We shot their engagement pictures down around the campus of Ohio University and we couldn’t have done it at a more perfect time. The students were all on spring break, the flowers just started blooming and we practically had the entire campus to ourselves. It was picture perfect cheeeeeesey, I know.

When Bryn contacted me this past winter to let me know she was pregnant I just KNEW she was going to be one of those pregnant women who looked absolutely gorgeous through out the entire pregnancy. You know, those ones we all love to hate…;) She just radiated with love when we got to their home downtown Columbus.

Bryn and Justin’s session was such a breeze as we just shot around their house, walked through the park and then went to Jeni’s to grab some treats. I love shooting maternity sessions, especially for my past brides. Its so much fun seeing the different stages of their life and to see their little families growing!

We first signed up for this trip thinking we were going to learn about business growth, how to work more efficiently with your spouse, how to delegate responsibilities and most of all…how to be successful….

We pulled into the long driveway of the Winshape retreat center after a long 9 hour journey down route 75. Towards the end of the trip I became a bit irritable with excitement of just wanting to GET THERE. I couldn’t wait to meet some new people and make some new friends.

We were greeted by a warm welcoming committee (Julia, Katelyn and Jody) that came up and gave us hugs and filled us with happy little smiles. I was so excited to meet these three women. They all are wonderful examples of faith, marriage and industry success. After we said our hello’s we found our amazing room which served as a cow stall back in the 1930′s. Beautiful exposed white brick, glossy wood floors, and the largest bed I think I’ve ever laid in! It was so large and Jared felt so far away that he should have been given his own zip code.

That evening at dinner we met some amazing new couples and shared some great conversation. Mary, Rachel and Suzanne are such lovely women and their guys are awesome supporters in their businesses. We were blessed to have made such great friends on the very first night! The conversation somehow switched to a comment made about the chandeliers, and how they reminded him of Hogwarts. Jared quietly leaned into me and asked if that was a Twilight thing….I of course laughed out loud and shared with everyone his silliness. Poor Jared

I feel like I could potentially make a few blog posts out of our trip and I might just do that. Im a woman full of words and to limit myself to summarizing our experience would be hard and not give the impact Im hoping to make with it. So I’ll start with our sunrise stroll….

The alarm went off early. Too early if you ask me! It was still quite dark in the room and the bed was extra fluffy and warm. All I wanted to do was to curl back up into my lovers arms so he could hold me gently as we slept. But, there was a goal in mind and that goal was far more worth going back to sleep for. I shook awake my J and bugged him to get his warm body out of bed. I glanced outside the window, which I had to stand on my tippy toes to reach, and I saw the most glorious layer of fog. The fog was very thick as it graced the tips of the spires. I hurriedly rushed Jared out the door with our camera so that we wouldn’t miss the sunrise.

We slowed our roll when we stepped outside. Trying to get used to walking slower was a challenge for me. At home and in my errands Im always rushing and in a hurry to get the most done in the least amount of time. But here, at Winshape, we strolled. Jared took my hand, recognizing that slowing down was hard for me, and pulled me under his wing. We walked even slower as we saw the amazing fog that was through the arch way of these two buildings…

Our next view was one of the most amazing sceneries Ive ever laid my eyes upon. Rolling mountains, romantic fog, horses out grazing in the pasture, bull frogs singing, herds of deer playing in the tall grass. It was picture perfect.

We found a trail that lead to the large pond so we decided to walk even further down the hill.  I love this man….

Just as we reached the bottom we looked behind us to see yet another amazing view that very well topped the first one. Isn’t our God amazing? What magnificence we get to experience daily by his creations. He is the one true artist and Im inspired by his work…

Im so glad I got to experience this first morning because every morning after that was very gloomy, cloudy and without fog. I feel very lucky to have witnessed what I did.

We look good together don’t we?

Tomorrow:

Bryn and Justin’s Maternity..

  On monday: 

Our 7 mile bike ride up and back down a mountain, being out of shape, and seeing 3 states all at the same time!

This couldn’t be more apparent when shooting Kyle and Allison’s engagement session. The way Kyle held Allison’s hand when walking, how he nuzzled into her cheeks to show her his love, or how he gently held her close into his body. Their love was apparent. And contagious….

So here is to being a bit more relaxed in the days to come…

We start over….

