Journal

the heath family

jennifer/brooks photography — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:21:37 +0000

since moving up to alexandria last year, i've had the opportunity to meet some pretty awesome people. one of those people is erin. caden & i first met her & andrew at the pool last summer. caden & andrew had a blast playing & we had fun talking (& talking, & talking, & talking!). andrew is one of the greatest little guys you will ever meet & knowing how much he loves caden & i makes my heart melt every time he says, "jennniFEERR". you see, andrew is autistic & makes trips to Maryland every week for therapy & school. he has such a strong spirit in him, there is no keeping this little boy down. but, even more importantly, he has some pretty amazing parents who do everything they possibly can for him. i have so much admiration for erin & i just wanted to take this opportunity to let her know what an amazing mom i think she is. the love & dedication they have for their kids is pretty incredible. you never know what life will throw at you, but how you deal with it is the true test of a person, in my opinion. erin, you are a beautiful person inside & out! we feel so lucky that we've been able to have you & andrew (& now baby Grace!) in our lives. you have taught us more than you'll ever know! so, thank you for letting me give you a little something in return...enjoy your sneak peek.

andrew having fun on the slide

family fun at the swings

grace thought andrew was pretty funny

look at those eyes! she's going to be a heartbreaker!

blow kisses to "jennniFERR"

you know i love me some sun flare! :)

i love these next few!

a father-son moment

kristina & john: engaged

jennifer/brooks photography — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:47:11 +0000

i had the pleasure of meeting kristina earlier this year over coffee, and after meeting her i just knew we would get along great! we quickly planned an e-session for early august during her and john's annual trip to the outer banks and i could hardly wait. unfortunately, due to a completely ridiculous and clumsy accident on my part, i had to skip the beach and reschedule... kristina and john we so nice about it, and graciously chose a new date and location for their shoot. my clumsiness turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because their e-session was one of my favorites to date!

we shot this session on a gorgeous fall day, on a path near the couple's home and then moved to the american tobacco campus in durham (which i absolutely loved!). i had SO much fun hanging out with kristina, john and their awesome dog nigil. they are an amazing and fun couple and i can't wait for their wedding this coming may!

nigil worked hard on this shoot... he is a model dog.

they are such a gorgeous couple. just look at kristina's sparkling eyes?!

love the way that they look at each other!

i think these ones in the grass are some of my favorites from the day!

a dip under the water tower!

they have so much fun together.

we're on a boat!

jennifer/brooks photography — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:30:42 +0000

the day after beth & kris' wedding, they took their entire group on an boat ride around the island. it was such a beautiful day to be out on the water! jen and i felt so lucky to be included in on the fun. there was a gourmet lunch, swimming and some serious daredevil diving off the top deck! it was an awesome way to spend the afternoon.

fearless bride! jumping off the back of the boat...

there she goes!

our resort

bride & groom

jennifer/brooks photography — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:56:26 +0000

after their fantastic, sunset, beach wedding, we were only able to get a few shots of beth and kris' first moments as husband and wife. we were losing light fast (and they had a rockin' party to attend), so beth & kris agreed to do a day after session with us at the hotel! jen and i LOVE doing day-after-sessions because they are so much more relaxed, and we have more time to have some fun with our brides & grooms! we had an amazing time hanging out with beth & kris again, and we were so happy to see that beth's dress survived a spontaneous jump in the pool the night before!

after a fun afternoon on a boat with their family and friends, they both looked gorgeous, tanned and totally in love for their session! beth & kris are a beautiful couple... the proof is in the pictures!

beth & kris, married: part 2

jennifer/brooks photography — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:05:21 +0000

time to party! beth & kris' reception was held on the beach (yes, ON the beach!), so you know it was going to be amazing. and, it was! but, don't take my word for it, take a look at how fun it was...

wondering if cake is going to get shoved in her face...

and, it is!

i love, love, love this! beth & tyler have some fun...

another favorite...

happy birthday gina!!!!!!!

jennifer/brooks photography — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:20 +0000

just had to take a moment to wish my beautiful and lovely sister a happy, happy birthday!!! i am really looking forward to seeing her in just a week (so that we can celebrate for REAL)... but in the meantime i wanted to make sure she knew just how amazing and wonderful i think she is!

happy 23rd birthday little sister! i love you!

wilson family

jennifer/brooks photography — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:00:48 +0000

so, obviously one of the "perks" of owning a photography business with your best friend, is taking photos for each other. getting to photograph one of your favorite people, who just happens to have the best sense of style, lets you do her hair, has the cutest (and sweetest) family in the world, and is all around amazing... well, it's not work, it's a complete blast!

you'll have to excuse me, while i take a moment to write a "personal post" and share a little bit more about how jennifer/brooks came to be... and how much i heart the wilsons. and, by heart, i mean LOVE!

