Let's define breathtaking...

Meet beautiful Robin--we met several months ago when she emailed, asking if I was willing to shoot a wedding in San Antonio.  [not necessarily friends yet] After a few conversations we were set and scheduled her engagement shots. [still not tight] But then we did this. And my Michael and I met Robin and Mike in person.  That's when we decided that, whether Robin and Mike liked it or not, we were going to be friends.  That's also the day Michael decided he thought shooting together for a career was a pretty good idea. Spending the day with them in Gruene was so. much. fun.  We couldn't WAIT for the wedding! 

But, because life is full of challenges, waiting is actually what happened.  Robin and Mike had to postpone the ceremony for an undetermined amount of time.  They handled this disappointment with so much grace and so much patience. But suddenly, nothing shy of an unexpected blessing, they were able to reschedule their wedding just over one month later in January!  We were ALL thrilled!

Just look at my buddy, Mike...so handsome! [well, he was alright...] See? We even have inside jokes ; )

There were so many sweet, unexpected moments in the day.  [including the gift Mike made and had delivered just before show time!]

Everything about their ceremony was graceful and beautiful. 

The long awaited celebration continued at the historic Faust Hotel in New Braunfels. We loved getting to meet the rest of their families and saying hi to Elise [Mike's sister] for the second time!

This was a very special event for us.  Being a small part of such a lovely story was more than an honor.  And after we deliver these pictures to Mr. and Mrs. Parma, we'll have to make up other reasons to "just be in the neighborhood" and make a trip to tell them hello! 

Mike and Robin, we sincerely wish you the best.  Thank you for allowing us to watch this part of your story unfold!  

Let's do this y'all, 

jen

I was SO invited to the pre-party!!

guess what I got to do on Saturday?

and you can believe we had as much fun as it looks!!

or maybe I just had that much fun.  I kind of fell in love with this bunch. 

Saturday night was the big switcheroo in town.  Belle Dance was the culmination of the gorgeous ladies doing the "asking out" [aka Sadie Hawkins] and these were some of the handsome gentlemen who accepted.  Smart young men.

Just look at this crew.

They kind of made me want to be in high school again.  But then I remembered that I didn't have many dates. And I probably would have been too nervous to ask someone to the dance.  So I retracted that wish. Quickly.

Adorable. Stylish. And they're all dang smart too. Come to think of it, would they even have been my friends if we were in school together?! Still retracting...

To my Belle Dance buddies,

[see, there I go..."buddies" is not a cool term. They definitely would not have let me in their group.  Retracting. Retracting. Retracting.]

ThankYOU for inviting me to the pre-party!  I hope you had a great time. You looked AMAZING.

Go check out your full gallery on the website.  

And...peace out.  Or, word.  Or something else really cool.

Let's do this, y'all

 ; )

jen

check my temperature...

It's official. 

It's the sweetest smell.  You put your face near and can just kind of drink it in-

And no matter how many times you've experienced this, the delicate, "tiny-ness" makes you hold your breath. Phrases starting with, "Oh my gosh, I've forgotten how small..." escape your mouth as you examine fingers, tummies, and toes.

You snuggle that petite bundle in your arms

and marvel at how such a small gift, so fresh from God, can alter two people forever.

Yep, I officially have baby fever.  Or could you tell...

[thank you to the Goode family for sharing precious Haddon!]

wedding bells...

are ringing around these parts...

Memory cards are cleared, batteries are charged, and bags are getting packed.
Our first wedding of the season is on Friday in San Antonio/New Braunfels!  And my man is shooting with me.

I love that man.

And my new friend, Lisa is shooting with us too!  This is going to be a great weekend.

And if that wasn't enough...  [wait for it] ...

did I mention that there is a Taco Bueno in New Braunfels?!!!
Yes, I am saying a bazillion calorie, #3- muchaco and mexi dips and chips is going to be my pre-wedding meal.  Believe it.

Until that beautiful muchaco hits my mouth...no, no, no.  Until that beautiful wedding date arrives, I'll show you a tiny project I worked on last night for another friend's wedding.  These signs will be like license plates on two little wagons that will carry her ring bearers [twins].  So sweet.

Let's do this y'all,

jen

I dig this girl...

My initial jump on the social networking scene was like that of many ladies.  I was a mommy blogger. And in writing, I ignored the fact that my posts were less than interesting and cared more that my site looked so plain.  I ran to the friend who introduced me to blogging and said, how can I get one of those cute decorations for the top of my page? [header] [and yes, I’ve always been this tech savvy].  She pointed me in the right direction. 

