Columbus Ohio Wedding Photography | Jacobus Wedding Photographers » Westerville

Contest Winner | Chocolaterie Stam

The Jacobus Duo — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:34:03 +0000

Hey there Bloggies!

I’m thrilled to announce the winner of the Chocolaterie giveaway!! When I received Jeanna’s entry I about balled my eyes out. I loved all of the entries but what it really came down to was who really captivated me with their description. For me, just recently losing my Grandfather to cancer, this really hit home. I’m very fresh in the feelings of losing that special part of my life. While reading her story and looking at the image I really feel a calm and peaceful spirit. I smile, I cry, I laugh. The image resembles such a soothing and tranquil life. Simple.

I love the color of the deep blue sky paired with deep green grass. I feel the cool fall day. I even smell the aroma of living in the country. Everything about this image and story was just a solid hit home.

CONGRATS JEANNA!!!!! You’ll be contacted to make arrangements on getting your box of chocolates. Maybe you’ll even want to share one with me??? HUH!???

The picture was taken this past October in very rural Wisconsin. I call it Grandma’s View. My grandmother passed away last October and being from the country, she was buried in one of those small cemeteries in the middle of no where. The day after her funeral I went back out to spend some time with my grandma alone – away from my very large family. Her cemetery sat on the corner of two roads and was surrounded by a dairy farm. I thought this was such a great location for my grandma to rest because she had been a dairy farmer all her life. As I looked at my grandma’s headstone, I just turned to the left and saw the view depicted in the picture. A beautiful fall tree and an old outhouse or chicken coop (not sure what it is). Of course that day was filled with a beautiful blue sky. I couldn’t help but capture the image that reminded me of how beautiful my grandmother was – inside and out. I have since had the picture blown up on canvas and it hangs at the top of my stairs. Everyday, my grandmother and I get to share the same view.

Giveaway | Chocolaterie Stam

The Jacobus Duo — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 12:40:15 +0000

Ah! Hello my sweet peeps! If you know me, you know I get VERY excited over the littlest things. Like, not just a liittttle excited. Like, plug-your-ears-because-I-tend-to-get-a-little-loud excited! Well… Im here to tell you about my most recent discovery and about my absolute newest favorite hang out spot. Its a little chocolate boutique located in uptown Westerville! Holy Schmoley. I walked in and instantly my inner female started doing the most outrageous version of Jazzercise you could think of. Yup, just call it the Judi Sheppard Missett feeling. THAT GOOD! What is the name of this amazing boutique you ask? Chocolaterie Stam and they are located at 79 South State Street. I met one of the owners, Anna, who is one of the nicest business owners Ive met. That’s why I completely LOVE supporting small businesses, the service is always FANTASTIC!

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!!

Courtney and AJ | Wedding

The Jacobus Duo — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:43:39 +0000

Its 7:45am. I see the faint light peeking through my blinds. Im sure the sun has peeked over the horizon but the dense layer of fog is hiding its pretty glow from me. I looked through the window to find I can only see about 15 feet in front of me. Trees are black stick silhouettes. Birds are chirping…or are those crows? That would totally set this scene! A thin layer of frost has taken over my car. Brr….Im pretty sure winter has arrived.

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….

Jen and Andy | Married

The Jacobus Duo — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:12:42 +0000

Oh Jen. When I first received Jen’s inquiring email I was super bummed. Not because she was emailing me but because she came referred from our dear friend Beth and we were booked!! We exchanged bummed emails and went on our own ways. Then about 2 weeks later I received ANOTHER email from Jen saying they changed their date! And yes, we were open!! I was soo excited! When I first met Jen her presence alone made you feel so comfortable. Her passion for God and her love for Andy, I knew this couple was going to be great friends someday.

We shot Jen and Andy’s engagement session over this past summer and had so much fun! We got some ice cream, walked around Westerville and then went to our super fun country location! Andy is really into motorcycles and I tried to talk him into bringing it to the session but he was afraid he’d mess his hair up

We couldn’t have asked for a better wedding day! The weather was superb, the bridal party was HOTT and everyone was super welcoming to Jared and I!

