William & Greta: wedding preview || pittsburg, tx wedding photographer

William & Greta's wedding day is one that I will remember for a very long time.  I can't wait to share more images and stories from their day.  But for now here's a tiny preview, and you can find a few more on facebook!

Tomorrow I will be sharing Greta's bridals that are just  b r e a t h e t a k i n g  (no exaggeration) and I've been anxiously waiting to share them with you all for weeks now.

Much Love,
Jessica Shae

JR & Jessica: wedding || elmwood gardens, palestine, tx wedding photographer

We drove deeper and deeper into the country, winding down little country roads that were lined with trees that were so tall you had to lean forward to be able to see the tops of them through the window.  Elmwood Gardens is tucked so far off the main road that as you're driving the last few miles you start to wonder if you've maybe driven a little to far.  But when we finally round that last little bend in the road and saw it all, I instantly understood why JR & Jessica had chosen this sweet country garden as their wedding venue.

I arrived to find everyone scurrying from cottage to cottage where bridesmaids, groomsmen, and family members were all busy getting ready for the wedding.  Jessica was just glowing in the midst of all the busy-ness, I don't think she stopped smiling from the moment I got there until the end of the day except for the few happy/sentimental tears that she shed when her dad saw her in her dress for the first time.

JR & Jessica were best friends for two years before they started dating, and then were engaged three years by the time their wedding day rolled around, so it was almost like you could touch the excitement and eagerness for these two best friend+sweethearts to finally be married.  The whole day was full of laughter, sweet smiles, and a few happy little tears, and towards the end of the evening as the newly married couple danced their first dance together the lyrics to the song they chose seemed like the perfect close to their long awaited day...

"She's so young and he's so perfect

They waited for love and it was worth it

She wants to feel like this for a hundred years."

-one hundred more years.

Congratulations JR & Jessica, thank you so much for welcoming me and making me feel like part of the family for the day.  Blessings on this exciting new adventure!

yay for seeing dear friends/past couples at weddings!

p.s. A huge thanks to Lauren Ashley for second shooting for me--several of her pictures were featured in this post :)


Much Love,Jessica Shae

Spring Break: personal || dallas, tx engagement & wedding photographer

You'll have to excuse the little break in blogging around here this week.  It's spring break and while spring break doesn't technically apply to my work schedule, it does to most of my friends+family+TheBoy, making this week the perfect opportunity to cast all responsibility to the wind and spend as much quality time as possible with people I love.  Not to mention wedding season starts next weekend for me, so this week is serving as a little calm before the storm :)

Monday I drove out to E. Texas with my sister for an all girls camping trip and just got home from that late last night.  It was a hilarious time of tenting making, fire building, card playing, and attempting to cook edible meals over an open fire.  We slept with a knife and pepper spray underneath our pillows, (we would have had a gun as well, but they're not allowed in state parks) and decided ahead of time that if anyone tried to attack us one of us would call 911 and someone else would be responsible for updating their facebook status with the news that we were being kidnapped and a description of our kidnapper.  It seemed like a pretty solid plan.  We did dishes in the bathroom that didn't have any soap or paper towels in it, so we improvised with a bar of bath soap and toilet paper to dry them with.  We cooked grilled chicken, asparagus, zuchinni, baked potatoes, sausage, eggs, and boiled water for tea + hot chocolate-- all without the aid of modern conveniences and without burning down the campsite.

We had a grand ol' time.















But spring break is only half over.  Tonight The Boy is coming and he has tomorrow off + no school for the rest of the week so the spring break party will continue!  We've been enjoying gorgeous sunshiny 70 degree weather so I'm sure most of the weekend will be spent in the great outdoors...
Have a lovely weekend my friends!
Much Love.Jessica Shae