Jared and I have experienced MANY life altering events within the last few months and one thing Im slowly beginning to learn is this….

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

This verse has been my comfort over these past few months. It reminds me that I can plan my life for which ever way I want, but ultimately there is One who’s will for me is better.

I hope you can find comfort in this as well as you go along this life’s journey with me.

Smile. Its fun.

We had a blast at their engagement session this past week. We started out at Highbanks park and then moved over to the Powell Village Winery! Thank you so much Jeff and Gina for allowing us to come in on your day off! We had a great time and cannot wait to purchase A LOT of wine from you guys! We sampled a few types here and there and Ashley and Joe bought me a very yummy bottle of Chardonnay! Ive been enjoying it every night since…

Take a peek at their cute little session:

Monsoon, hurricane, down pour. The rain on this wedding day was intense and probably the worst Ive ever seen it on a Saturday. Jared and I arrived to the ceremony location a half hour before scheduled to sit there and collect our thoughts and creativity. Not only that but it was raining so hard that just a second of standing in it you would have gotten drenched. After about 20 minutes of sitting there praying for it to stop it finally lightened up enough to walk inside and get the gear in safely!

I saw the beautiful Miss Heather standing in the hallway gazing outside in amazement. We exchanged hugs and I reassuringly told her that if we weren’t able to get outside we’d get super creative inside the church. Then, with all of our couples, if we absolutely no way can get outside then we always offer a free “Day After” session where the bride gets back into her dress and the groom back into a tux or suit. We take the bride and groom out on a different day, most likely after their honeymoon, and have a blast taking additional photos on a nicer day! I KNOW its not the same but its a shoot that’s even more relaxed and more creative then you can usually accomplish on the wedding day. Especially a wedding day.

This was not the case on this particular wedding day. After the ceremony the sun popped its little head out and we had clear blue skies for the rest of the day! It was very intense and beautiful!!

Photography: Jacobus Photography
Flowers/Linens: Elegant Touch
Ceremony:St. Brendans Church
Reception: Riviera Club
DJ: Tyler Vanderhorst
Cake: Glenda Neely
Dress: Abbotts
Shoes: Sears
Invitations: Harlans

Stacey and Noah decided to do a “first look” to get a majority of the images done before hand. I love when couples meet before hand because you would be surprised at how calm it makes everyone. We hopped on over to a small park before the ceremony and then shot quite a bit around the church. We were fairly limited to all the places we could go due to the sun being so darn bright!

After the ceremony in Logan Stacey and Noah held their reception at The Vault downtown Columbus! We took some more time around Columbus to get some more portraits of everyone. Im not much of a graffiti wall shooter but this little alley way was right where the limo dropped everyone off and I took advantage of the beautiful fun colors!!

Sometimes they’re a little shy. But it can be OH SO CUTE!

To book a summer session email me at contact@jacobusphoto.com!

I cant wait to get him in front of my camera again soon!

Then we headed inside to see what trouble we could run into!

Meredith and John decided on doing a “first look” which is perhaps one of my most favorite things a bride and groom could do. A first look is when the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony. We create a fun and suspenseful situation where the grooms back will be towards the bride as she walks out and has him turn around to see her for the first time. Im usually in front of the groom capturing his reactions to her walking up behind him and its so neat to see a groom get kind of nervous and anxious. The moment when she has him turn around emotions just fly off the charts. There’s laughs, cries, excitement and love. A lot of couples say that even though they see each other before the ceremony it doesn’t take away from the emotions running through them as they walk down the aisle. Doing a first look is great if you’re short on time between the ceremony and reception or if its going to be dark after the ceremony.

After Meredith and John had their first look we popped all over the place to take pictures. Goodale park, Short North and then some around the hotel. The wedding day couldnt have gone more smoothly and the bridal party was so much fun to work with.

Mark Dantzer is by far one of my favorite DJ’s to work with! If you’re looking for an AMAZING DJ and someone you can trust not to be cheesy or too “DJ-ish”, he’s your man!!!!

All In Bloom did an amazing job on the flowers! They were so beautiful and I LOVED the peacock feathers!!

The ceremony and reception took place at the Columbus Athenaeum.