The reception was held at the Medallion Country Club

Jen and Andy | Engaged

The Jacobus Duo — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:50:43 +0000

Jen was so cute! She emailed me a couple months back inquiring for a date that we are already booked for. A few weeks later she wrote back to me saying they changed their date! YAY! We were available!! We quickly set up a meeting and I instantly clicked with Jen. What a fun, smart and cute gal! We first started out at Graeters Ice Cream in Westerville and then moved out to Jareds Grandpas land. Jen and Andy were super fun to work with and I cant WAIT for their wedding!

Work it mama!!!

Hellooooo 50 1.2!!!

Alright Andy, give me some sass!!!

Praise you in this storm

The Jacobus Duo — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:36:09 +0000

I tossed one end of the blanket up into the air while keeping a tight grasp on the end closest to me. I let the blanket gently fall back down to earth to create a soft and itch-free laying spot for me on the grass. I kicked off my sandals, hopped onto the blanket and fell onto my back tucking my fore arms under my head for pillow support. Glancing up into the sky I watched as the storm moved closer in. From my expertise in predicting the weather it was about 10 minutes from opening the flood gates onto me. While laying under the billowing gray clouds my mind started to jump from thought to thought. I thought of how lucky I was to have over-come my fear of storms so I could now fully embrace the feeling of laying in the grass watching it roll in. I thought of how lucky I was to have a husband who is always with me in everything I do and go through. I thought of my family and how things don’t always work out how you expect them to…but its okay. I thought of the wonderful times Ive been experiencing with friends this summer at the pool. But most importantly I thought of love.

Jared hopped off the swing that was hanging from the oak tree. What a crafty husband I have. I love the country styled swing he built for me. With a beverage to relax him from the day in one hand he supported his body weight with the other to plop down next to me on the blanket. Right there. In that moment. Was perfection. I lifted my head to his thigh for better support and we both gazed up into the on coming-thunder baring-storm. We glanced at each other with little smirks and both commented on how beautiful this moment was. We talked about our future together and all the goals in life we both wanted to accomplish. We joked about the day and how we accidentally had just walked 4 miles by getting lost in our new neighborhood. Then comes Dash. Dash was jealous that his mommy and daddy were having a moment of time with just each other to cuddle with. He nudged himself as close as he could into the cracks between us afraid of being left out. Yes Dash, we see you there. We started laughing some more when I began feeling little drops of rain on my forehead. We hopped up quickly and looked out into the wall of rain that was roaring our way. Gathering up our blankets and tossing them into the porch the rain fell down harder. This time it didn’t feel like sprinkles it felt like little BB pellets. We hurried ourselves to make it under some shelter before we got too wet. And right at that moment we stopped. And kissed in the rain….

Memorial Night Fun!!

The Jacobus Duo — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:00:23 +0000

The sun was out, clouds were scarce and the wind was blowing a perfect 5mph. “Lets make a home made drive in movie tonight!”, I casually mentioned to Jared over a giant plate of Mexican cuisine. In agreement he texted his brother and I texted the girls. We got our family/gang together for a VERY impromptu cookout and movie night. As Jared was setting up the projector on the outside of the house, Doug was char-grillin’ us up some burgers. And boy do I mean CHAR-GRILLED!!! We all grabbed a burger and a beverage and sprawled out on the blankets and lawn chairs.

Stranger than Fiction was the film of choice and boy was it a good choice. We all sat there laughing and poking fun and just simply enjoying life outside in the country. I had a moment of excitement roll through me as I thought about how important it is to spend fun quality time with your family. Away from work, away from facebook and away from general “life”. We were livin’ and it was great. The Jacobus clan never fails to make fun memories with each other and it was great to add this to the memory bank. If you find that I don’t update as much, or you don’t find me on facebook as much, its because I’m out livin’ life how it is meant to be lived. Free, fun and in love!

