I greeted a lovely couple at a photo shoot the other day and the look on their faces when they saw my rather large baby bump and proceeded to ask “are you THE Jessica Strickland??” made me realize that I had overlooked a lil something! ooops! I HAVE NEWS TO SHARE on the BLOG (and not just facebook)….a little late! YES, I am 6 months pregnant with BABY STRICKLAND VERSION 2.0! And it’s a GIRL!! And she’s due in AUGUST! (she figured it would be cool to just show up RIGHT in the middle of the busiest time of year! she likes to make a grand entrance apparently…hopefully not TOO grand! ha!) We are beyond blessed and grateful….and very excited to become a family of FOUR!!! Sophie already has lots of plans for life with her “sissy” and all of the many ways she is going to help and care for her! Life is going to get even more fun and we can’t wait! (well, maybe we can wait a little…)

Along with that news, came some very hard decision making that I was forced to do! I found out that we were expecting after my year for 2013 was already FULL with weddings, so with a baby due smack in the middle of all of that fun, I knew that I couldn’t work full time with weddings, have a newborn and 3 year old AND do portraits/newborns/commercial work full time, as I usually do. SO, it is with such sadness that I had to stop doing portraits, newborns and commercial work and become a dedicated wedding photographer. My portrait clients are all very long running clients who I have a close relationship with and I simply adore them! I felt truly honored to get to enjoy time with their families every year and watch them grown…and have them choose to work with me year after year! So it was a VERY hard, tear filled decision that did NOT come easily, but after looking at an already full schedule without portraits and not wanting my new baby girl, Sophie and Mark to be the ones to suffer, it was a decision that I knew I simply didn’t have a choice on. I have a few lingering shoots that were already scheduled before the decision was made, so those will be blogged and then portraits will come to an end. As always, I’m blessed beyond words with my business and to all of my beloved portrait clients….I can’t thank you enough for years of devotion from you, it means soo much to me, as do your precious families….and I will dearly miss seeing each and every one of you! (teary again! ugh!)

Meet our beautiful new little girl (aka gymnast in the first image!)…

Miranda & Sean’s wedding was absolutely fantastic! They are truly a wonderful, warm, kind and endearing couple…and their wedding was a perfect representation of those qualities. From the impeccable style and rich beauty of the day, to the love and joy that radiated from everyone involved, to the thoughtfulness and care in every detail, to the family and friends that surrounded Miranda & Sean, it was such a memorable, incredible wedding!! There were soo many moments that I remember, from the morning prep when Miranda’s best friend shared an old treasure that she found…a BFF locket that Miranda has given her as a child, to the father/daughter first look when Miranda’s Father shared a special memory with her of a $2 Dollar Bill that they were each given half of when Miranda began High School, to hearing Miranda’s mother say that she’s always envisioned the day when her daughter would come down the staircase of their beautiful family home in her wedding gown, to the BEST Father of the Bride speech that I’ve ever heard in my career, to watching Sean and his sister share a pinky swear and then watching her tear up as her brother’s best friend toasted him on his wedding day…and the list goes on! There were soo many sweet, wonderful moments! Miranda & Sean also took great care in choosing a dream team of wedding professionals to carefully orchestrate their day…and they made excellent choices, as it was a flawless day! I also was able to spend the day surrounded by wonderful friends who are incredible at their profession and it’s always such a joy to collaborate as a team to create a couple’s dream wedding! None of us will ever tire of having such a special opportunity as a team of wedding professionals! Miranda and Sean, I wish you a lifetime of love and I’m soo excited for all that awaits you in the coming year!! It was such an honor capturing your wedding! All my love…

WEDDING PROFESSIONALS & VENUES:
Ceremony: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church
Reception: Scottish Rite Cathedral
Planning & Florals: Detail+Design
Hair & Makeup: Nicole Bryan Salon, Gina Calderone and Dakota Cloud
Lighting & Effects: Evans Audio Visual
Catering: Thomas Caterers of Distinction
Invitations, Stationary and Papers: Pomp and Polish
Band: First Impression Band
After Party DJ: Grapevine Entertainment
Transportation: Antique Limo
Cake: Heavenly Sweets
Videography: Indy Visual
Photo Booth: Happy Snaps Photo Booth
Video Confessional Booth: Indy Visual