Day 1231 – Finally, A Bret Smile! And The Cutest Picture Of Bret Working…Ever

Posted on November 23, 2012 by 365 days of marriage

The day before Thanksgiving, we did a family portrait session with one of our favorite families, the Johnsons!

I snagged this picture while we were warming up. I FINALLY got a really real “Bret Smile.”

While we were photographing, the youngest member of the Johnson clan kept coming over to Bret to see what he was doing. I took this picture, saw it on the camera, and knew I may never take a funnier picture.

Day 1228 – Three Years Ago, I Never Thought It Would Work Out

Posted on November 20, 2012 by 365 days of marriage

This time three years ago, Bret and I were driving home from our first wedding rehearsal. I had asked him to help me out with a wedding because my brother (previous second shooter) couldn’t make it. Looking back, I have to laugh at myself and how I reacted…but…here goes.

We photographed the rehearsal. Got a few nice shots. I felt ready to go for the wedding and we headed to the car to make our way to the rehearsal dinner. Well….Bret and I got into a “discussion” about a few things….he wanted to ask a few more questions of the pastor….and I got upset…I look back and just shake my head at 2009 Jennilyn….I mean, come on dude, it was his first wedding! Anyways, we went back in so he could ask a few more things. And then, there was a heated “discussion” on the drive to the rehearsal dinner and it was suggested that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Thankfully, I NEEDED Bret to work for me the next day. I don’t remember if we were still “discussing” things as we drove to the girl’s getting ready….but I do remember when we were photographing the ceremony. During the vows, my husband of 133 days looked over at me across the church, mouthed “I love you” and blew me a kiss. During the reception, I saw something AWESOME happening on the other side of the room, but I just didn’t think I’d make it….as I was struggling though the crowd, I see Bret’s flash shine and my heart smiled. Ever since that day, we haven’t had another “discussion.” 🙂

So, three years later, I am SO glad that it worked out…us working together….he has made me a better business owner, photographer and boss. I am so grateful.

He also takes me out for ice cream!

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Day 1224 – An Engagement Session I DIDN’T Share or My Life Is Flying By Way Too Fast

Posted on November 16, 2012 by 365 days of marriage

For the first time in about a month, I’m writing a post on the day it’s supposed to be written. As you’ve seen, I have a post for everyday…but my loyal followers probably notice the bulk posts…5-10 at a time. I am sorry about that! I don’t mean to fill up your mailboxes and Facebook walls so much! Here’s hoping (ha) that it will get easier.

Then again, it’s been quite a few months for me! I seriously still think it’s July or August. Maybe even September. Last night I was pinning a few of my recent weddings/shoots. Going back through my blog posts, I realized I never posted the Kristofco full session! And it was such a good one too! I’ll be posting that below in a minute….

But first, I look back over my calender and boy do I have a lot of meetings, shoots, meetups, hanging with friends. My September is completely filled in, as was October. I moved, shot 3 weddings, several engagement and portrait session. I don’t say all this for a “awww, poor Jen, so busy. Or yay! Busy is good!” I more share to say I’m sorry. Truly. I’ve let things slip. So faithful readers, loyal clients, potential clients, friends….forgive me? I know we all go through seasons like this….but I have never been in a position where I feel months behind. I am thankful that God’s grace and mercy carried me through! Whew!

I’d say things will be slowing down….but I’m going to start writing my book very soon….so look forward to more “thoughtful” posts! 🙂

Now! Here are a few of my favs from Kevin and Caitlin’s family portrait/engagement session!

One of the coolest things we found during the shoot was a K&C heart on one of the trees! Come on, what are the odds of finding this??

Such a cute family! I can’t wait for your March wedding!!!

You can see the rest here!

Day 1223 – How I Honored My Husband Through Laundry Baskets

Posted on November 15, 2012 by 365 days of marriage

I’ll start this post with a little story.

It was the day Bret and I registered for our wedding gifts, a few months before our wedding. No…we need to go further back. Bret, as you may know, was a Marine. One thing that’s important is that their rooms are kept clean. Some guys would have a laundry basket. Not Bret. To make his job of cleaning even easier, he would do a few things that most people wouldn’t. He only had 1 fork, 1 spoon, 1 knife, 1 plate, etc. He’d reuse them during the day. He didn’t use a laundry basket, he used an empty drawer in his dresser. Ok…now we’re caught up….so when we were registering, I wanted to register for a laundry basket and he figured we’d just use a drawer. I really didn’t think we could get away with that….I figured between the two of us, we’d make a lot of laundry. We spent a good while (who knows now…it could have been 15 minutes or 30 minutes…) looking at laundry baskets…and “discussing” what we wanted/needed….and finally we found these drawers, with holes AND handles. It was a perfect compromise. Drawers for Bret, handles/baskets for me.

The lesson I learned through this was that you learn a LOT about your soon to be spouse when you register. It was quite an experience since we both came from very different view points on “stuff.” So, brides, register with a humble and light heart. You’re marrying your life partner…the stuff helps you in your journey…but it’s not what makes the journey. Listen to his wisdom and compromise. Also remember you’ll look back and wonder what the big deal was back then. (As I do right now!)