The beautiful sunset we got to enjoy before the movie:

Mel and Dustin | Engaged

The Jacobus Duo — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:40:35 +0000

It all started when Mel was sent to Colonial Music in Westerville to get an instrument fixed. She walked through the front door with an instrument about the same size as she was. As she plopped it up on the counter a handsome young man (Dustin) ran to the desk to complete her order. Dustin had experienced love at first sight. Mel quickly signed her receipt picked up her bags and walked out the door. As she left Dustin was squinting every which direction trying to make out her scribble of a signature. Finally he put something together, he knew what school she worked for! He sent in some top secret spy’s (not really, just high school students) to find out what her name was. They succeeded and brought back the information to Dustin. Dustin then spent hours looking for her on facebook to try and ask her out on a date. And that’s when he found her….

Dustin and I grew up together. We were friends in Elementary school clear up until High school. I was so excited when he IM’ed me one night telling me that he is engaged and he needed a wedding photographer… I might know one!!! (wink wink), I wrote. I was filled with joy when Dustin brought Mel to me to meet her for the first time. Mel is incredibly sweet and her heart is in the hands of a wonderful guy!

Whitney and Doug | Married

The Jacobus Duo — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:31:34 +0000

I could go way back when and tell you the story of how Whitney and I met. I wont. But lets just say it involved pig tails, dandelion picking and T-ball. My brother in law, Doug, was chatting with Jared and I one night and he began to tell us about this girl he ran into from High School! With curious ears Jared and I (mostly me) began asking multiple questions about this gal that Doug had become smitten with. Her name was Whitney Sherman. He continued to tell us how he really enjoyed hanging out with her. They never hung out in High School nor did they ever really speak to each other. About three months rolled by (I think) and it was around Christmas time when Doug and Whitney announced they were going to get married. How excited were we?? Doug ACTUALLY found someone!! Like for real! Just kidding Dougal, you know I love you. When Doug and Whitney approached Jared and I and asked us if we wanted to be in the wedding or shoot it my mind over flowed with this and that theories. On one hand it definitely would be nice to actually attend a wedding. On the other hand I wouldn’t be able to contain my voice of opinion when it came to another photographer directing. I simply replied…I’ll shoot!! Jared had no choice. Being Doug’s brother it was a given he was going to be a Groomsmen. This made the experience super fun for me. I got to shoot my hubby in a tux!!

A year and half rolled by. The day was finally here. When I first saw Whitney on her wedding day she was so incredibly calm. Whitney has a laid back personality anyways but she was extra laid back that morning. Doug was really calm too. The day breezed by as scheduled and it couldn’t have been more beautiful.

Thank you Doug and Whitney for having me be apart of your lives and the biggest day of your life thus far. I love you both very much and I cant wait to see how our families all grow up together.

Whitneys dress came from Bella Laccio Bridal in uptown Westerville!

Meet my Father and Mother in law:

My favorite of the day. It took all I had not to get choked up behind my camera:

Hott and steamy moment and this lady is throwing up gang signs!!

Here is a picture of Me, my sister in law Dawn and then…my brother in law Michael:

Kari | Trash the dress

The Jacobus Duo — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:10:23 +0000

Trash the dress. Its happened again! This time? We went BRIDESMAID style! Kari’s sister got married a while ago and found no more use for the dress she wore in the wedding. So what did she do? TRASHED IT! We had so much fun working with Kari. She was a super trooper laying in ice cold water and hiking through the woods!

If you are interested in trashing your wedding or bridesmaid dress please let us know! We’d love to shoot you going all out and crazy!!

Kelly and Steve | Engaged

The Jacobus Duo — Sat, 01 May 2010 13:19:49 +0000

When Kelly and Steve originally scheduled their engagement session the storm gods decided to let loose and keep us from shooting. The day that we rescheduled couldn’t have been more perfect. 75 degrees, sunshine and great light! Getting to know Kelly and Steve a little better was a great experience and I’m so glad that I can now call them my friends. You guys rocked your photo shoot and I cant wait to show you more!

