Jessica Strickland, International Fine Art and Wedding Photojournalist | » Blog

THE KIRK FAMILY

Jessica — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:29:55 +0000

Isn’t this family too adorable?? We had such a fun shoot and the minute I saw them, I couldn’t wait to photograph them!! Thanks, Kirk Family, for a great shoot!! You guys are terrific!!

The kids telling Mom & Dad how to pose…hilarious!!

AMI+NEAL | PART ONE

Jessica — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:18:14 +0000

I’m almost at a loss for words to say about Ami & Neal’s wedding!! I have soo many thoughts, soo many things I loved, such a true affinity for them as a couple….it’s hard to wrap up in words! So, I will say this….Ami & Neal….I think you are both incredible, wonderful, dynamic and special people! I feel soo honored that you chose me to be a part of your wedding, share it with you and witness your love and joy! The wedding was simply fantastic….soo beautiful, soo special, soo fun!!! Thank you, also…for enduring the heat (it was 85 degrees with 100% humidity when I showed up to start coverage at 5:30 in the morning…then nearly 100 degrees when we did their outdoor images!! NO kidding!!!) and still happily doing everything I requested in the name of photos!!

My hope is that the raw love that you both have for one another and incredible connection that you share grows with each year and only becomes more amazing than it is today!! All my love to you both!!

OH…and I simply couldn’t fit this wedding into one post! So, there are two!

The sun starting to rise over Indianapolis…my favorite city.

To say that Ami & Neal are gorgeous is an understatement….

Stay tuned for LOTS more!

AMI+NEAL | PART TWO

Jessica — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:17:06 +0000

And then it was time for an outfit change in prep for an evening of celebration…

And then, it was time for a party!! I love an Indian party…it’s always SUCH fun with the best music!!!

No Indian wedding is complete without great performances!

JAYDEN

Jessica — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:42:21 +0000

Our sweet little buddy Jayden is already 1 year old!! I swear it was like yesterday that we went to the hospital the day Jayden was born and was such a tiny little peanut…and it also seems like yesterday that Lindsay, Will & Jayden came to the hospital when I had Sophie!! Now Jayden is already digging into birthday cake for his 1st birthday!! It scares me to think of how fast time flies…it truly does! I know Sophie is already cruising towards 1 year and I just want time to STOP!! My incredible friend, Lindsay is also soo creative and when brainstorming for Jayden’s 1 year shoot…she said, “let’s capture his first haircut at a cute barber shop!” and I LOVED the idea!! And we had to let him tear into a cupcake too!! LOVED this shoot…LOVE this family!! I get a little choked up when I think that Jayden and Sophie will be friends for life, just like Lindsay and I! LOVE YOU, L+W+J!! HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY JMAN!!

He was all smiles and then started to get quite intriqued by what he was being put through! He did great, though!

my favorite!!

A fresh do called for some updated family pics!

And then a stop at the studio for a little cupcake time! This was the very first time Jayden had experienced sweets…he’s been on all milk, veggies and fruit….and he was LOVING it and not scared to dig in!!

THE SMILEY FAMILY

Jessica — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:53:03 +0000

Isn’t their name just great? Love it!! So, another great shoot with the awesome Smiley family!! Great seeing you Smiley’s…thanks for always being soo wonderful and easy to work with!!

ATTN PORTRAIT CLIENTS!

Jessica — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:04:43 +0000

Hello wonderful blog followers! A quick note of business regarding portrait sessions!

Soo sorry to say that we are BOOKED FULL until November with only 2 shoot spots left for November and only 4 shoot spots left in December!

Thank you for all of your awesome business!! I love my clients!!!!!

OH…and since it’s August and nearing September, that means the shoots/weddings from the summer are all in line to be processed and we are still humming away with a fully shooting schedule until the end of the year….so if you are waiting on a session or a blog post, THANK YOU SOO MUCH for your patience! It’s pedal to the metal here at JRS and we are working our hardest to get them online ASAP!!!!!

