Album Share - 5x5 Mini Book

I just finished designing and ordering baby Connor's 5x5 mini album, and was ecstatic to get it in the mail! Connor's parents selected the "Watch Me Grow" package, which includes 4 photo shoots within a two year period. Each photo shoot comes with a 5x5 album, so you will end up with 4 mini brag books at the end of the two years. How neat!

To show how mini the book is, here it is with my computer mouse!

A few examples of the interior pages....

Want to learn more about the "Watch Me Grow" Package? Visit my website. The mini albums are also available for purchase with any of my photo shoots, and make great gifts for parents and grandparents! (the Holidays are sneaking up on us... hint...hint)

Edie Gets a Haircut

Our little girl got a haircut the other day, and I thought it would be fun to show a little before/after infomercial style photos of the transformation - heck, I'll even dedicated this post to the late Billy Mayes...

Before:

After:

Awe, doesn't she just look like a cutie tootie, just wanna pincha those checks, cutie wootie wittle doggie... oh you're a good girl, puppy wanna treat?! ... I mean... uhem... she looks great doesn't she!

If you're a pet owner looking for a groomer in the Madison area, check out Rufus duMonde Pet Salon. Laura the owner is great. I have no idea how she grooms our wiggly little dog who doesn't like her paws touched, but she manages and makes her look great every time! In fact it was her before and after pictures on her site that sealed the deal for me, I just had to go there! So check the site out!

Sweet Wedding Invites

I know that when I got married almost 2 years ago, the hardest thing for us to find was invitations that were cool, contemporary... and honestly a little less late 80's/early 90's looking. One might think this is an easy task, however after many hours of scouring the internet we felt as if our quest was impossible. Don't despair internet, we did find some invitations eventually that we loved, but it just took a while. So, when we got this invitation to our friend Justin's wedding, I knew I just had to share it with you. I just love these because they are so simple, but yet trendy and useful. And they all stack up to fit in a regular envelope (so you don't need that fancy dancy wedding stamp that costs a ton!).

Justin is a man of many talents, graphic design just being one of them. Be sure to check out his photography site, and leave him some love! If you're in Des Moines and need a photographer, please give him a call!

Note: I did blur out some of the details in Photoshop to protect the innocent :-P

Photo Shoots & Wine Tasting ... the perfect combination!

I got the privilege of meeting one really cool family yesterday for a photo shoot at Botham Vineyards in Barneveld yesterday. I had never been out there before, and it is an awesome photo location! Not to mention that when the photo shoot was over, we got to go inside and taste the wines - not a bad gig at all! Their tasting room is located inside an old barn, and they have all of these really neat details. Of course I had my camera along, so I just had to take a few pics.

And just for fun... here's a little sneak peak from their family session! More to come soon!

What Photographers do for fun...

we take more pictures! Last Saturday Brian and I headed out with my good friend, and fellow photographer Chris to take some photos, try new poses, and scope out a location. It has been almost two years since our wedding, and we were thinking we needed some new photos around our house. Plus I needed some cheesy pics of me with my camera for my website, which hopefully I will get updated in the next few days. Since I was "in" the photo shoot for once, I just grabbed a few of Brian and a couple of Chris with his camera. You can see the rest on Chris's blog - be sure to leave him some love they turned out AWESOME!

Here's a candid of my handsome man : ) He was super excited to wear his new suit and might I say he looks pretty dapper...



And here is a smiling one of Chris, although we have quite a few serious ones!



Thanks Chris for goofing with us, and go visit his blog for the rest!

Best. Wedding. Entrance. Ever.

Internet, I would give my right arm (and I'm right handed) to photograph a wedding where the couple does this. Alright, that's a little extreme, maybe just a discount... but still, this is amazing. Worth your 5 minutes to watch! What I wish they would show is the transition from dance party to serious ceremony... how do you go on? Haha... props to this couple for being original, shaking it up a bit, and not afraid to make the day personalized for them. That's what it's all about right?




Props to my second shooter Chris for putting this up on Facebook!

Emily Class of 2010

Meet Emily, a rockin' 2010 grad. Seriously! Just days before our photo shoot this girl was out on two separate mission trips,

helping others. How cool is that? After her senior year at New London High School, this young lady hopes to study

journalism at the University of Minnesota (it's ok, I'll forgive you Emily for not picking UW... haha). I can't wait to see

where she will be used to impact our world. I just know it will be something great!

Alright, enough sappiness and onto the photos! We started off our photo shoot in downtown Middleton.

I think this next one would be a cool graduation party invite/announcement. You could put the text

over the wall on the right hand side, how cool would that be?!

Emily LOVES her chuck collection, and has quite a few pairs, so we had to highlight them here! Love it!

As the sun was setting and we were getting some beautiful light, we headed back to my "backyard" studio.

Where I fulfilled my dream of putting someone in the field and taking their picture while the sun was

setting! I know, I really dream big don't I?!

Oh, and another reason why I love Emily - she brought props! Love this umbrella!

We were literally getting eaten alive by mosquitos at this location... like I had to edit them out of the photos

they were so bad. But we endured and got some great shots!

And what senior girl's shoot would not be complete without a beautiful puffy pink dress? With chucks of course!

Thanks Emily for a great night. I had a great time getting to know you, your mom, brother & family friend.

Your faith and willingness to serve others is inspiring to me, keep it up! It was an honor to photograph you!

Want to see more photos (oh yes, there's more). Become a fan of the JVW Photography facebook page.

