TN

Eve + Phil : Engagement

April 10, 2012 by Jensey 8 Comments

He works with numbers, and she likes words. Eve is a speech language pathology graduate student, while Phil is a rocket scientist for NASA. No.. Seriously. They have a pug named Mia, who they treat like their child, which clearly I know nothing about. ;)

I’m so sad we were booked for their wedding date, but thankful that Eve was born in Nashville, because they decided to come here for their engagement session! It was our second time to shoot in downtown Nashville, and I fall harder and harder in love with this city with each session. Who’s next?!

Eve is also a brand ambassador for Spirit Hood. I’ve loved these things since seeing Allison rock one on America’s Next Top Model… I seriously wish I could pull one off!

There’s so much texture in downtown Nashville- A photographer’s dream!

I love how Eve styled their shoot.

Bahahahahaha. :)

We headed to the Parthenon afterwards for some photos in the park, and lucked out with this bright yellow tree which of course, Nate climbed. :) Eve and Phil’s engagement session was after peak leaf changing time, so I was beyond happy there was still some autumn left. :)

While Nate shot from above, I grabbed this of gorgeous Eve.

Love my monkey! :)

Eve and Phil, thank you so much for coming to Nashville! Best of luck with your Disney wedding. :)

Wait- Stay awhile! Here are some more Nashville sessions :

Lisa + Matt : Wedding

April 3, 2012 by Jensey 3 Comments

I’m gonna admit something here: I was a bit of a bully in elementary school. Not like beat you up on the playground sort of bully, but steal your necklace and lie about it sort of bully. Or turn the lunchroom table against you. Or steal candy from your backpack.

I remember hating Lisa the day we met. Why? Because she had red hair like Ariel and I wanted it. Since I couldn’t exactly steal her hair color, I did the next best thing- Named her my mortal enemy. All that changed within a couple short months… Our school had a presentation about Toys For Tots and our Dads were the Marines to put it on. I realized that day I could be friends with the girl with Ariel hair, not hate her!

Because our dads were both in the same squadron in the Marine Corps and Fedex pilots, our families were always close. From her 2nd grade birthday party to high school graduation, I loved growing up with Lisa. When she wrote sharing the news that she was not only engaged, but expecting a baby this year, I couldn’t help but tear up with happiness for my ol’ friend. I’m so thankful she asked us to be her wedding photographers, because there’s just something special about photographing the wedding of someone whose family has known you since you were seven.

Matt, Lisa’s now husband, is a phenomenal guy. So sweet, charming, and handsome… He’s the perfect match for her fiery personality.

It was so important that they saw each other early, since we would have had no light for photos after the ceremony! We started the day in Collierville’s historic town square.

Lisa’s gown was not only worn by her mom, but also her grandmother. That’s how you do vintage.

This wasn’t the church where their ceremony took place! Lisa and Matt had their wedding reception at Collierville’s White Church. It was my favorite venue in Tennessee- A church transformed to a reception space! It was so unique. It was doubly special for Lisa, because not only was it her parents’ wedding venue, but she and Matt were the last to ever have a reception here- Now it’s a museum.

Once the ceremony was done, it was off to party at the White Church! Honest to goodness, my favorite thing in the venue was the church lady’s photo above the wedding cake. Tell me she doesn’t look exactly like Dana Carvey in his SNL skit?! Well, isn’t that special? You can watch it here. :)

First dance love- The Beatles’ “In My Life.”

I love this shot of Miss Judy looking on as Lisa dances with her dad. I will forever love Judy- She’s the funniest woman I’ve ever met, and the ultimate sounding board for family drama. I’ve never been close to my aunts, so I think she’s the next best thing. :)

Their band was incredible.

I remember watching the cartoon Doug on Saturday mornings with Lisa and her little brother, Doug! So crazy seeing him all grown up. :) (And with a GoPro video camera strapped to his chest, no less.)

My favorite!

Did I mention how cool her little brother is?! I hope he posts that video soon!

Seriously- I loooooooooooooove this space.

Lisa, Matt, Billy, Miss Judy, Susan, Doug, and little Will on the way- Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your day!! Love y’all and hope to see you again soon. :)

More Tennessee events on the blog!

Gatlinburg : Travel

November 9, 2011 by Jensey 7 Comments

While cabin hunting with Lorie online a few months ago, we came across “The Castle in the Sky” and knew that it was the place for us! Let me say this again : We found a cabin-turned-cheesy-castle. In Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It was perfect, and before you could say “Cinderella,” we booked it! Did I mention our trip was over Halloween? Perfection!

Despite a depressing start to our vacation (While driving in the rain, we got in a scary accident on the freeway about an hour away from our destination… Everyone’s fine, thank goodness, but I won’t be driving for a while!) Anyway, after a less than perfect start to the trip, we made it through the mountains and arrived at… *trumpets blowing*… Our castle!

If you’re planning a trip to Gatlinburg and are interested in staying in the castle, you can book it here. Despite the quirky appeal and affordable price, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone and we won’t ever be returning… I love the theme, but the place was disgusting and not kept up… I’m talking cobwebs in the stairwells, corners of the windows, along the walls… It was so gross. I was so thankful we came to stay in the fall when most of the TN bugs are dead- I can’t imagine this place crawling with insects in the summer! *shudders*

One of the bedrooms didn’t have power, in another, the king size mattress was balancing on a single support beam in the middle of the bed, which meant any slight movement and the whole mattress would rock about 4 inches up and down. The showers were so tiny with almost no water pressure, and the front door was so flimsy I felt like even little Huckleberry could have kicked it open…

… But the view was nice! :)

It’s such a shame the place was so poorly cared for, because it really is a cute thought, especially with kids. I should also mention that Lorie and I had near-tumbles down these stairs.

The decor was awful– Part castle, part American Indian, with random paintings of women throughout. Yes, those are three Indian heads hanging on the wall… There was an air vent below them that moved their hair in the breeze… Creepy!

A cabin must- Puzzles!

What do you do when the place you’re staying doesn’t have a wine key? Watch this video… Yes, it worked- On three bottles!

On the boys’ hike, they came across this abandoned cabin, complete with empty bunks and an outhouse.

For our friends and family that don’t “get” our move to Tennessee- See? :)

Beautiful as the scenery is, I could spend a weekend in an empty room with this guy and have just as good a time! :)

And because I know Huck hasn’t had as much face time on the blog as I like, here are some recent photos of him in leaves! I also have to say here that leaves have officially been added to Huck’s “hate list.” He growls at them when they fall, refuses to sit on them, and doesn’t seem to find the tiny crunching under his paws as endearing as the rest of us. :)