It won’t be much longer until Jessi and Bobby are blissfully married instead of blissfully engaged! I’m so excited to shoot their wedding in mid-December because they are seriously so sweet together and fun to be around.
I’m also incredibly excited to be so (almost) caught up on blogging that I’m actually blogging engagement sessions for couples that haven’t already had their weddings!
Here’s a peek into their engagement session from this past summer.
So. much. preciousness.
Yah, Jessi’s a show stopper.
 I hope that the last few weeks leading up to the big day are super-special for you guys, Jessi and Bobby! I’ll be seeing y’all so soon!
Often wedding days are a long time coming, but I felt like I had been looking forward to this one for FOREVER.
It wasn’t that Julieta and Phillip had an obscenely long engagement, it was just that Julieta had been such a present fan (and avid “like”er and “comment”er) on the JZP facebook page and blog for such a long time that I was chomping at the bit to photograph her wedding.
And hopefully that will be the last time I compare myself to a horse in this blogpost.
This June day was truly an all-around sweet day with an absolutely dear couple.
Reason #487 why Julieta is awesome: she wore a Princess Leia garter. This also shows why Phillip is awesome because it means he’s the type of groom who would be really proud for his bride to wear a Star Wars garter.
There is something so fun about a bride getting ready in a whirlwind of bridesmaids with a million hands helping her into her dress and do hair touch-ups. But there was also something so precious in the quiet calmness of Julieta’s mom being the only one there to help get her ready for the wedding day. I very much enjoyed photographing this different pace of “getting ready” shots that yielded a different mood of images.
Julieta and Phillip decided to do a first look on their wedding day and I’m so happy that they did. I’ll actually only be showing a couple of photos of it in this post as I’ll soon be posting about their personal experiences with the first look and will include more photos then.
 The first look allowed these two to take their bride-groom and wedding party portraits at their reception venue — the beautiful Fort Worth Stockyards.
 I loved their reception centerpieces’ use of many mini succulents.
After finishing up at the Stockyards in plenty of time we took off for the Robert Carr Chapel at TCU for the ceremony.
I’m seriously in love with this image of Julieta’s grandmother from El Salvador giving Phillip’s littlest brother a thumbs up right before the ceremony.
I think the above photo may very well be my most favorite recessional photo I’ve ever taken. I love all the genuine emotion showing in Julieta’s facial expression directly into the camera.
After family photos and a few more quick portraits of the bride and groom and wedding party, we were all headed back to the Stockyards for the reception that started off in true Texas style with a yummy bbq dinner.
Julieta is the biggest fan of squirrels that I know, so I made sure to integrate these cute cake toppers into their ring portrait shot.
The DJ pretty much forced the wobble on Phillip but he ended up not being half-bad at it.
 Julieta and Phillip, even just being around y’all together on two occasions, it is evident that y’all are an exactly perfect fit for each other and that always makes my heart so, so happy to get to see!
Thank you for choosing JZP to be there to document your most special day (even before you had a wedding date set :))!
Katie.
Sweet, darling, excited Katie.
I had all of those adjectives applied to her before I even MET her. I got them all just from e-mailing back and forth with her. But she definitely proved that expectation correct after I met her at her bridal session. All I had to do after that was add “beautiful” to the list of adjectives.
I was seriously SO disappointed I wasn’t available to shoot her wedding but it gave me great joy to be able to shoot her bridals and play a small role in this incredibly exciting season of her life.
Fun fact — this photo above is actually my blog header! Surprise! It was Katie all along!
 Yeah, so basically you’re gorgeous and I think you’re darling.
Best wishes to you, Katie dear!
Bekah and Graham are just always going to be one of those couples who are especially dear to my photographer’s heart. When I met these two their freshman year in college they had already been dating for something like four or five years. I don’t know if any of you other photographer’s out there have that list in your mind of couples who you secretly reeeeeeaaaaalllllly want to photograph when they get engaged and married? Bekah and Graham were on my list.
So when Bekah placed such a high value on having me as her wedding photographer that she chose her wedding date based off of which Saturday I had available for her wedding month, I was floored. Overwhelmed. Ecstatic.
That kind of JZP devotion means the world to me. It’s humbling and it makes me want to do everything within my power to document this day to the fullest of my ability. Don’t get me wrong, I ALWAYS go to a wedding wanting to do the best job I have ever done before, but this gesture intensified that desire to pour myself into creating the best images I possibly could.
Bekah and Graham, know that I treasure you and it was the highest honor for James and I to be able to document the wondrous day that y’all became Mr. and Mrs. Graham Grace.
While the girls primped at Bekah’s parent’s house, the groom and the rest of the guys were doing their own form of primping at one of the groomsmen’s homes before Graham headed to the Nicks’ for the first look.
First looks can hold some of the most precious of moments, when all the anticipation of becoming this person’s husband or wife becomes realized in a private moment together. A moment to be giddy or a moment to be overcome with emotion or a moment just to hold each other before the hustle and bustle gets going full swing. I feel like, in a way, it allows the couple to take on the day as a team from the start.
A country girl at her core, Bekah really wanted to find an old barn to take wedding photos with. She, her twin sister, her bridesmaids, and her parents searched the area high and low — even leaving notes on gates trying to get in contact with property owners. Not long before the wedding they found this one (owned by a friend of her dad’s) about 20 minutes away from the church and secured it as the location for bride-groom and wedding party photos.
So if you’re a bride whose venue doesn’t offer the type of photographic backdrop you envisioned for your wedding photos, do not be dismayed! We can always plan together for an on-location first look or a set of wedding party photos.
Every time I see this photo, Bekah, I’m struck with how stunning you are. And also how goofy Graham is.
The front of that red barn may have been in direct sunlight on that June afternoon in Texas, but they had all gone to such trouble to find it there was no way anyone wasn’t going to complain about stepping out of the shade for a bit of wedding party photo fun.
Soon thereafter we headed back to First Baptist Cisco for some cooling down before the ceremony.
Because we had taken the vast majority of the photos before the ceremony, it was only a few quick shutter snaps before Bekah and Graham were dancing the night away at their reception.
Even though it was a bit cloudy by sunset, I snuck them outside for a few quick sunset portraits as husband and wife.
Photos like these (that James snagged!) are only part of the reason why I love Graham. The other part has something to do with seeing how well he loves Bekah.
This was a good day.
Thank you again, Bekah and Graham, for asking us to be a part.
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