Jess & Justin are the perfect example of why we love when our couples are on Facebook.   Within a week of booking us for their wedding photography back in December, the four of us were commenting on each other’s status updates and thoroughly enjoying our new found “online friendships” :-)  It’s been so fun to discover all the things we have in common!  When we started to brainstorm locations for their engagement session, it become pretty clear that these two didn’t want their photos to be typical.  They really wanted to include the things that they love and that says something about them.  So it was only appropriate that we started the session at their home in Chandler.

(Please sign the guestbook if you’d like to be notifed when the rest of their photos are online.)

Shooting in someone’s home is always unique.  You get to discover a whole different side of people when you see what type of artwork they have on their walls, what type of furniture they sit on, what movies and books are on their shelves . . . nothing tells a couple’s story more than the place where they live.

One thing that Jess & Justin really love is their pets.  As soon as we walked in, their dog Penny (soooooo sweet) and two cats Einstein & Cisco were extremely interested in what we were doing.  And of course, they thought that the photo shoot was all about them!  I think this next shot says it all.  Hello Penny.  Love it!

She loves to read and cook.  He’s an Apple man with a love of all things “techie”.  A match made in photo heaven :-)

Another appearance by one of the “kids” . . .

One of my favs :-)  Super sweet you guys!

Lemonade anyone?  We just couldn’t pass up this fun lemon tree in the backyard.  And of course, Penny had to get in on the action too.

For our next location we headed over to the Desert Botanical Garden.  When we arrived, it was a beautiful Arizona day.  A bit overcast, but perfect for a nice stroll in the garden . . . and some cuddling too!

At one point, Justin wispered something in Jess’ ear and what followed was a good 2-3 minutes of hysterical laugher.  Such a fun moment (as soon as I realized they weren’t laughing at me of course!)

Love this shot!  Jess you look amazing!  You’re going to be such a beautiful bride.

As you may have noticed, there’s a bit of a size difference between these two!  Justin actually said at the beginning of the day that he was worried they look like Shrek and Princess Fiona together!  Justin, if you mean that you’re an adorable and completely loveable pair that’s totally meant to be, than I guess we have to agree.  Notice the tiptoes . . .

All of a sudden it started to drizzle and as we started to head for cover, it really started to rain!  We ended up spending  some time camped out under the patio of the “staff only” building waiting for it to stop.  After about half an hour of killing time we decided to abandon the garden and head for the great indoors.  Before heading for a rather moist speed walk to our cars, Jess & Justin braved the drizzle for one last shot.  The desert is always so lovely when it’s wet.

Plan B: Barnes & Nobel Bookstore!  Jess & Justin have been known to spend some time here . . . and it was dry so that was pretty appealing :-)

Awwww . . . I’m totally reminded of that Jimmy Buffett song, “Love in the Library” :-)  Except that the characters in the song don’t actually meet, or even speak to each other, and we were not technically in a library . . . ok it’s actually not like that song at all, but there are books, right?

Hangin’ out in in the Sci-Fi section.  Did I mention that Jess & Justin are going to Comic Con on their honeymoon?  Yep, they ARE that awesome!

One last shot:  this one just makes me smile :-)  Adorable!

Jess & Justin, we had a blast hanging out with you guys (and the rest of your cute and furry family!)  We can’t wait to be a part of your wedding day!  And I’m sure there will be many tasty food adventures in our future! ;-)

Make sure you click the slideshow button below to view more photos from their session!

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Years ago, when we first began to talk about the idea of starting our own business, I really wanted to keep it a secret. I’m the kind of person who really doesn’t like to fail. (Sad, but true.) So, until I really thought we would succeed, I didn’t want to tell anybody about it. Ryan on the other hand, is completely the opposite. He loves to try new things and saw the whole thing as a great opportunity for adventure! So of course, the very next time we were sitting at a table full of family members, he boldly announced, “Guess what everybody! We’re going to start a wedding photography business!” At the time, I was scared to death that he said that, but he actually had an ulterior motive that I am thankful for to this day. Ryan knew that if our family knew about our plan, they’d be asking about it all the time and it would force us to get past the fears and actually make the dream a reality. And the rest, is history. What can I say? The man knows what he’s doing :-)

We’ve been talking a lot lately about goals; goals for our business and our personal lives. And of course, the best way to actually accomplish a goal is to write it down and then tell people about it so there’s someone to hold you accountable. So that’s what we’ve decided to do starting today. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept of the 101 in 1001 list, it’s basically a list of goals (101 of them) that you want to complete over the course of 1001 days (about 2.78 years). Since the timeframe is longer than a year, you can think a little bigger than just your typical shorter term “New Years Resolution” type stuff.

