KATIE JANE PHOTOGRAPHY

I first met Abbi at Katie & Nick’s wedding back in March. She came to City Hall to act as their witness and she brought bubbly, so clearly she’s good people. A few weeks later, I received an email from her asking if I would be available for her City Hall wedding, and I was absolutely delighted. Although I get referrals for “big weddings,” it’s actually pretty rare that I get them for elopements, since 95% of my clients are from overseas. It was a little tricky to figure out a date since my June was already pretty overbooked, but when she mentioned June 1st, I jumped - it was the only Friday I still had free in June.

I met her and her amazing husband, Ben, at their apartment in the West Village this morning, and - as I suspected - he was just as lovely as Abbi. We took portraits in their beautiful neighborhood before heading to City Hall to meet a group of their friends - including Katie & Nick. I really cannot wait to share this whole wedding as it just turned out so wonderful in every way, but here’s a small sneak peek. Abbi & Ben - thank you for being so fantastic!! I just loved working with you guys!

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Original Article

This morning I got up bright and early for a sweet mother and son portrait session in Central Park! I met Sarah & Cash at Bethesda Terrace; this portrait session was Sarah’s Mother’s Day gift. When I walked over to say hello to Cash, he immediately looked up at me and giggled, and I knew we were going to have a very fun morning together. Bethesda Terrace is such an an amazing location with gorgeous light, so we kind of just let Cash run wild and do his thing, while I followed along snapping photographs along the way. I get to have these two - plus Sarah’s husband - in front of my camera again this fall, and I can’t wait! Sarah, you have such an awesome kid and I had so much fun with you guys this morning!! Here’s a small sneak peek!

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Original Article

I met Lisa & Eric at the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue for their engagement session on a stunning April afternoon. We’d had to move their session up a day, as the weather looked bad on their original day, and I’m so glad we did. The light in these photographs is the stuff dreams are made of… well… photographers’ dreams anyway.

Whenever I shoot in the New York Public Library, I get so nervous. I always try to be extremely quiet and respectful, but I can’t help but feel that an angry librarian is going to slap me with a ruler at any moment and have me escorted out. Luckily for us, we got the photographs we wanted quickly and avoided any angry librarians. After that we headed to Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, and finally - after a quick stop for cupcakes at Two Little Red Hens - Lisa & Eric took me to an amazing park I had never been to before on the Upper East Side - Carl Schurz Park. I love it when clients suggest locations a little off the beaten path - it’s easy to get into a rut and shoot in the same places over and over, so I jump at any opportunity to shoot somewhere new. And I will definitely be going back to Carl Schurz Park - it was a gorgeous oasis on the East River.

Lisa & Eric are getting married next Saturday in Montclair, New Jersey - they booked me well over a year ago, and I can’t believe the day is almost here! Lisa & Eric, you two are such an awesome pair, and I cannot wait for next week!!

(Side note: The cat on a leash is not their cat, it’s just a random cat on a leash that we saw in the park. If that’s not worth documenting, I don’t know what is.)

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Original Article

My blogging schedule says I’m supposed to write about the first half of my trip to Hawaii today, but I haven’t actually edited any of the photographs yet, so that’s clearly not happening.

June starts this week, which means I start shooting actual big weddings again and not just elopements. While “big weddings” have a season, elopements definitely don’t. I’m usually busy shooting them all year round. So this will be my last official wedding season, and it feels very bittersweet. It’s not that I think I made the wrong decision in choosing to give them up after this year - I definitely didn’t. Focusing on elopements (and only shooting Monday to Friday) is the right choice for me, my family, and my sanity. But I do still genuinely love big weddings, and I really want this last wedding season to be amazing - I plan to enjoy and savor each one and make some seriously spectacular art with all of my couples.

(Side note: I could not have picked better couples to end my “big wedding” career with - they are all so amazing, each wedding so different, and I’m crazy excited for each and every one.)

I was working on my 2013 calendar this morning (because it is already starting to fill up with elopements which is so awesome and so BANANAS!), and it was odd to look at it and see no big weddings on the schedule, for the first time in years. For a split second I had a business owner’s panic attack - I’ve got to get some weddings on the books! Oh no! And then I remembered… Oh, I don’t shoot those anymore. No need to panic.

I am SO unbelievably excited about just being an elopement photographer after this year, of rocking out that amazing, little niche. But it is at the expense of a wedding photography career that has been very good to me. I think the experience of shooting full fledged weddings has made me a better elopement photographer in every possible way. And I think there are things about big weddings that I will really miss.