Lifest 2009

Hello Internet! This post is a long time coming, seeing as Lifest was a little over two weeks ago, but better late than never right? Brian and I went to Lifest in Oshkosh for the second year in a row, and let's just say we had a blast! Not only was there great music, sunshine, and deep fried fair food, but it was a time to reconnect and worship with thousands of your closest "family" members. We came on Thursday and left on Sunday physically exhausted from all of the walking, standing, jumping, and dancing - but inside our spirits were refreshed and our hearts refocused on God. It's a pretty cool thing, not many other concert events can say. If you want to learn more, or have never heard Christian music (trust me, it's not your Grandma's church music!) I suggest you take a peek at www.lifest.com - I guarantee you'll be surprised at what you find.

We had front row seats, and I use the term seats loosely as it was more like a "standing" spot for all of our favorite bands. The combination of being that close with my telephoto lens was killer, and I got some great photos!

First up, December Radio -

Then a show from the Afters. I snapped this one as he was jumping off of the piano at the end.

Then Tobymac brought the house down. His show was awesome, and he got us white kids rapping and dancing, thinking we

were cool for at least one night!

Brian grabbed this one of the lead singer from Pillar.

Nothing is better on a warm summer day while watching your favorite bands than shaved ice... it was

so good!

And one of my personal very favorites, the David Crowder Band. How can you not love a band whose lead singer plays a

keytar?

We closed out Saturday night with an awesome performance by Third Day, another one of my favorites...my

I do have a lot of favorites!

Hope to see you there next year!

Congratualtions Mr. & Mrs. Sweet!

The name Sweet describes these two perfectly. I have known Kate and Nate in some way, shape or form since their were freshmen in college, and I was a junior. We lived in the same dorm, and were involved in Campus Crusade together, and also spent many a nights awake until too early in the morning watching movies and laughing with our friends. These two hold a special place in my heart. When Kate asked me to be their wedding photographer, I was thrilled. It's always a privilege to be invited into someone's life on their most important day, and it makes it even more special that we share a friendship.

Friends and family, register to view the photos here.

Their wedding was held at Ashbury United Methodist Church in Middleton, the church Kate grew up in. It is a beautiful location, with stain glass, natural light, and plenty of room. I started my time with the ladies, getting ready in one of the nurseries.

Kate's beautiful dress:




I just love this one. I think it just captures the hustle and bustle of girls getting ready. All of the futsing and scurry.






And this is where I started tearing up... I can't help it, mother daughter bonds always get me choked up!


I wish I knew what Kate was thinking, seeing herself as a bride for the first time!


While I was hanging with the ladies, my second shooter Chris was over with the gentlemen as they were getting ready. As you would suspect, the whole process was a little bit more laid back for the guys. I went up there at one point to check and see if they were ready for photos and they were throwing balls around, skate boarding, and well, just being guys! I love going through Chris's pictures and seeing what he captures when I'm somewhere else, it's such a pleasant surprise! If you're planning a wedding, you might want to consider adding a second shooter. This allows photos to be taken at two places at one time, and you'll see from the ones below you will get some great shots!





It's time! Chris caught this awesome shot as the wedding party made their way down the aisle.


Kate's beautiful boquet... that she made herself! (I didn't know this until much much later when I saw some facebook photos of the girls assembling their flowers. Take notes future brides, it can be done!)


Nate seeing his bride for the first time (tear up time number 2! Head over to the Jenn Van Wyk Photography Facebook page and become a fan to see bonus photos. One is a sweet photo of Kate's brother seeing her for the first time... this was tear up time number 3... )


Matt Metzger from Blackhawk Church preformed the ceremony. Being from Blackhawk, I always look forward to his messages, and this was one of the most touching and applicable wedding ceremonies I have heard in while. I think this photo was snapped while Matt was talking about the difficulties that will arrive in marriage (and I paraphrase), such as sickness, financial difficulties, and you know, one of you running to the door for a pizza and falling a breaking your ankle in a bunch of different places and having to have surgery kind of challanges (which coincidentally has happened to Nate...hmmm)


First time announced as Mr. & Mrs. Sweet. Yay!


We then headed out to take photos of the wedding party & Kate and Nate. We started at the church, which had this beautiful outdoor garden.

The dudes.


Another close-up of the gorgeous boquets. The bridesmaids dresses were from JCrew, and all the colors just pop! Love it!


Kate is an absolutely beautiful bride!




It had started to drizzle at this point, so we walked here, Chris held the umbrella over them, and on the count of three, removed the umbrella snapped a few and had them back under quick. It worked! Rain - zero points, Jenn & Chris - 1 point


We rounded up the bridal party and headed to the capitol. These guys were FUN! Enjoy these next few, I had a ball taking them!




I crack up every time I see this one. Some of you have some ridiculous disgusting faces! (Don't worry, we did take a nice "serious" one).




Then it was off to have some fun at the reception at the Madison Concourse Hotel! Upon entering the hall, they had set up this candy table with little bags for guest to make their own goodies. On them was a label "Sweets from the Sweets" with their new address. How cute!


A little close-up of the center pieces - also made by Kate and her bridesmaids.


Cake time!


Love, love, love this angle that Chris caught:


Time to eat!


Now, these guys pulled off the "You have to sing a song about love to get us to kiss" game that I have ever seen. There were guests up at the mic every 30 seconds bealting out their love tunes. The whole crowd would start singing along and clapping, it was great! Then again, I am a sap for these kind of things!


This cutie got up and sang a song, and it was simply adorable. Aftwards he runs back to his table and starts collecting one dollar bills from everyone! He was bribed to go up there and came out with a fistfull of cash... too funny!


On to the dancing! Celebrations Entertainment kept the crowd rockin! Seriously, after these dances there was not enough room on the dance floor. People were getting down on the carpet. That is one good DJ! I know he had me singing and dancing while taking photos!


This was tear-up time number 4, the mother-son dance. So precious.


Alright people, let's get down and boogie!






Kate and Nate, thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me be a part of your day. It was truely an honor. Best of luck in your new married life in Seattle! We will miss you!