These two are out to change the world. There’s a chance that that might not be “their” intentions, but that’s what I saw in them both during our Beloved session yesterday.

They are in love, their love is divine, they have a heart for God, they laugh like it’s the only thing to do, she runs a darling montessori in her home, and he-a genius IT guy. I swear they could be a super hero together. Her house (soon to be theirs) is absolutely charming, full of little kids shoes, china dishes, and artistic drawings on the wall, for all the children that come during the day. The decor is warm and inviting and completely represents her hard work, her desire to do what she does and the awesome artistic side of her (along with her moms charm touch for the “little things.”) Ian used to do video work for PBS, CBS and has a natural talent for technology….   as you can see as he reads his love letter he wrote to his beautiful fiance, FROM HIS PHONE. That’s when you KNOW you have a love for technology. And surprisingly, Angie created her own website for her school. Ian swears she can maneuver through technology almost better than him.

So how did they meet | On Match.com ….authentic God centered, ridiculously fun people, meet living just an hour away, over the internet. IT TOTALLY works people.

What she’s good at | Teaching, singing, player her girly guitar (according to Ian), sipping her coffee, staying warm in her cozy home, and loving the Lord with all her heart.

What he’s good at | Anything and everything that required the side of the brain I don’t have. AND he’s artistic with a made talent for the guitar as well. He plays, she sings, he quietly harmonizes. {smile}

Their wedding day | Dating less than a year, their wedding is just less than 6 weeks away. He said he knew the moment he met her, she was it. She sings, plays music, and has a heart for God! His perfect lady.

This Beloved session rocked. As you can tell they are smitten with every reason to be. We visited their favorite “spot” to sit to view their little city surroundings as they just chat and slow down the pace of the world, they sipped their coffee (one of their favorite things to do) as they read their devotional together in their back yard, we baked some delicious cookies (my favorite part-BIG grin) and got to eat them. Milk and cookies! My favorite. And then they danced and sang in the spot he proposed to her in her living room. I very much hope you enjoy the presence of these two as much as I do. Hopefully you feel like you were right there with us.

Another “lovely” photo booth year  at the Valentine’s Banquet with Crown Point Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.  If you want to know more about their amazingly fun and genuine church, visit their website  by clicking here.

See the rest of their images from the evening or to order, click here.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. If you are trying to think up a cool theme for your wedding or are even having a hard time choosing what beautiful colors go together, there are a few things you can do to make your life easier. Discovering who you really are with color and details is hard. And you want your wedding day to represent exactly who you are together and what makes you feel good. There are easy DIY planning websites that you can do that only take minutes to draw in all the things you love, so that you can start seeing repetition in patterns of color, shapes, textures, and even venue locations. Many websites give you DIY projects and have previous brides and grooms explain how they accomplished having their dream wedding, WHILE on a budget.

Here are some of my favorite websites that I would recommend:

Pinterest | For an event planning.. you definitely need a Pinterest account. This website is free and doesn’t consume all your time. You can find a great handful of stuff in minutes.  It is a way to view all kinds of details (such as below) and put them together into “boards” on your profile so that you can start to see repetition amongst things you love. You can also upload your own images of things you find in magazines or online.

Style Me Pretty | The ultimate head honcho website for inspiration for brides and grooms. An international magazine and online blogging community with only the best of the best of photography, graphic design, videography, details, dress, hair stylist and any vendors involved in the wedding industry. They talk about many DIY projects and give much advice from previous couples who have planned a wedding. Getting featured on SMP is an honor as over 400 people inquire to get their wedding featured with them, weekly. They have just put together their very own Magazine. We have luckily had the absolute blessing of being featured with our daring wedding with Leah + Nick. See their images by clicking here.

Green Wedding Shoes | Similar to Style Me Pretty. An inspirational wedding blog for the planning bride and groom. They feature mostly weddings from the west coast who are very styled to their vintage decor and obsessions.

KC Weddings | For the local Kansas City wedding couples. They also run their very own magazine with the best of the best.

Here are different color “boards” pulled straight from Pinterest that was originally featured on Style Me Pretty. Inspiration boards are very fun.