We took this time to upload our images from the day to have an extra backup and refuel our bellies. I leaned up against the wall next to Jared and let out a large sigh. Sigh of relief and relaxation. He took my hands and placed them on his shoulders in an attempt to give me a hug. He knows me well and knew that I looked like I could use a big comforting hug. In his arms I felt security, love and intense passion. A faint slow song started in the background of the reception for light dinner music and he took my right hand.

We giggled and fell deep into the moment of our little slow dance in the back room. No one around but us, engulfed into each others arms, slow dancing and falling more in love with each other in every moment.

Complete Happiness.

The faint sounds of lawn mowers remind me that we should probably mow our grass soon. With all the rain this past week its been impossible to get out….but why am I talking about grass? Back to weddings…..

I cant remember the first time I met Cyndal. Ive known her since we were like 5 years old. Cyndal has always been a beautiful girl and has always been very sweet. When she emailed me about wedding photography I was beyond excited! I love weddings where we go into them knowing the couples pretty well. It creates an easy-going flow to the day and you go beyond just being the “wedding photographer” to being the “friend with a nice camera who takes pretty pictures”.

That’s one of the reasons why I pour my heart and soul into my blog posts and Facebook. I want my couples to know me to the deepest level. My likes, dislikes, my bubbly personality, and the love I have for Jared and photography.

When all four of us got together for Cyndal and Ric’s engagement photos it was a really good time. We got to know the love between the two of them, we got to know Ric’s goofy personality and we got to experience making new friends.

Cyndal’s Aunt took a moment to give Cyndal her Uncle Dave’s wedding band to wear around her bracelet. He passed away just a couple of months ago in a tragic accident:

I love Dad’s look in the background:

Seriously? I caught them in little moments like this all the time. WAY TOO CUTE!!!

Your bridal bouquet should be a unique reflection on the design, your personality and the over feel of the wedding.

Tara Wanner from Bella Couture Events says she would like to see brides “Use more texture because it stands out better in your photographs!”

Below are some visual inspirations I put together on Pinterest. I want to make it clear that I DID NOT take these photographs. But I would like to shoot some bouquets like this…..juuuuust sayin’!

Photo Credited to Pinterest!

Anna so graciously supplied us with a 16 piece box of decadent chocolates to give away as a prize for our giveaway!  How awesome!! Jared and I also purchased a few chocolates to eat on the way home. I got the dark chocolate amaretto and the dark chocolate coconut. Both of them were knee buckling good! Jared got the dark chocolate mint and the milk chocolate Irish coffee cream and he of course loved his as well!

The neat part of Chocolaterie Stam is that they also offer favors for your wedding! They can print your name and date on the little chocolates to bring the little candies into theme. And what wedding guest WOULDN’T like an edible favor???

So on with the contest already right??? So here is the deal. I love chocolate and I love photography. If you ALSO love chocolate and want to win this delicious box then I want you to submit your most FAVORITE picture ever. One that YOU took. Tell me why you love it and the story behind it. Entries can be submitted to contact@jacobusphoto.com. The contest ends next Friday night the 15th at 5:00pm! Im recruiting my friends on this one to help me chose a winner. Even though Im not a bias person I want everyone to feel like this was a fair pick!

The finalist’s picture will be displayed on the blog and also contacted to let them know they won! (a few runner ups might also make the blog

Here is what I need you to supply me with to enter:

Name
Email
Favorite Image
Story behind the image
Favorite joke… So I can laugh as I read the entries!!

Well….maybe a beef biscuit bribe would get his attention…

Happy Wednesday!

Meet the Rovai’s:

They love each other:

Meet Colton:

Meet Nolan:

They’re twins with two very different personalities:

They could have played all day in that puddle:

And finally…a little Josh and Emily time:

When we met with Courtney and her Mom, Carolyn, they told me stories about the planning process and how Carolyn had taken over the role of wedding planner while Courtney was hard at work. I didnt meet AJ til the morning of the engagement shoot. Which funny story, I woke up late for, grabbed a Coke and a Coffee cake and bolted out the door- hoping I was dressed. We rocked the shoot like nothing else and had a wonderful time of laughs, wedding planning stories and just plain old getting to know each other.

The day of the wedding I arrived bright and early to the salon where Courtney was having the works done! She sat there glowing. And I do mean glowing…with happiness. She excitedly greeted me, checked out my new TOMS and proudly showed me her new bright pink UGGS!!! Can we say jealous….JEALOUS!!!!! Carolyn was right there next to her enjoying the pampers of life on the wedding day. It was so refreshing to see such joy and happiness being shone through a mother and daughter on such a stressful day.