So this is the beginning of the end of an amazing era in my life and the life of my business. I can’t wait to see what this final wedding season brings, and I think I’m going to be a giant crybaby at my last wedding on October 14th. (Sorry in advance, Alison & Ken.) In five short months I will officially close the chapter on wedding photography in my life, and then it will be all elopements, all the time. This business is ending up so far from where I expected it to go when I got started. But that’s been the story of my life from day one, I think, so it’s rather appropriate. This journey has been so fantastic, and I am more than ready for the next era of Katie Jane Photography.

Bring it, wedding season!

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Original Article

Hilary and I met on Picture Day in 11th grade, back in Wilmington, North Carolina. It was both of our first weeks at a new school. 11th grade is probably the worst grade possible to start a new school, and I didn’t have high hopes for making good friends there my last two years of high school, particularly because I was much more shy and introverted than I am now. I was standing in line in the gym, waiting my turn to have my photo taken, when this bubbly blonde girl appeared. I’m paraphrasing, but I’m pretty sure she said something along the lines of, “Hi, I’m Hilary! You’re in my algebra class! Let’s be best friends!” And pretty much just like that, we were. Now, twelve years later, I cannot even begin to imagine my life without her. I didn’t expect to make any friends that year, and ended up walking away with a sister.

The first time Hilary called me and told me about this guy she’d met - Drew - I knew immediately this was different. I had never heard her gush about anyone the way she was gushing about him. (Oh man, I hope I’m allowed to say this. Sorry, Hilary.) When I finally got to meet him and see the two of them together, over brunch when John and I were down South visiting, I could see what all the fuss was about. John and I left the restaurant that morning, and I just laughed, “Hilary is totally going to marry that guy.” So when they got engaged a few months ago, I can’t say I was surprised at all; just totally overjoyed that my best friend had found someone so wonderful and who compliments her personality so well. Hilary and I have been through so much together in the years we’ve been friends, and I have definitely never seen her this happy before.

I went down to D.C. to spend the weekend with them in April, see their new apartment, and of course I insisted on taking engagement photos. (This is the peril of being one of my loved ones, I will insist you let me take your photograph at any available opportunity.) We explored the gorgeous neighborhood of Capitol Hill, and I loved the photographs we captured. I feel like their personalities really shine through. Obviously I’m not shooting this wedding, since I’m in it. (And I have a lot to live up to, since Hilary was pretty much the greatest maid of honor in the history of weddings - this is my favorite photo of us everrrrr.)

Hilary & Drew, thank you so much for letting me take your portraits. I am crazy excited for your wedding next May, and John and I are so incredibly happy for you both. Love you guys times a million. xo

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Original Article

Lucy & Ellis were married on a surprisingly hot and sunshiny early March day. Lucy is originally from Australia and Ellis is from the UK, but they are in the midst of a move to Los Angeles, and eloped in New York City. So you could say they’re quite an international couple.

Lucy & Ellis are seriously just sweetness and light, and we pretty much had the best day ever. City Hall was practically empty that day, and we were in and out in 15 minutes - quite a rarity. That gave us lots of time to explore the city together and capture portraits at some of my favorite spots in New York City - from the Brooklyn Bridge and High Line to the streets of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea. We wandered around, the two of them in their own little bubble of happiness, me snapping portraits along the way. It was just one of those weddings where I felt like I was hanging out with two old friends, not people that I had just met in person for the first time on the steps of City Hall that morning.

Lucy & Ellis, you two are so much fun, and I love what we captured together! Wishing you guys so much love!

Dress: Made by Lucy, herself!  //  Shoes: Country Road  //  Suit: Massimo Dutti  //  Venue: Manhattan Marriage Bureau

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Original Article

We left Hawaii late Monday night, and I basically spent the entirety of Tuesday in the air. I was awake for roughly 34 hours by the time I finally got to bed, so I’m a little confused today as to what time it is and where exactly I am, but I’m pretty sure I’m in New York City again. It’s weird to lose a day in the air like that.

Have a debilitating fear of flying you’re trying to get over? Schedule eight 5+ hour flights within a three month span. I feel like I have spent the last few months in the sky. I did not think I was capable of flying this much without a total mental breakdown, but this trip I found myself taking off and landing like a seasoned pro, relaxing through turbulence, staring out the window without feeling like my heart was going to leap from my chest. I don’t even recognize this person in the mirror. There were moments when I actually enjoyed being in the air. And for some reason it hit me this trip that flying is such a MIRACLE. I mean, really. It took John and I 19.5 hours door to door to get to Maui. It felt like this epic journey, but it’s not, you know. Not really. I can be on the otherside of the world in almost no time, when you think about it. I’ve been so busy being paralyzed with my fear of flying my whole life that it just occurred to me how amazing flying is, how amazing that it works and works so well. (I don’t know why this is a revelation, but for whatever reason, it is.) I have two more long (solo) flights next month, and I’m feeling pretty okay about them. (Knocking on wood.)