We started out by each writing a separate list, but as a couple who also have a business together, we found out pretty fast that a lot of the goals we each came up with as individuals overlapped and applied to both of us. So we decided that rather than bore all of you with two lists, we’d make it a combined effort. As we accomplish our goals, we’ll be writing about them here on the blog so you can all see how we’re doing. I’m going to warn you now that you’ll probably see some iPhone photos along the way to commemorate our milestones since we don’t ALWAYS have our big fancy cameras with us. And of course, if you see any goals on this list that you can help us accomplish, please let us know!  (Oh and by the way, these are in no particular order.  They’re organized alphabetically within each category.)

BUSINESS GOALS:

1. Attend a photography workshop

2. Attend WPPI

3. Be the studio spotlight at a PUG meeting

4. Blog everyday for one month

5. Choose a cause and donate a portion of our proceeds to it for 6 months

6. Create a new product for other photographers

7. Create custom packaging that reflects our brand

8. Do a portrait session giveaway in another state

9. Do a wedding coverage giveaway

10. Donate a photo session to a charitable cause

11. Get a full set of new sample albums (full wedding, parent album, guest book)

12. Get canvas prints made

13. Get new business cards

14. Get new custom folders for consultations

15. Have a wedding featured in the Arizona Wedding Chronicle

16. Have a wedding published in a bridal magazine

17. Have a wedding published on a wedding blog

18. Have another pro photographer take photos of us

19. Have dinner with different past clients once a month for four months

20. Have lunch/dinner with another wedding vendor once a month for 3 months

21. Launch our new website

22. Make a promo video

23. Make the switch to Mac

24. Order custom pens

25. Reach 500 fans on our Facebook Page

26. Revise our branding to be more “Us” focused

27. Set up a studio space for clients consultations

28. Shoot a wedding in another state

29. Switch to thumb drives for image delivery to our wedding clients

GOALS FOR RYAN & DENISE:

30. Babysit Makena

31. Be in the audience for the taping of a late night show

32. Buy a house

33. Decorate our house for Christmas

34. Get plugged into a small group bible study

35. Get travel luggage for our photo equiptment

36. Go back to New York

37. Go on a cruise

38. Go on a vacation (WITHOUT working)

39. Go to a concert or comedy show

40. Have “date night” once a week for two months

41. Host a family holiday at our house

42. Make an album for Makena

43. Paint our house

44. Read 3 books that benefit our business over the course of 6 months

45. See 10 new movies on the AFI list

46. Take a day trip up north to play in the snow

47. Take a trip with another couple

48. Take Molly for a walk once a week for 2 months

49. Use our Passports one more time before they expire

50. Visit friends in San Francisco

51. Visit the Guggenheim

52. Watch the sun rise and set on the beach on the same day

RYAN’S PERSONAL GOALS:

53. BBQ at least once a week for a month

54. Buy a Hugo Boss suit

55. Buy an original piece of art

56. Comment on at least one blog per day for one year

57. Do a major home improvement project

58. Do P90X or equivalent

59. Do something on Denise’s list that I don’t want to do

60. Dress up for Halloween

61. Read the bible once a day for 30 days in a row

62. Eat Sushi once a week for four weeks in a row with Mom

63. Fix driver’s side window in the Lexus

64. Get a tattoo

65. Get my wisdom teeth pulled

66. Get some kind of cardio equipment for the house (bike, treadmill, or elliptical machine)

67. Go hiking with friends

68. Go Kayaking

69. Go rock climbing

70. Go skiing

71. Go to a Cardinals game with my Dad

72. Go to a vineyard

73. Go to Sea World with Christy

74. Go to the gym 4 days a week for one month

75. Hang out with Greg once a week for one month

76. Invent something

77. Learn how to dance

78. Learn how to make home made ice cream from Grandma Rita

79. Learn how to play a new instrument

80. Lick a dolphin, the Space Needle, and part of the titanic (not at the same time)

81. Make 12 free throws in a row

82. Make a different dinner for Denise every night for 5 days (in a row)

83. Make home made popcorn

84. Make Limoncello from scratch

85. No fast food for one month

86. Participate in a charity photoshoot

87. Play an outdoor game with Denise at least once a week for one month

88. Read a marriage book with Denise

89. Ride in a hot air balloon

90. Run a half marathon

91. Run at least one mile with Dan

92. Run or walk for a charity or cause

93. Smoke a great cigar that I haven’t had before

94. Stay at a nice hotel in Arizona

95. Take a class at the gym

96. Take Denise on a one mile run

97. Take Denise on a surprise vacation

98. Take Molly to a dog park

99. Teach Molly a new trick besides sit and lay down

100. Turn 30 (and be happy about it)

101. Wash car once a month for six months

DENISE’S PERSONAL GOALS:

53. Be involved in some kind of stage production (acting or singing)

54. Buy a pair of Manolo Blaniks

55. Call my Mom or Dad once a week for 6 months

56. Comment on someone else’s blog post once a day for a two months

57. Complete my associates degree

58. Do volunteer work using photography

59. Donate blood

60. Eat an entire meal with Chopsticks

61. Expand my “fabulous” (not practical) shoe collection so I can wear a different pair for 7 days in a row

62. Find a mentor

63. Find a type of seafood I like to eat

64. Get a makeover with a pro makeup artist & invest in new makeup to recreate it

65. Get laser eye surgery

66. Give Ryan a surprise gift once a month for 6 months

67. Go horseback riding on the beach

68. Go horseback riding with my mom & sister

69. Go on a road trip (with multiple locations)

70. Go skydiving

71. Go to a drive in movie

72. Go to a film festival

73. Go to a Suns Game (and have lower level tickets)

74. Go two weeks without Caffeine

75. Host a fabulous New Year’s Eve party with all our friends

76. Learn the basics of Dreamweaver

77. Learn the basics of Illustrator

78. Learn to play guitar

79. Mail birthday cards to all of our family members for one year

80. Make a new friend (a for real one, not just an acquaintance)

81. Mentor someone

82. Organize “girls night” once a month for four months

83. Participate in an Arizona shootout

84. Plan an amazing day for Ryan’s 30th birthday

85. Post something “personal” on the blog every other week for 6 months

86. Make photography my full time job

87. Read 5 novels in the course of a year

88. Read the bible once a day for 30 days in a row

89. See a musical at Gammage

90. See every movie nominated for Best Picture before the Oscars

91. Send a handwritten thank you note once a week for 2 months

92. Send out Christmas cards

93. Start serving in a ministry

94. Take a cooking class

95. Take a sign language class

96. Take one of my old 6th grade girls out to lunch/dinner and reconnect

97. Treat Julie to a surprise special day out

98. Try one new restaurant a month for 6 months

99. Try Yoga

100. Visit the Walk of Fame in LA

101. Write a thank you letter to 5 people who have made a difference in my life

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We met Jennie & Scott at Market Street in DC Ranch. They choose this location because it has a lot of special meaning to them. The image at the top of the post is actually taken on the patio of the Armitage Bistro where they had dinner on their very first date AND, ironically enough,  the place where they went the night Scott proposed. So cute! We spent some time walking around the area which was full of great photo spots.

For some reason, a lot of my favorites this session were vertical images so there’s lots of side by side ones! Love the sweet interactions in these next two.

Jennie is a fellow “shoe girl” :-) I just adored these cute heels she wore! (Can’t wait to see what shoes she’ll be wearing for the big day!)

And her adorable curls? To die for!

Love this one! I think I’ll call it, “A look of far off wonderment” ;-)

And thanks to the Te’ Boutique for providing a fabulous pop of color for this next image. LOVE it!

One thing we learned about Jennie & Scott: these two can DANCE! They’ve got some serious moves and we got to experience them first hand. How fun is this next sequence? I love their expressions! Scott is all business and Jennie’s just got this calm blissful look like, “yes, I’m spinning around in circles. Is that unusual?” Ha ha!

As we were shooting it started to rain so we headed for a nearby covered bridge. At one point we suggested that Scott “dip” his lovely bride-to-be and they totally rocked it with the AMAZING move on the right! They tried to show Ryan and I how to do it too, but I think we’re going to need a few more lessons :-) It was seriously tough! Especially with cameras in both of our hands!

All kinds of sweetness :-)

After a quick change into some casual clothes, we headed to downtown Phoenix to soak up a little “urban grunge”. This scene was awesome!

We almost passed this awesome brick wall, but Ryan spotted it and it turned out to be one of my favorite backdrops! Both these shots make my heart smile :-)

Serious . . .

And some serious snuggling!

Jennie’s engagement ring is so unique and unusual. She was a music major in college so Scott picked out a setting that looks like a music note. The man knows his audience!

One last shot: the light was almost gone, but we just had to take advantage of the awesome city lights.

To Jennie & Scott: we’re so glad that you two found each other. You guys are a great match, like the perfect lyrics for a beautiful melody. We really enjoyed our time together and we’re so excited to be apart of your wedding day!

Make sure you click the slideshow button below for more photos from their session!

View Portfolio | Become a Fan | Contact: studio@simplyknotphotography.com