The day seemed to happen all too fast. After the salon we headed to Carolyns house where the FAB-U-LOUS Nicole Short was applying makeup to the girls. Brides, Nicole ROCKS! Ask me for her info. Then it was time to head to the church. Courtney and AJ were married at St. Paul in Westerville and held the reception at the beautiful down town Vault. We made a pit stop at the state house to snap some portraits before being introduced.

Walking into the reception reminded me just how much I love working with back ground lighting. Im serious folks if you want your wedding reception to seriously SHINE then talk to your coordinator about getting some lighting hooked up. I’s love it!

Flowers: Cuas
Band: Next Exit
Cake: The Suisse Shop
Wedding Coordinator: Tiffani Susi with HnT events

A little calming from MOH right before walking down the aisle:

Different type of Black and White style edit:

During Dad’s toast….

The wedding day was just as fun. The excitedness and energy of everyone, the last minute brush ups, and of course some serious radar checking. Yes, we were scheduled to get a pretty brutal storm the same time portraits were going to take place. We had to work fast and down to business. But we loved every minute of it.

Church: St. Joseph Cathedral 
Reception: Renaissance hotel
Flowers and Reception decor: Elegant Touch Events
Hair: Charles Penzone
DJ: Team DJ
Pies: Just Pies

Only one of the coolest bride party ever:

Dont like cake? No problem! Set up a PIE BAR!!!!!

They wanted a smokey entrance:

Yes….You see correctly. Granny “iced” the bride and groom:

9-25-10. I woke up differently that morning. I woke up with a skip in my step, smile on my face and the energy of an energizer bunny. I KNEW it was going to be a good day I could just feel it. I spent my morning praying, pumping myself full of inspiration and plain oatmeal. I was ready. Ready to photograph the wedding of Brian Heminger and Nicole Monaco!

***Warning*** I dont normally post this many photos on my blog but I couldnt resist just this one time.

Right before she walked down the aisle:

Jareds shot that Im completely in love with:

Some of the most awesome bridal party peeps ever!

The girls have their own club. The finger puppet club!

I edited this one with one of my new action recipes. I call it Woot Tastic. What do you think???

Here are a few of my favorites from Colin in the belly:

Colin : 9 Months later!!

The clear morning skies carried into the afternoon. We arrived at the hotel where Courtney would be putting the final touches of her makeup on. We had attended the rehearsal dinner the night before and got to know everyones wonderful personalities. It made the wedding day a graceful breeze as I was able to call up everyone by name. I walked into the room and said my hellos to all the gals. Everyone was giddy with excitement. Courtney’s makeup was flawless and she was ready to start!!

Courtney and Keith decided to meet before the ceremony to get all the pictures done. I have to say that I completely love Courtney and Keith for allowing 2 hours for all the pictures before hand. This made the day go super smooth and nothing was rushed! The two meeting each other was super special. Keith had his back turned towards Courtney and I gave Courtney the freedom to walk on up to Keith and tell him when to turn around. I love watching the brides reaction as she prepares to call out her husbands name to see her for the first time. Its one of my most favorite parts of the day.

Everything that day couldnt have been more perfect. I loved Courtney and Keith, both their families and the bridal party. You guys were great and I cant wait to work with you again in the future!!!

The wedding and reception took place at the Columbus Athenaeum

Get it girl, get it get it giirrrrll!

Their first date was at Betty’s right there in the Short North:

We walked into the room where Chris and Geyse were patiently yet nervously waiting. Rather than Geyse’s girlfriends helping her prepare herself for the day, Chris prepared her. And she prepped him. It was the coolest most unique thing I have ever experienced. What a sweet moment when she helped him into his Blues and he helped her step into her dress and zip it up. I love experiencing new things and this definitely topped the list of new and cool things I recommend doing for a wedding.

When I originally was selecting photos for their blog post I ended up with 118 “blog worthy” shots. I looked at the number in awe and started stressing out. How am I ever going to reduce this down to 10-15?? Well, I think I tried my best but I still feel like I’m being stingy in not showing you the full 118. If you would like to see more, their wedding slideshow is at the end.

Bella Couture Events came up with this superb design:

Im being modest by saying Geyse and Chris’s centerpieces were 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide!