Impromptu Dinner Parties and an Awesome Sister Visit

My beautiful sister Betsy came to town this weekend! She just celebrated her twenty-first birthday last week, so we celebrated all over again :-)

Saturday we threw an impromptu dinner party with some lovely friends and cooked too much food. I'm seriously bad at judging how much people will eat.

Sunday we prepared for the trick or treaters, I had an amazing session with a local married couple, and then a great meeting with a bride last night!

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Betsy thank you for coming, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

In transition to the new site, I believe my website will be going down sometime shortly. So please absolutely email me to say hello or make any inquiries :-)

You can reach me at hi{at}emiliajanephoto{dot}com

64 Days

I can't believe next week it will be November! This month has absolutely flown by. So... let's check in on my goals to the end of the year:

1. Stay on top of editing/blogging sessions and real life updates [this is obviously ongoing, but I think it's going well so far!]
2. Submit at least two weddings and two engagements for publications/blogs [hmm yep definitely need to get on this]
3. Build and order sample albums (Oct 22 hard stop on one of these) [One down! One to go]
4. Transform our home into a better client meeting space. Or at least the living room/kitchen [This still needs to be tackled, Wil and I have started talking about what needs to happen though, so that's exciting!]
5. Order big prints to display [yep still definitely need to do this]
6. Launch new branding, website, and blog [okay you guys the new website is SO CLOSE and I just got the first round of proofs back for the blog design this week....it's going to be AMAZING!!!!!]
7. Order and start passing out oodles of my awesome new business cards [Check! Ordered this week.]
8. Oh yeah, design said business cards [also designed this week... but it's done!!]
9. Turn 23 gracefully [done and done]
10. Do my Precepts homework on time every week [going to go ahead and cross this one off the list. I over-committed myself and had to step out]
11. Make dinner at home, with groceries, once a week [this is ongoing... but so far so good]
12. Photograph at least 5 married couples in preparation of exciting new facet of Emilia Jane Photography that is yet to be announced (yes, you should be getting excited—let me know if you want to be one of these couples) [please definitely still let me know if you're interested! I have one couple complete with two more scheduled which means we need two more couples!!]
13. Take at least ONE WEEKEND off for mental health. Yes, an entire weekend with no sessions, AND NO EDITING EMILIA. [last weekend I didn't have any shoots, but I did still do some editing. I'm probably going to have to count this...]
14. Make Lauren’s awesome cake and celebrate her fabulous birthday. [Done! PS wasn't it so pretty??]
15. Love and serve my husband well [ongoing...but I think I'm growing in this :-) ]

Surprisingly I don't have anything to add this month... who knows what November and December hold!

What do you need to get done between now and December 31??????

This photo is at the end of the first event I ever photographed :-) It seems to adequately display how I'm feeling right about now.

Want to hang out? Or talk about having me at your wedding? Email me here!

I Need Better Titles

//If you're looking for my most recent wedding or engagement work, click here!!\\

Are you a routine kind of person? I am absolutely a creature of habit. Most nights, scratch that, on the nights when Wil doesn't work super late, and we don't have evening plans, this is typically what goes down. I get home around 5:45, and sit down at the computer. I edit until he gets home and I realize I haven't done anything for dinner, and we might should either heat something up (if there is anything of this sort in our home) or order something we can quickly pickup or have delivered. We'd eat, Wil would start working, and then somewhere around 10:30 we realize we should probably go to bed so we can do this all over again tomorrow.

Last night was not one of those nights though. Last night I arrived home, actually did housework, started one of the five loads of laundry that's been calling my name for a while, made dinner (yes I am going to count fish sticks as dinner) and did not even turn on my computer. That's right! Wil worked out after work, and when he came home, he too did not go into this office. I cannot tell you how exciting this is! We actually went straight downstairs and watched a movie after dinner. We cuddled up on the couch (and by cuddled I mean sat in between stacks of laundry I was working on) and watched an entire movie without a laptop in sight :-D

These nights are absolutely necessary.

Wil's and my first attempt at pictures together. Cuddled up in my old apartment watching movies in the basement circa January 2010 :-)


Do you need holiday pictures? Check out the mini session information! And hire me for your wedding :-)

Happy Birthday Lauren!

//If you're looking for my most recent wedding or engagement work, click here!!\\

Today is my beautiful friend Lauren's birthday [yes, the one who took my awesome new headshots]! To celebrate, I made her a yummy ruffle cake :-)





Cheers to the happiest of years!!!!


Do you need holiday pictures? Check out the mini session information! And hire me for your wedding :-)

Downtown Chicago Engagement Sneak Peek | Hollyn and Matt

This lovely Tuesday morning I bring you our first peek at Hollyn and Matt. We had so much fun with their engagement pictures downtown last Friday afternoon.

This are just a couple frames, but the full post will be next week!

I am already so excited for your wedding next September!!

Do you need holiday pictures? Check out the mini session information!

Or hire me for your wedding :-)

Birthday Party Fun!

//If you're looking for my most recent wedding or engagement work, click here!!\\

Saturday I threw myself a little birthday party with some dear friends :-)

Wil mixed the most delicious cocktails, we laughed, and drank, and ate funfetti cupcakes with gold edible glitter. Sadly I forgot to take a single picture with my lovely guests, but I think that last picture gives you a glimpse into the fun we had!

Do you need holiday pictures? Check out the mini session information!

Or hire me for your wedding :-)

23

Today is my birthday! I am twenty-three. I don't really have anything planned for this post except to say THANK YOU!!!! Seriously, thank you all. To every single person who reads this blog, interacts with me online, and to my friends in real life too. This past year has been probably the most significant in my life so far. Actually, no. This past year has absolutely been the the most significant in my life by far.

Thank you, Wil, for asking me to marry you 363 days ago, and marrying me 229 days ago. A million thanks to all of my amazing couples this year, you have brought SO MUCH JOY to my life! Thank you to the APW community. Even though I have only really joined you in the past five months, your support and encouragement has been huge! Okay, okay, this isn't Thanksgiving day, I'll probably be doing this again in a month, so we'll pause here for now. But seriously, I could not do this without you all!

So here's my mom who pushed me out 23 years ago today at 5:46am in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I love you!

just a little Instagram picture I took on the train the other morning :-)

since no post is complete without a picture, and I kind of like this one

party with gold glitter and champagne to come on monday ;-)

ps if you didn't see Darcy & Paul yesterday...you might want to click through now. my mom called from vietnam to tell me how beautiful she thinks they are!

Monroe Harbor Portraits| Darcy & Paul

No intro necessary today...

Love you two!!

Do you need holiday pictures? Check out the mini session information!

Want to hire me for your wedding, or maybe just get a cup of coffee? Talk to me, we'll make it happen.

Olsem Family Portraits

I met Patti and her husband Scott at Simon and Jacqui's wedding in June, Patti recently emailed asking if I do family pictures too??? YES!!! :-D So this Sunday I traversed up to Antioch, IL (close to the Wisconsin border) and realized that next time I do this I should *definitely* make a day of it to outlet mall shop too!

Without further ado, I am so excited to share the awesome Olsem family with you! They absolutely kept me laughing during our whole session. And Anna even picked up the camera for a picture (can you find it??) :-)

Do you need holiday pictures? Check out the mini session information! Or hire me for your wedding :-)