Maternity leave: personal || dallas, tx engagement & wedding photographer

"Any day now. Any day now..."  It runs through my head every morning as I slowly wake up, usually to the feeling of his little feet and hands stretching inside my belly.  Most of you know that a sweet little man child has been slowly growing in my belly over the past 8+ months and I'm amazed that we've already made it to those final weeks where every day holds the possibility of my firstborn son in my arms.

I'm 37+ weeks now, and as of today I'm officially on maternity leave!  This summer has been so busy and full for me, something that has been both hard and good, hard because my body can't quite keep up with the pace that I used to set for myself, and good because it's made the days just flyyyy by and left very little time for me to sit around anxiously waiting for this little one to get here.  I shot my last wedding two Saturdays ago and was determined to somehow accomplish the impossible and have it plus all my other weddings and portrait sessions from the summer finished by this past Friday.  It's amazing what a nesting, eager to get ready for and have her baby mommy can accomplish, because I did it!  So I'm sending off the last round of disks, and links to online galleries today and then I plan on eating 2 (ok, 3) popsicles to celebrate the beginning of this big transition.

Over the next few weeks and months I will be spending the majority of my time getting to know the squishy little man about to enter our world and change our lives forever.  Kissing his cheeks and smelling his soft little head will be very time consuming activities ;)  Because of that blogging, emailing, and everything else business related will be put to the side for a time because these days are precious and few and not something I want to miss out on at all.  I will probably still be posting a few posts here and there, I have so much to share from the past few months, and will try to reply to emails eventually, but I can't be apologetic about the fact that my husband and little man are my number one priorities and will be taking up most of my time over the fall months.  I hope you all will understand.

I am still accepting a limited number of bookings for the last two months of the year, and I am now accepting 2014 wedding inquiries as well.  In the meantime, while things are a little slower over here, I will be probably be posting more frequently on our family blog, with lots of updates and peeks into our life as a newly formed family of 3.  I'm also obsessed with instagram so you can be sure there will be plenty of baby love there when the time comes ;)

Thanks to all who have made this one of my best years of business yet, I'm so very grateful to do something that I love so much and call it work, and while the months ahead will bring changes to both my personal and business life I'm more excited than ever about the years of business still ahead!

Much Love,
Jessica Shae + baby ras

Graham & Cassie: preview || chicago, il wedding photographer

I shot my last wedding of the summer last weekend just outside Chicago.  It was a gorgeous day and if you're interested in seeing a few more from the wedding there are some on my facebook page.  Full post coming soon!

Much Love,
Jessica Shae

delightful... || pittsburg, tx wedding photographer

"it's delightful when your imaginations come true, isn't it?"

//l.m. montgomery

Those moments during the final prayer right before you're announced as husband and wife for the first time... almost too much happiness to contain.

Much Love,
Jessica Shae

Allix: portraits || ft. worth portrait & wedding photographer

I'm officially 1 wedding and 11 days away from maternity leave, which means that the past few weeks and days have been a whirlwind of trying to wrap up all of my weddings and portrait sessions from the summer, (aka: all sessions/weddings edited, galleries uploaded, disks mailed, emails answered, and blogs posted or prepped)  aaaand getting ready for the little raspberry to arrive (apparently that's important.  I guess ;)  So blogging has been a bit slower here recently and I'm excited(?) to say that won't be changing much anytime soon.  Excited because it means that big changes are in the works (a son! is coming! soon!) and I can't deny that I'm thrilled to be exchanging work for kissing my baby's cheeks a million times every day.  I love my work.  I really do.  But.  Um, hello, we're talking about squishy baby cheeks here..

I do have a few more things to share with you guys before I vanish into the mommy wonderland for a few weeks, and this is one of them.  Allix is a dear and darling photographer friend who modeled for me + my interns a few weeks ago at the Summer Adventure.  All of the girls were having so much fun taking her pictures that I could only steal her away for a few minutes, but these are a couple of my favs from our time together.  Thanks for being so lovely for our cameras Allix!

Much Love, Jessica Shae

Graham & Cassie: engaged || cantigny park, chicago il wedding photographer

Cassie's first impression of Graham at age 14 was that he was "a little weird and wore nerdy glasses" aaaaand that he wouldn't stop following her around at band camp.  But really, what could she expect from any boy with half a brain--because who wouldn't want to follow around the little blonde girl with startlingly blue eyes?  Thankfully it wasn't soon after that that Cassie was able to see past his awkward stage (hey, we ALL go through them, right?!) and developed a major crush on him that lasted through all of highschool.
But it wasn't until just over a year ago that they actually started to really get to know each other, and quickly became the best of friends.  Graham sealed the deal (and won the rights to follow her around forever ;) last winter and they're getting married later this summer!
Graham described Cassie to me as a "no-nonsense pure beauty" whose full bodied, doubled over kind of laughter never fails to make him smile.  And Cassie's first impression of Graham quickly went from "nerdy/weird" to "the coolest person ever" whose "unrealistically positive attitude is the most adorable thing ever..."
Enjoy their engagement pictures taken a few weeks ago in Chicago, and I can't wait to share pictures from their wedding in just over a month!
Much Love, Jessica Shae

Gabe & Lydia: backyard wedding || harvard, il wedding photographer

Down several winding one lane roads, past the big red barn with the patchwork quilt painted on the front, and  up the curving driveway lined by trees you will find the big white farmhouse where Gabe & Lydia said their vows and became forever inseparable.  Their relationship started not far down the road from that house, at the little apple orchard where they both worked.  (and I actually shot a wedding there last year--small world!)  He worked around the property doing manly stuff and helping with events, and she worked in the "pie room."
Years ago Lydia's older sister (who also worked at the orchard) started teasing Gabe about Lydia and told him that he should date her... "because he was cute!  and nice!  they needed to be together!" It wasn't long before Gabe was spending more and more time in the pie room, and it had nothing to do with the pies ;)  Lydia was young, but Gabe was willing to wait, and as Lydia happily told me "he never gave up on me."  Through four years of dating and a 6 month engagement they grew closer and became the very best of friends.
Their wedding day was incredibly beautiful, and as everyone kept agreeing all day long, it was "so very them."  A little bit carnival, a little bit gatsby, a little bit old-fashioned, and a whole lot of sparkly smiling fun.  They were married in the backyard of the house Lydia grew up in, amidst the tall trees, (one of which housed the swing built by Gabe for Lydia) rolling hills that were dotted with cows, and surrounded by the people who loved them most.  The "first" part of their reception following the wedding was on that same property, complete with photobooth, hand scooped ice-cream, corn-hole, and swinging on the swing hung from the huge tree out back of course.  Part two of the reception was in downtown Harvard where dinner was served, toasts were spoken and laughed over, and everyone danced the night away to celebrate this happy occasion.
Gabe and Lydia, I cannot even begin to say how much I adored being able to document your wedding day.  Thanks for treating me like an old friend, and allowing me to be a part of such a breath-takingly intimate and truly joyous occasion.  You two are dears! Wedding dress: Allure Bridals Brides shoes: Adrianna Papell Grooms suit: Black Tag by Zara Grooms shoes: Mezlan Rufina Necklace: J. Crew Bridesmaids dresses: various Florals by: Lilypots Cake by: Sister of the Bride Much Love, Jessica Shae