Eli | Easter portraits

The Jacobus Duo — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:41:35 +0000

What a blessed life we have. God has given us such a wonderful gift to be able to capture such special moments for people. I love my job and wouldn’t have asked for anything better. Even though weddings and engagements are the specialty of the Jacobus Duo, we often have the privilege to photograph families, children, maternity sessions and yes…even pets. Here are a few of last weeks sessions!

Up first is Eli:

Next up is Baby Drew!!

Colin | Easter Portraits

The Jacobus Duo — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:53:55 +0000

78 degrees and sunny. I read the forecast and made little squeals inside my head. If anyone has experienced working with me they will all tell you that I’m a squealer. Its usually right after I get “the” shot. I just get so excited that I squeal really loud. Sami and James know me very well. This being their 3rd shoot in 7 months, they’ve heard me get excited and make loud squeals. Sami is a girl after my own heart. She’s incredibly sweet, beautiful and has spunky spunk! When Sami and James first came to me for their maternity session I never realized what a beautiful friendship I was about to inherit.

Jake | Personal trainer

The Jacobus Duo — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:20:39 +0000

Okay ladies!! Its spring time (almost) and we’ve had some yummy sunshine and warmer weather in our midst. I cant stress enough how CLOSE tank tops, shorts and BATHING SUITS are going to be here. Most of you who have been following me for a while know that I have one of the most rockin’est, craziest and caring trainer around. I brag about him and his dedication multiple times a day. He, is Jake, and HE has helped many many women and men out there acomplish their fitness goals.

I had the privledge of shooting Jake today at our gym, Lifestyle Family Fitness at Polaris, and I got to see how funny and kind Jake really is, when the tables are turned and I’M the one directing!!! But seriously, brides, you have a wedding dress to fit into and Jake is your man!! Check below for a couple Before and Afters…mine is soon to come.

P.S.–My mother has lost 80 pounds so far and I couldn’t be more proud!

Contact Jake at jhandschke@lff.com!

“My favorite part of being a personal trainer is the ability to make a genuine impact in my client’s lives by sharing my personal passion for fitness and by getting to truly know my clients. Whether it is losing weight, getting in shape, or simply trying to lead a healthier life, I receive an immense amount of satisfaction helping my clients reach their fitness goals.” -Jake Handschke

I told Jake to give me a mean B.A. attitude. Most series of images end in us both rolling on the floor laughing.

Giving a client proper instruction on the TRX:

“Be serious Jake!”

I guess Im just too funny to resist and good laugh! lol

The images below were photos courtesy of Jake Handschke Photography!

Fleece and LOST

The Jacobus Duo — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:19:49 +0000

Previously on LOST……

We cuddled into each others arms wrapped tightly in a big fleece blanket. The day had come to an end and it was now time for my favorite part. I got to curl up on the couch with my man and watch back to back episodes of LOST. Currently on season four. As we cuddled in tight my mind began to race of the many reasons why I love him….

I love you because….

You tell me you love me 10+ times a day and my heart flutters with every word.
You cuddle me at night when our room feels like its 30 degrees outside the covers
You encourage me when I’m down.
You are a godly man and get excited when we talk about our future family.
You do the dishes, even when I dont ask.
You tickle my knee when you tell a bad joke just so that I will laugh.
You are my Go To guy when I’m having a problem.
You’re always honest and straight forward.
You fill up my gas tank when its empty. I think Ive filled my own gas maybe 5 times since we’ve been married.
You build snowmen with me in a blizzard and have an equal amount of fun that I’m having.
You’re not scared to go off the BIG JUMP at the ski resort. I am. But you encourage me to.
You taught me how to snowboard. Hillbilly style.
When I want to do a photo shoot with you you suck it up and do it because you love me.
You make the best rabbit stew ever!
You put everything aside when I need you.
We are complete goof balls together and sing and dance reaaaallly bad.
When you wake up in the morning you always tell me you love me and say good morning.
You let the dog out at night when its dark and he has to pee. And you clean up his puke.
You watch morning cartoons with me and enjoy it as much as I do.
You suffer being at the mall for 3 hours while I try to find the PERFECT pair of jeans

Most of all. I love you because…

You are my anchor….