i think moving in down the street from them over 4 years ago, was one of the luckiest decisions i've ever made. a lot of people ask jen and i how we met, and it really all started over chocolate chip cookies! jen, being the sweet person that she is, baked cookies and brought them over to welcome me to the neighborhood one fateful day in september 2005. she came in and we chatted for over an hour, which is a stretch for me with new people (sometimes i'm a bit shy), so i knew right away that we'd get along. we bonded over the fact that we both had golden retrievers, and she offered to let my dog out while i was at work. i remember thinking to myself that the neighbors in nc sure were a lot more friendly and helpful than i was used to.

after that jen and i became pretty quick friends. she was about 5 months pregnant with her beautiful son at the time, so the two of us would go on walks at night to get some "exercise," and really end up standing in the driveway chatting about everything and anything for hours after our walk was finished (i pretty sure scot thought we'd walked 20 miles by the time she returned home)! jen and scot hosted me for many meals at their home and i always had so much fun hanging out with them. when caden joined their family, i couldn't have been more excited for them. i'll never forget the day jen called to tell me she was in labor with caden, and could i please let her dogs out for her!

over the past 4-plus years we've had so many amazing times together. the wilsons introduced me to the delights of tuna steaks, taco soup, the office, and the joys of baby boys (just to name a few things)! Together we've enjoyed trips to the beach, festivals, recipes, their new home in alexandria, concerts, wine, unbridled laughter, lots of sushi and starbucks, and building a business based on creativity and friendship.

jen has said to me many times, that she feels like i am a part of her family, and all i can say is how lucky i am for that.

love you jen, scot and caden (pacey & pheobe too)!

i am such a sucker for those eyes!

"puppy" is watching from up in the tree.

this running shot was scot's idea... awesomeness runs in the family.

i think this shot above is my favorite of the day!

beth & kris, married: part 1

jennifer/brooks photography — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:41:08 +0000

we met beth & her mom back in january at the VA wedding show. beth was one of our prize winners, so we met up in April to do her engagement session. after the session, beth asked if brooks & i travel for weddings. i already knew they were getting married in the dominican republic, so i didn't hesitate to say, heck yeah, we travel for weddings! :) besides an amazing location for a wedding, it was an amazing group of people to be around for 4 days. these guys knew how to have a good time! they were so welcoming & inviting, we felt like one of the crowd by the end of the weekend. what is really amazing is that kris owns his own company & has hired all of his friends to work with him. so, this really was a tight-knit group. and, they all were SO EXCITED for beth & kris to tie the knot. you can just feel the love these two have for one another, how could you not be excited for them. enjoy part 1 guys! still more to come... :)

one of beth's friends, melissa, is a make-up artist. she does great work, check her out!

love this shot of beth & her mom

cheers!

seriously, beth you are gorgeous!!

golf cart ride to the ceremony

kris as he watches his bride walk towards him

i love these next 2 shots...

mother & daughter

mom & son

we did a day after session with beth & kris, so there are plenty more bride & groom shots to come. just wanted to share one from right after the ceremony...

new family...

jennifer/brooks photography — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:37:37 +0000

we ended our 8 week wedding marathon (and wedding season as well) with a trip to the dominican republic to photograph beth & kris' AHHMAZING wedding. we'll be doing a couple of posts this week about their fantastic wedding weekend (that we felt so lucky to be a part of), but i wanted to share a few about this beautiful family that was created on their wedding day. kris is dad to two of the greatest kids you'll ever meet. they were both there for the wedding weekend & i have to say, proved to be one of the cutest flower girl & ring-bearer we have seen. what was so great for brooks & i to see was how loving this new family is. it is so apparent how much these kids love beth & she is absolutely wonderful with them. you guys are off to a great start & only have a lifetime of precious memories to create! of course, stay tuned for more wedding images to come! :)

the guys hung out together before the ceremony

while the girls were getting pretty upstairs

the new collo family!

elliot & joel, married!

jennifer/brooks photography — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:40:45 +0000

we met this fabulous couple back in january. they were our first client meeting after our 2 day NC wedding show extravaganza. we hit it off so well that breakfast lasted 2 hours & we were late for our next meeting (sorry betsey & jason!). brooks & i knew we were going to LOVE shooting their wedding. the amount of detail & planning that went into it was amazing. elliot will tell you that she was a budget-bride, but you never would have known. which is great, b/c we've heard that she would love to open a bridal store one day. so, all you future brides out there, keep your eye out. elliot does an awesome job. the shoe shot in the last post is proof! not only did the wedding look wonderful, but these two have some serious love going on for one another. never have we seen the bride & groom break out into spontaneous dance moves together (which did involve the "sprinkler" & "lawn mower"). you guys rock! enjoy the sneak peek! we're looking forward to the family pics with mrs. ari gold... :)

see, attention to detail! this was outside their house when we arrived to capture joel getting ready

joel helping his dad out

checking the time...

the girls turn

finishing touches

had to show it again! :)

right after the ceremony

the country club provided some golf carts for the wedding party so we could take pictures on the property

i LOVE this. elliot dancing in & joel getting a high-five. love it...

land's florist always does an amazing job

check-out the cake topper

comfy shoes for dancing

deciding on their next dance move :)

and here it is!

pretty nice get away car...