Get that beautiful coffee table album you’ve always wanted from your session or wedding. The 20% off sale ends tomorrow, January 31st. Please contact for ordering. 816.694.7453

Album prices  **Discount in pink

6×4 (20pg)     $250     $200

5×5 (20pg)     $250     $200

8×8 (20pg)     $300     $240

10×10 (20pg)    $350     $280

12×12 (20pg)     $400     $320

Additional Page…… $15 per page (side)

Contact me for more information and ordering. **Offer runs Jan 1-Jan 31, 2012.

Hear what some Beloved members are saying:

“To celebrate 30 years of marriage Bruce and I decided to have professional photographs taken to capture our outdoor spirit.  Our main objective was to achieve great photos of the two of us taken in a beautiful setting.  When we contacted Jana Marler to be our photographer she encouraged us to participate in a Beloved Photography Session.   Our Beloved Session far exceeded our expectations of a typical photo shoot.  Through Jana’s talent as photographer and artist, what evolved was an intimate afternoon filled with laughter, joy, and love captured through her lens.  Our Beloved Session captured a moment in time that told the story of 30 years reflecting our love and life together.   The end result was photographs that revealed who we are as partners for life.    Little did I know that only weeks later after the photographs were developed that I would have a near fight with cancer.   The pictures remind me of who we are as a couple and all that we have experienced together in life’s journey.    Each day I look at the photographs I am reminded of that blessed afternoon in the fall when our world stood still for us to focus on celebrating our life together.”

 Janet Gibbs

Tis the season…

For some ugly sweaters… on humans, small dogs, and even bottles of Whisky. (My dads wins-hands down)

We sleep in until 11am. Hang out with our friends all day. Never change from our pj’s or brush our teeth, play video games all day, stuff our faces with popcorn, maybe take a nap and then wake up in time to go “take some pictures” for about an hour, right?

Our reputation as photographers is a pretty not so realistic thing. My dad continues to “tease” me every day that “you don’t work.”

And here’s how I respond to his quarkiness:

“I go to bed later than you, get less sleep, work longer hours, 6 days a week in stead of 5, work about 8-12 hour week days and then stay on my feet for about 8-12 hours a day on Saturday exhausting myself. I’m a small business owner, a CEO and a COO (if that’s possible. I say it is), I am an accountant, an investor, a printer, a consultant, a production manager and maintainer, an editor, a book keeper, a sales person, a professional photographer, I’m in business marketing, vendor relationship, I’m a graphic designer, a web designer, a blogger and the list goes on.”    Now of course, we are always teasing. And arguing a work ethic my dad is pretty slim to non, because I’ve never met a man who works harder and longer than this head honcho!

But still the perception of what a photographer “really does” is mis-understood by all the 9-5ers.

I found this pretty interesting. Come get a laugh with me. ]]> http://www.janamariephotos.com/2012/01/how-a-full-time-photographer-really-spends-their-time.html/feed 0 http://www.janamariephotos.com/2012/01/how-a-full-time-photographer-really-spends-their-time.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/JanaMarie/~3/aeBN4_PxOR0/baby-avery.html http://www.janamariephotos.com/2012/01/baby-avery.html#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:44:09 +0000 admin http://www.janamariephotos.com/?p=3604 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

My beautiful right hand man, Philip and I, took photos at Camp Liam, the adorably detailed birthday party that my dear friend Laura and her husband Craig put together for their little 3 year old Liam. Pinterest has become such an addiction, that ideas were just flowing for Laura. And she is a photographer too, meaning she usually never gets to be IN the pictures because she’s always taking them. So Phillip and I came along the bonfire and took photos so that she could relax with her family, be IN some of the memorable moments with her kido and husband and still get some great shots of the day.

AND WE’VE BEEN FEATURED. Her friend Heather from The Lovely Cupboard has posted all the photos of the decor and even the recipe Laura used for her “Bug Juice.” Go check out our featured post HERE, and be sure to leave lots of incredible lovin’ in the comments section.

This is my friend Jenny.  She is getting married to a funny guy named Austin. You can tell there is a lot of laughter between these two and all their friends and family. Her dorky sister’s (yes beautiful girls, you are dorky)  had to incorporate the ugly sweaters into her Bridal Shower since it did fall right around Christmas. Surprised Jenny with a photo booth since I am shooting her wedding, and THIS…. is how much fun we had.

Merry Christmas + Happy New Year + Happy Wedding Shower!