Jessica Lemmons Photography Blog, Longview Washington (Wa.) photographer.

Ok…So I’m a little late on the whole “Merry Christmas” thing, I’ll admit.  I decided to opt out of posting my  family Christmas photos online this year  so if your thinking you missed a blog post, nope!  It was never there!  My kids, family and I had such an amazing and blessed Christmas this year that it really didn’t seem fitting for me to take time away from them to go write about it in my blog.   If you’ve kept up with my blog over the past few months you may remember my post titled “Life” from in November…..well everything I said in that post has remained true!  We are overwhelmed with God’s amazing faithfulness, blessings, and his continual hand of protection over the lives of my little ones and myself.   We are so blessed…..I just can’t say it enough!

So…with that said, I started out my new year with a bang.  New Year’s Eve I photographed the Kelso Red Lion’s New Years party (and what a crazy party it was!!!), and then the following day I headed out to the Villa at Little Cape Horn to photograph a wedding.   For those of you that have never heard of or visited the Villa, I swear, it is one of the area’s best kept secrets!   Joan and Richard own and manage this beautiful bed and breakfast/wedding and event venue, and they are two of the most amazing host’s I’ve encountered in this business.  I always enjoy my trips out there, and the two of them have done a fabulous job with their business.

On 1-11-11 I made the trip out to the Villa and met (for the first time!) Sam and Karen.  They had decided to vacation here all the way from Texas, and while here in Washington, elope!  They were such a sweet couple, and I wish I could have spent more time with them!

Thank you so much Sam and Karen for having me be a part of your wedding!

Several months ago Deva e-mailed me and asked me to be her wedding photographer, being that she lived over 5 hours away we did all of contracts and booking via mail and phone, so my first time ever meeting her was the day of the wedding.  When I walked in to introduce myself to her while she was getting ready, she immediately bypassed shaking my hand and said “I just want to hug you!  Thank you so much for being here for my wedding!”   From that moment on, even though it was our first time meeting Deva, Terran and their families, we were treated like honored guests instead of hired help.   I felt so welcome being there, and even though I got dreadfully sunburnt (I forgot that Walla Walla has a LOT more sun than Longview) I had an amazing time.

Their wedding was a beautiful affair – but it always is when you have two people totally and completely in love with each other like Terran and Deva are.

I also want to give a huge shout-out to my awesome assistant Nate (I think I may have forgotten to thank him for the last several weddings….rude!) he once again did a wonderful job as my second shooter!  I especially appreciate him doing the drive over to Walla Walla – his car has a much better stereo than mine, and it’s faster, and looks cooler…..and I don’t have to be the one driving!  So…..for all of the above Nate, THANK YOU!!!

Deva getting ready and some detail shots.

Their first look and the “formals.”

The ceremony:

The reception:

(side note here – Deva’s father owns a restaurant in Walla Walla – this equaled for the MOST delicious food at a wedding…ever!   They were very generous and offered us a meal…..and I just wanted to keep eating and eating, it was SO good!!!!!!  I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!)

Happily ever after…….  

Nearly two weeks ago I had the honor of photographing Nick and Samantha’s wedding – this isn’t the first time I’ve photographed either of them, you might remember Sam and Nick from their e-session, or Sam from Trash the Dress – part 1 or part 2.  They have been amazing to work with for sure!

Before I go into details about the wedding though, I have to give a HUGE thank you to Nate Yaro for shooting with me.  My husband has been shooting with me for awhile now, but two days before the wedding he had to be hospitalized.   Nate was amazing and said he would help me with just two days notice…..Nate shot with me all last year.  It was a huge relief to have someone who knew what they were doing and knew my routine, shooting with me that day.  Of course I was worried sick the whole day about my husband, so I have to give an extra special thank you to him for helping me keep my mind on the job which normally is no problem, but with a husband in the hospital it was a little harder than normal.   So thank you Nate – It was a huge, major blessing having you there to help. Also – several of the photos shown below are from him….he did awesome!  :-)

So….on to Nick and Sam – we started out the day at Samantha’s parents home getting ready for the day –

While I was busy taking pictures of the girls, Nate headed over to where the guys were getting ready and grabbed some photos of them.

Then it was on to formals -

We had hoped that the rain would hold up for us so we could do some outdoor photos, but the weather didn’t cooperate.  Fortunately though, the wedding was going to happen at Fathers House in Longview, which my office shares a parking lot with.  The office building I’m located in was built in the 20′s and the current owner of the building has kept with the vintage theme in the building’s decor.  So….we decided to hop across the parking lot and take advantage of the crazy carpet and decor outside of my office suite, and the fun furniture in my office for an indoor shoot.

Then (amazingly!) the rain went away and the sun came out, so we decided to run across the street for a quick shot of the wedding party outdoors -

Then it was time for the ceremony -

Nate captured this one with his wide-angle lens.

And then we headed over to a beautiful reception at the McClelland Arts Center

Of course I have many, MANY more photos, but I could go on with this wedding all day, and this is, after all, a preview so I will stop here and make them wait for  the rest.  :-)

Thank you Samantha and Nick for having me as your photographer!  Congratulations on your new life together!