THE KAKASULEFF FAMILY

Jessica — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:32:20 +0000

I had SUCH a terrific shoot with the Kakasuleff’s!! It was a steamy summer night out on their family farm but they were such troopers and the steamy atmosphere and evening light actually made for a yummy shooting light! It was great!! Thanks for a terrific shoot, Kakasuleff’s!! It was great seeing you all again!

ROBYN+MATT

Jessica — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 01:00:18 +0000

WOW…what a couple, what a wedding, what a place!! I can’t say enough about Matt & Robyn…they have been soo kind, easy going yet organized and awesome since the day they booked…and their wedding reflected those awesome qualities perfectly! It was soo relaxed and enjoyable…soo fun and easy going…soo beautiful and perfectly executed..and all in all, truly fantastic!! I also LOVED the Danada House…as you will see (forgive me for my detail/landscape obsession)! Such a cool, unique place with awesome photo opportunities in every direction! As per the summer as a whole, it was a steamy hot 96 degree day…but it didn’t phase Matt or Robyn…they just enjoyed every minute and totally embraced outdoor pictures!! Thank you, Matt & Robyn, for having me to Chicago to share in your incredible wedding and allow me the priviledge to photograph it! You are both truly wonderful and I have loved working with you!!

THE PLEIMAN FAMILY

Jessica — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:21:56 +0000

Another great shoot with the Pleiman’s!! Thanks for your patience with the heat and a steamy shoot, Darren & Donna…you guys are great and I think we got great shots!!

JENNY+CHRIS+CHARLI

Jessica — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:56:40 +0000

My wonderful sister is EXPECTING again and we are SOO EXCITED!!!! She is due in September and our sweet little Charli just turned 2 in June and is growing like a weed, so it was time for more pictures!! I love these three people like crazy….and the 4th one inside too!! We don’t know if it’s a girl or boy yet so I’ll be excited to announce it when the baby arrives!!

My sister is stunning….and it’s not fair that she got the gorgeous eyes and I just got boring hazel eyes. I’m a little bitter…I’ll admit it. And gosh, is Charli precious or WHAT?? I’m probably biased, though!

Charli is getting SOOO big and is soo beautiful…I can barely stand it!! I’m soo crazy about that little girl…she lights up all of our lives!! She is also crazy about Sophie or “fofo” as she calls her, in her best effort to say Sophie! She constantly wants to give her kisses and love on her!! Charli’s favorite things at age 2 are her baby doll, her bike and elmo, or “melmo” as she calls him!! When you ask her who her best friend is, she says “AJ” (aunt jess!) and that’s me! Melt my heart!! I realize I’m going to quickly be replaced by Sophie, though…and I will happily relinquish my position to her!

My absolute favorite!! AYKM with this cuteness? Gosh, I want to be 2 again!!!

I bought these boots for Charli before she was born and I knew I wanted to incorporate them into a shoot at some point! I couldn’t resist just doing the boots with that cute little naked, tan summer body! Hilarious!!

KELLY+JOE

Jessica — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:12:41 +0000

Kelly & Joe had SUCH a terrific wedding!!! Combine two awesome, gorgeous, kind, fun people, tons of the best venues and vendors, a super fun wedding party and families and even a hot air balloon ceremony exit and PRESTO….one crazy awesome wedding!! Kelly & Joe…thanks for your patience with this post and for having me as part of your incredible wedding!! You are both truly wonderful people and I was honored to shoot your wedding!! xoxo!!

Another incredibly sweet first meeting!!

Quite a way to leave the ceremony in style…and the view the guests had as they exited the Church!

They were UP…..
UP…..

AND AWAY……

HEATHER+CHAD

Jessica — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:38:21 +0000

I effectively laughed my entire way through this shoot with Heather & Chad! We had SUCH a fun time and I loved photographing them!! They were soo natural and fun…just totally loving their time together and allowing me to simply observe and capture their raw happiness! Oh yea…and they worked it out for some of their serious shots too!! I can’t wait for their wedding in November (when we will NOT be sweating it out through our shoot!)!! THANK YOU for such a fun time and for making the trip to Indy for the shoot, H+C….you two are simply fantastic and I’m soo honored to be your photographer! Hope the family reunion was a blast!!! If you guys need a new family member for that rockin party disguised as a family reunion, i’m available! hehe!

