just a fun thing to have, and helps me to remember to get excited about the big and small achievements in life. And hopefully it will spur me on to do things that otherwise I might never take the time to do.

I've been working on my list for almost two years now, checking things off and occasionally adding things to it. I thought it would be fun to share my list with you and highlight some of the things that I was able to check off this past year.

p.s. a few of the things on the list I've whited out because they're either personal, or a suprise for someone else, etc. But you get to see most of the list!

p.p.s. if you're having trouble reading the small print, just click the image to see it larger!

p.p.p.s. yes, I realize there are typos, I'm just to lazy to fix them :P

#58: go to a rodeo.

I know, it's pitiful that this TX livin', cowboy lovin, girl hasn't ever been to a rodeo before (ok, so I think I actually did when I was like two, but it doesn't count if I don't remember it) but I remedied that this past January in Denver.

We didn't wear these hats to the rodeo, just tried them on while there.

#87: meet Tim Hawkins.

I got to see him perform/speak/be funny (whatever you want to call it) LIVE this spring. It was epic :) I even caught the twinkie that he bit off of and then threw into the crowd.

#9: become a professional wedding photographer.

I took this right before I headed out to shoot my first wedding this year.

#39: swim in the Atlantic Ocean.I do have actual pictures of me by/in the ocean, but I don't think my bathing suit clad friends who are in the pictures with me would be very happy if I posted their picture here for the world to see. So we'll have to settle for a picture of the ocean from one of our beach houses.


#75: Drive a Ford F350.I actually got to drive a 350 twice this year. The first time at some friends house in OK (but I forgot to take pictures of it) and the second time was a few weeks later when I was paid to test drive this big baby!


#91: Watch a movie in 3D.Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I came away with a headache and feeling like my eyes were gonna pop out of my head but it was sooooo much fun :)



Yay for dreams, both big and small. They make living life even more exciting :)
Much Love.Jessica Shae

Rachel: winter portraits {dallas, tx engagement and wedding photographer}

Sometimes I just have to do a shoot just for me. A shoot to try new stuff, to get out of my comfort zone a little bit, to help me get off "auto" and try new ideas. And I've been itching to take someone out to a couple of new locations I'd found for shooting for weeks now, so it helps that I have 6 beautiful little people living at my house ;) One of the things I want to make sure and do this year is an individual shoot of each of my siblings so that my mom has really good pictures of each of them. Aaaand Rachel got to be the lucky first!
It was FU-REEzing cold, but we had fun tromping through fields, stepping on some poor famers crops (all the while I was apologizing--out loud!!--for killing his crops. I hope we didn't ruin his harvest.) and taking pictures at the abandoned house that I'm pretty sure crackpots use on a regular basis if the words scribbled on the door were any indication. Ha, never a dull moment on a shoot with me ;)

Thanks for being so beautiful Rachel.














The pictures with the black hat are my FAVooooorites, hands down. For several reasons. One, I think Rachel looks like a Russian Princess or something amazing like that, and two, because that hat was my great-grandmothers hat. Can we please go back to a time where they wore fascinating things like this?!?!













































I'm going to be booking a limited number of portrait sessions this year, so seniors email me now if you're interested in having your pictures done by me, spots will fill up fast!

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

One Word 2011: personal {dallas, tx engagement and wedding photographer}

Words fascinate me. The way a few letters strung together just right can convey a whole feeling or thought when used correctly. I love knowing the history or detailed definition of a word, to help me better grasp just exactly how it's meant to be used. Because, lets face it, in America we tend to use words however we want, and then make them mean whatever we want.

After I'd agreed to do the one word challenge with my Whitney friend and I'd read over what exactly it meant, my mind froze. ONE WORD?? Just one? For a whole year?? I didn't know how I'd ever pick, and what if I picked the wrong one?? But even as I was stressing over how I was going to figure out what my one word was supposed to be God brought to mind something that He'd already been nudging me about over the last 2 weeks. The following conversation in my head went something like this:

"Oh dear, God, really? What's that even supposed to mean??"

"I want you to be _____"

"For a whole year God? That's the one big thing you want me to work on??"

"Yes"

"Well, bring it on"

And then I had to go and look up the exact definition of my word, so I could try and figure out what I was getting into.

Authentic \Au*then"tic\, a. [OE. autentik, OF. autentique, F authentique, L. authenticus: coming from the real author, of original or firsthand authority, Having a genuine original or authority, in opposition to that which is false, fictitious, counterfeit, or apocryphal; being what it purports to be; genuine; not of doubtful origin; real; as, an authentic paper or register.

And

Authentic: conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief and trust.

And I got really really excited about my word :)

I want my life to be characterized by authenticity. I want to be "in opposition to that which is false, fictitious, counterfeit, or apocryphal". I want to be genuine, and what I "purport" to be (side-note. purport: another really cool word you need to look up if you don't know what it means:).

I want my business to be based on who God's made me to be and the specific dreams and goals He's given to me. I don't want to model my business exactly after the most successful photogs out there in the hopes that someday my business will be a carbon copy success like theirs. I don't want to spend so much time figuring out how everyone else is doing it, and forget to spend time figuring out how God might want ME to do it.

I especially love the first part of the definition "coming from the real author, of original or firsthand authority". It made me think of Heb. 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...". To be authentic as a Christian means being like my author, Jesus Christ, and staying true to the things He has shown me to be true. It means not chasing someone else's dreams, or worrying about someone laughing at my decisions. It means diligently seeking Christ about what He would have me do as a whole this year, and what He would have me do each individual day of this year, and then once I have a clear view of what that is, never letting go of it. Even in the face of opposition, taunting, or confusion. It means being open and honest with those closest to me about struggles I'm facing. It means admitting that I can't do it on my own. It means letting people see the real me, not the me I want them to see, or even the me I think they want to see.

Authentic.

It's a scary word.

But it's exciting :) And I'm looking forward to how God uses that word to continue to conform me to the image of His Son this year. And now that y'all know about it, you can help keep me accountable! And if any of you have decided to take part in the one word challenge I'd love to hear about it in the comments! :)

As Jonathan Edwards said, I am "Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live."

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

One Word: personal {dallas, tx engagement and wedding photographer}

Everyone who hates the thought of making, and then 2 months later, breaking a whole bunch of new years resolutions please raise your hand.

Mmmhhhmm. Just as I thought.

For me, a type A over-achiever kind of person, a new years resolution list is something that you HAVE to make, and in order to prove that you're any kind of spiritual or goal oriented person the list needs to be at least 40 points long. Duh. And believe me, every year it stresses me out thinking about what things should be on it, most of which I know I will put down and then 3 weeks later be making myself feel like a failure because I'm not actually following through with them.

This year I have a new idea.

It's not original to me, and I definitely can't take credit for it's brilliance. One of my friends introduced me to it and asked if I would do it with her, but the credit for the creation of the idea goes to this lady - Alece Ronzino.

And what is this brilliant idea, you ask?

O n e W o r d.

Forget the idea of two pages full of things that you will probably forget before the week's out, and ask God for one word. One thing He wants you to focus on. One word that will help shape all of your decisions, and the direction you take over the next year. Maybe you need to start by making a long list, and then slowly read over it trying to see common theme in the things you need to work on to find your one word.

I'm excited about this idea, and I'd love to invite all of you to join me! I've been praying and thinking about what my one word will be, and I'm pretty sure I know what it is. I'd love to have you take part in this challenge and then we can all keep each other accountable and we walk through the next year trying to stick close to the one thing we're supposed to be focusing on.

If you're in I'd love to hear that in the comments, but you don't have to tell me your word yet! I'll be sharing mine at the beginning of next week, after the new year, hopefully that gives each of you time to think through what your word will be.

Credit for this fabulous picture goes to Katie-yo ;)

Much Love.

Jessica Shae

Katie-yo {dallas, tx engagement and wedding photographer}

Looking back over this year there are so many things I can be grateful for. I honestly can't believe all the doors that have opened, all the traveling I've done, and everything I've been able to cram into one little year. There have also been hard and not so enjoyable parts of this year. It hasn't all been cupcakes and laughter, but I can honestly say I am so grateful for it all. But the thing that I'm grateful for that I want to tell you about today, are the relationships. I've gotten to meet some of the dearest people this year, alot of the time while shooting weddings. And when I think about some of the people that are amongst my closest friends right now that 6 months or a year ago I didn't even know, I'm so so grateful for the way God orchestrates even the seemingly small things, like friendships.

One such friend is Mrs. Katie Opris, or as I like to call her, Katie-yo ;)

I shot this darling girls Bee-yoo-tee-ful Arkansas wedding in July, anyone who's been reading my blog for any amount of time probably remembers her because of her gorgeous wedding and amaaaaazing after shoot with the blue car ;) I loved her before I had even met her. From her emails, phone calls, and txts I could tell she was a girl after my own heart and then as soon as I laid eyes on this little 5 ft piece of adorable-ness the day before her wedding I was all "can we just go ahead and seal the deal now that we will be bff's until our dying day???"

I could go on and on and on about how dear this girl is. She loves the Lord so so much. She's funny. And witty. She loves her husband and is excitedly preparing to move to Romania (where he grew up) with him this coming as missionaries. She loves old books like me, especially Anne of Green Gables, and is definitely a "kindred spirit". She is an amazing photographer herself AND an amazing musician/singer. No lie, this girl is everything happy, wonderful, and amazing rolled up into one.

Aaaaaand...dun-du-dunnnn...

She's expecting a little Opris girlio this May!

Katie's family lives a little over an hour away from me, so when she came in town for the holidays I begggggeeeddd for a little scrap of her time and she was kind enough to give it! We ended up spending a whole afternoon together (whoops;) eating chipotle, laughing and catching up on life (face-to-face talk is so so much better than txting or FB) and we also made a little time to take some pictures of her adorable little baby bump.

And what do you do when you're out to lunch and you decided you want to do an impromptu photoshoot? You look out the window and say, "Oh, there's some pretty grass across the highway!"

And quickly run across 6 lanes of fast moving traffic to get to it, so that you can take amazing pictures like the one below.









Ohhhh Katie-yo. I love you.And that's that.




















And what kind of lame-o photographers would we be if we went away from the day without a picture of the two of us together???
Thank you railroad tracks for holding my camera for the picture :)




Much Love.Jessica Shae