Enter the beautiful, talented, and oh-so-creative, Vanessa Warren...

photo by Lauren Larsen

I liked her work but I was especially drawn to her as a person-I thought we had a lot in common.  I just didn’t know how much...We had both lived in Nashville, we were both from Texas, and our husbands were musicians.  What I didn’t know is that our paths had crossed much earlier.  Kind of.  Michael used to sing at a weekly event in Dallas.  Mark Warren sang with him.  I married Michael.  Vanessa married Mark. But we didn’t find that out until we were well into our first blog design...

 Vanessa worked on three blog layouts for me over a three year period.  As I read more from other people, I developed a little bloggie “conscience” and decided that I was kind of boring. I began each year thinking a “new look” would somehow spice up the style [and frequency] of my posts. Vanessa always did her part...So when it came time to [VERY quickly] develop the brand for jen armstrong photography, I begged Vanessa to save me. I was in over my head; I knew she could translate “code” into English and simultaneously, make the translation look fancy.  Have you seen my logo?  ;)

...Today she’s the “mompreneur” behind butterflyspArks DESIGNS and butterflyspArks CREATIVE and she’ll tell you that she’s “honored to help the other moms who keep their households running and sit at computers at night, pursuing some of their other passions.”  

This superwoman has designed countless logos and other branding elements and she’s now doing styling work with photographers like Shannon Sewell, David Bean and Kelli Trontell. Over the holidays, Kelli and Vanessa were featured in http://www.GiftedMag.com [pg. 56 it begins]. Next up, she’ll be in Vegas at WPPI in February creating a set design for Shannon Sewell & Millie Holloman's Triple 7 Shootout. 

Get out.  And I knew her when she was designing my mommy blog.  

I'm even loving the way she's gotten me to look a little differently at my own approach to shooting...

“Really the story on how the CREATIVE piece came about was an effort to remove myself from the computer and allow my love for interior design and all things fashionable to be used in a creative way. I love photography and dreaming up a storyboard of what to shoot. So, naturally, I just fell in love with prop styling ... there's just such a freedom when you step away from the digital world and just let your mind run wild & make those crazy dreams come to life in a photograph."

The bottom line is, I just completely dig her, am inspired by her, and I wanted you to know!  Go look her up on Facebook.  She's a rock star.  Tell her your tech-savvy friend, Jen, sent you.  When she hears tech-savvy, she'll definitely think of me. 

Let's do this y'all, 

jen

Marriage, Baseball, Love...not necessarily in that order

We knew each other all of three minutes before we got married...

And yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our ninth anniversary.  Not a drop-your-mouth high number but an accomplishment no doubt. 

Okay, so it wasn’t three minutes. More like we dated for five months and were engaged for about five months.  But that teeny, tiny ten months seems like only moments after the depth of what we’ve excavated in these years together.  And I’m guessing at twenty years we’ll laugh at how short of a span nine years seemed. 

We dated and married in such a short time so I'm always intrigued by the couples I know who are high school sweethearts. 

Funny, two of those couples happen to have spent much of their relationship near a baseball field.  Mmmm-Don’t get me started on the baseball, love, and how it totally makes sense in my mind...

All kidding aside [am I kidding?], let me introduce you to this gorgeous couple. 

He described her as energetic, loving, caring.  

She smiled as she said he’s loyal and hard-working.

and together they’re just dang adorable.

And in high school halls, ball fields in Austin, and relaxing in their home town in south Texas, these two wrote the beginning chapters of their novel.  No, rather, their epic.  

Train nailed it in the words of their song, Marry me.

“Marry me today and every day.”

Because every day we make that choice to “marry” our spouses.  And when we do, all the single steps of committing each day add up to these epic stories that defeat modern day "I do" trends.  

Kayla and Riley, we’re watching your epic!  So thankful that you let me help tell a little bit about it--

Let’s do this y’all,

jen

lots of ladies surrounding this man...

Michael and I have a routine...

I call him immediately after a session because, well, I like him :)  And he is always really interested in how everything went.  [Babe-if you're not, you are a great faker! Thanks.]

We have a little routine..."[j] I'm done!" "[m] How are your pictures?"

At this point, there are a million different ways I answer.  This time though, it was...

"[j] I have no idea, but we could totally hang out with this family!"

I am a big fan of the Reyes'!

I think we actually have a lot in common including having

3 babies who are close in age. 

And aren't theirs just beauties??!!

I fell in love instantly and adored watching them be 'girls'.

And this is one daddy who's got it handled!  You should have seen this [very manly] dad fix a headband or two... :)

We've lived in LJ for about 6 months now--I love that photography is allowing me to meet such amazing people here.  Thanks Lester and Ashley...so much fun!!  [y'all want to hang out? ;) ]

Let's do this y'all...jen