The bench where Chad waited for Heather for their first official date! And then onto the chocolate shop where they went for dessert! We didn’t plan this for our shoot….I just thought they might like shooting in this area based on the style we discussed and while we were there, they told me the story! Love it!

ALLISON+BEN

Jessica — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:57:11 +0000

What an awesome couple Allison & Ben are and what a TERRIFIC wedding they had! I hadn’t met them prior to their wedding day because they have been living in Chicago (aboout to move to California!), were getting married in Columbus, Ohio..and I’m obviously in Indy….and when I met them, I completely adored them!! They were everything I expected and TONS more!! They were soo relaxed on their wedding day and just thoroughly enjoyed it!! They also endured like champs on an incredibly hot, rainy and steamy day…and were just soo fun and great through it all…as were their awesome family and wedding party members! Allison and Ben…thank you for having me and allowing me to capture your wedding…it was incredible, fun, full of warmth and SUCH great style….and I just LOVED being a part of it!!

Another incredibly sweet first meeting followed by some special time for just Allison & Ben!!

ELLA+MERRITT

Jessica — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:35:29 +0000

One of my favorite families who I’ve worked with since their oldest was born! It’s soo special and wonderful to watch them grow…and I haven’t seen them in a while since they live in Savannah, Georgia and I only get the privilege of seeing and shooting them when they come to town!! We had an awesome time together though…as always and even had a “cupcake surprise” to end our shoot (and let’s face it, as a bribe for doing good during our shoot!) Wonderful to see you, as always, Scales Fam!!! Much love to you guys!

Merritt wasn’t having it at the beginning…so Ella & Momma Abby were helping out! Oh, and we stopped into the cutest flower shop down on Mass Ave called Watt’s Blooming! They were soo great, let us come in and have fun…and they even gave the girls each a daisy! They have incredible flowers too!

We stopped into the awesome Flying Cupcake, which has a new shop on Mass Ave! LOVE their cupcakes..and so did the girls!! Oh and their new shop is SOO cute…we had a GREAT time and it was a perfect way to end our shoot!! The girls could have stayed forever…..

Everyone loves a good sugar high!!!

ALLISON+JAMIE

Jessica — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:05:28 +0000

This was such a special wedding!! I knew from the minute that I met Allison that this was going to be great…but I had no idea how great! They are such special, thoughtful, kind people…as are their families! Their wedding was soo intimate and joyful…full of sweet, special moments, wonderful people and SUCH FUN! I truly loved being a part of it! Allison and Jamie were also very patient with some rainy, hot weather so I owe them a huge thanks! Thank you, Allison & Jamie…for letting me be a part of your terrific wedding….it was such an honor for me! Much love to you!

VENDORS:
Venue: The Woodstock Club
Band: Zanna-Doo
Florist: Palm Court Designs
Make-Up: Annette Smith
Hair: John-Marc, Bobby Cooper Salon
Cake: Heavenly Sweets
Wedding Coordinator: Cassandra Stevning, Leslie Jones Weddings
Ceremony Music: The Dolce Trio
Calligrapher: Kathy LaPorte
Invitations: Kay Krober, Designer’s Fine Press
Rolls-Royce: Antique Limo
Printing (menu cards, programs, table cards): Oliver’s Twist

Can you believe these gorgeous natural curls?

Oh and how I LOVE a sweet first meeting! My two favorite moments of a wedding day are the first meeting and the first dance….LOVE the real, intimate moments in both of those!

I love the Ketubah signing….and Jewish ceremonies! They are very sweet!

I’ve always had an affinity for The Woodstock Club…it’s very warm and inviting, yet beautifully formal and perfect for a wedding with the colors that Allison chose…..

Did I mention that I love Jewish weddings….