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  • Welcome to our blog!

    Thanks so much for stopping by! We are a husband and wife team who love photographing weddings together, sharing our lives, recent experiences and of course our shoots with all of you. I (janelle) also love documenting new additions and the various stages of growing family. With the advent of this new blog we will also try to share our wedding knowledge with you, our favorite local vendors, perhaps some fun craft projects, entertaining ideas, or a whole smattering of yummy finds both locally and regionally. Hope this becomes a frequent inspirational stop for you. Please feel free to leave comments or shoot us an e-mail to say hello! Thanks for visiting.

Coty & Matt {Chesapeake Bay, MD Wedding Photography}

We love getting to travel for weddings – it is such an honor and a great change of pace for us.  We had the pleasure a few weeks ago to spend the weekend with Coty & Matt for their Kent Island wedding at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club.  Coty did an amazing job infusing a little seaside vintage into all aspects of her wedding, from delicate glass vases for the center pieces to antique postcards for guests to sign, from jute ropes and ball mason jars to nautical charts, the teal blues and soft champagnes with little touches of soft pinks – her attention to detail was amazing .  The beach side venue was a perfect location and I can’t believe we got to shoot another wedding where Charm City Cakes created a masterpiece!  A wedding isn’t just a conglomeration of beautiful things, however and it’s not what made their wedding special to be a part of.  The joy these two had and shared with everyone was fantastic.  From the time Coty walked down the isle with her father, I don’t think she or Matt quit beaming at one another the rest of the night.  It was sweet, it was infectious, and I hope it is a feeling that lasts a lifetime for them. We hope these tide you two over until we get everything up and running and congrats again!

Matt Montag - May 15, 2012 - 8:55 pm

Thank you so much Shane and Janelle! These look amazing so far! Can’t wait to see the rest…

admin - May 15, 2012 - 9:29 pm

Thanks so much Matt – we’re glad you like them.

Kristi & Nathan {Ft. Wayne, IN wedding Photography}

 

Cynthia - May 18, 2012 - 2:10 am

Beautiful! Cannot wait to see all the photos.

Aynsley& Joe {Fort Wayne, IN Wedding Photogrpahy}

Earlier this spring, Aynsley & Joe had an intimate wedding at the Indiana Hotel Lobby.  Aynsley’s rich hues of teals, purples, and greens really popped with the warm gold’s of the lobby of both the old Hotel and the Embassy!  Of all the details, the most endearing was her dress – handmade by her grandmother for her mother.  How cool is that?  As we are picking up speed into the season, this was a great, sweet wedding to help us work our way back in.  We especially loved the first look – doesn’t the Embassy make even the gentlest of moments look epic?  Congrats Ansley & Joe.Much more to come soon!

finally…..Happinest’s Big Announcement…..{our new Nest}

Oh my goodness my fingers are shaking as I’m typing this, I have butterflies, I’m just sooooo excited to announce this!  We have been thinking about this, praying about this,  what If-ing, discussing, debating, and ultimately DREAMING about this for what seems like forever.  If you’ve known us for a while you know this has been quite the roller coaster ride.  We sort of got in to business by accident, I mean we meant to shoot weddings on the weekends, but we thought it would be just a few here or there— Well our first year in business we shot 36 weddings— YES folks 36, since then we’ve shot almost as many each year and have added babies, families & senior portraits to the mix.  We’ve cut back a bit on the weddings just to be able to sustain ourselves and to give our clients the true boutique experience we are wanting them to walk away with, but once you add the portraits into the mix we are BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!

We’d been looking for just the right space— and it seems God had it waiting for us at just the right time.

We were so excited when we realized this space was for lease.  This building is amazing— one of the best spots in town in our opinion, and one we’ve had our eye on for quite some time. We looked at it in the morning and a couple hours later were ready to sign papers.  It took a lot to get to this point but we finally got moved in last week and have had a people in for ordering sessions, a client meeting, and our first senior session was there yesterday.  With the new space we will have some regular office hours, an indoor location to shoot at with a lot of cool options, a designated meeting space (that isn’t our house!) and one of the coolest new things that we will be able to offer is premiere sessions projected HUGE.  You’ll be able to see what actual size prints look like hanging on your wall.

We are still getting everything squared away and settled in, but it is time to finally make the announcement.  With the advent of the studio we plan to host new events like the Mommy & Me mini-sessions, so keep your eyes peeled for exciting new things from the Nest.  We are so grateful to all our amazing clients who have wowed us with your excitement, support and business.  Thank you for letting us share in your lives and thank you for sharing in ours!

Jaclyn - May 2, 2012 - 2:09 pm

Congrats to you!!! This is so exciting, and I’m so happy this dream has finally been realized. Best of luck in the new space!

Rachael - May 2, 2012 - 2:14 pm

Congratulations! This is SUPER exciting news. Makes me that much more anxious and excited to schedule that Engagement Photo shoot sooner than later!

Leah - May 2, 2012 - 2:14 pm

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I’m so excited for you two! You two are exceptional photographers and deserve all the best the business can offer! :) Yay, Happinest!

Mary Schroeder - May 2, 2012 - 2:24 pm

I LOVE the space! I had guessed from your clues (the road signs gave it away, ha) but wow, how exciting!! You deserve it!!!

Amanda - May 2, 2012 - 3:13 pm

Woo hoo! Glad you can spread out and build on your brand. Can you come decorate my place? Holy geez, you have an eye. ;)

Carolyn Holman - May 2, 2012 - 5:37 pm

Wow! The place looks GREAT!! Congratulations!!

Stephan - May 2, 2012 - 6:28 pm

Congrats you guys. It looks great. Is that a drop it modern backdrop? That’s cool. Good luck

June Hoffman - May 3, 2012 - 9:12 pm

This is so cool!! I’m very happy for you!! Please let us know if you are having an open house party!! It would be great for all to see this in person! Congrats!

Kate - May 4, 2012 - 1:57 pm

How thrilling!!!! Excited to see all the wonderful work that comes from being able to spread your wings a bit. think you can handle the commute? ;)

Lance - May 4, 2012 - 11:28 pm

Congrats guys this looks amazing can’t wait for the official “tour” :)

Kaylene - May 9, 2012 - 8:23 pm

Congrats on the amazing new studio! We are all so proud! Good luck and best wishes to the both of you! – from the whole family.

Tara - May 10, 2012 - 4:35 pm

Oh my goodness…what a great space. I love hopping in every once in awhile to see your work and be inspired. I’m excited to see how you create with this new space. SO excited for you and your growing business!

admin - May 11, 2012 - 10:24 am

Thanks so much Tara for the kind words and encouragement. We hope we continue to be worth your stopping by. We did our first mini-event here last weekend and are excited to show off some images soon!

just in time for Mother’s Day reserve your session now {mother’s day mini-session ft. wayne}

I feel like as mothers we are always behind the camera.  My husband is a photographer and STILL I am the one behind the camera, so I know it’s true for all of you mothers out there too!  What better way to celebrate MOM then with some awesome new photos?  We are so excited to finally be offering our very first mini-sessions!  This is a great value folks and there will be limited sessions available.  So, what are you waiting for?  Call and reserve your session today!

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