Anyway. Hi! I’m home! Hawaii was… incredible. And oh so relaxing. For the first time in the history of Katie Jane Photography, I did ZERO work. I even did a little work back when we took our honeymoon in 2010… but this trip I totally detached from work for the first time ever, and it was so fantastic. I need to do this once every year. I came home so excited for wedding season to rev up and so pumped for the bazillion weddings I have in the next couple months. Taking time off has clearly made me a less burned out, much better business owner.

Of course, because I didn’t do any work at all, I now have an insane amount of email to attend to, which is what I’ll be doing today and tomorrow. So if you’re waiting to hear from me, you should get a reply no later than tomorrow night. I’m home, I’m rejuvenated, I’m slightly less pale, and I am ready to rock out wedding season! Hooray!

Here is a little sneak peek of a few of my photos, with full Hawaii recaps to come!

 (First row: On the road to Hana  ||  Second: Black sand beach in Hana  ||  Third: Palm tree reflected in a pond on Lanai & sunset from Makena)

Original Article

John and I usually tack on mini vacations to the end of work trips. (See: every trip we take to the west coast ever.) But the next ten days are not even remotely related to work, and neither of us will be doing any. Tomorrow we are off to Maui and Lanai, Hawaii for ten glorious days. We have been planning this trip for a year, and it still doesn’t feel real to me. I plan to do a lot of laying on the beach, reading, swimming in the ocean, and having lots of hangout time with my husband, since when I get back I will barely see him for the next few months. Wedding season has begun! (Speaking of my husband… you should really wish him a lot of luck since he has to spend 14 hours on a plane with me tomorrow. I’m sure he’s really excited about that.)

I’ll be catching up on all my emails this afternoon and clearing out my inbox. Anything that comes in after tomorrow, you’ll get a reply after May 23rd, when we’re back. I plan on coming home totally relaxed (and hopefully not sunburned) and ready to take on wedding season! See you in ten days! xo

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Original Article

We drove all night, until we could drive no more, and then pulled the U-Haul over at a motel just off the highway somewhere in Maryland. It had been an incredibly long, exhausting day of packing and driving… and saying good-bye… but I found it hard to fall asleep even though it was after 3am. Tomorrow would be an even bigger day - we’d go through a tunnel and emerge in New York City to a whole new life. And I had no idea what might possibly lie ahead. Hence… sleeplessness.

The next morning I insisted we eat breakfast at the Waffle House across the street from the motel. “Please,” I asked John. It felt like an appropriate way to say good-bye to the South. I had hashbrowns - smothered, covered, and diced, of course - and tall glasses of sweet tea. Then we were back in the U-Haul, back on the highway. Here we go.

Five hours later we pulled up in front of our new apartment - an itty bitty studio on Avenue C and 10th in the East Village, just above a hookah bar. How did I get here, I wondered as we unloaded the truck together. I met a man and fell in love and now we live in New York City together. I kept repeating this in my head, because nothing about this felt real. Life is weird.

I was broke and jobless, but always up for an adventure. And I had secretly myself permission to go back home if I hated it.

And I did hate it. For a good year. But I  loved John. So I stuck it out. And I don’t even know when it happened, can’t pinpoint the moment or day. But one day it was just… home. I loved it. I never wanted to leave. I still cannot figure out when or how it happened, but I found myself desperately, passionately in love with this city. With the energy and the history, the culture which was so completely different than anything I’d ever known.

On Monday, John and I will celebrate six years as New Yorkers. Last year we went to the top of the Empire State Building to celebrate. This year we’ll be on vacation, but maybe we’ll toast with manhattans or something. Sometimes it feels like I just moved here and sometimes I feel like I’ve been here forever. It is home in every sense of the word, and I very much hope to spend the rest of my days on this strange, little island. Happy anniversary, New York City.

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Original Article

I have to say, I have been looking forward to this wedding for a long time. Dawn & Steve are from the UK, and I’ve spent the last few months getting to know them through email. I knew yesterday was going to be pretty special, and it definitely was. Dawn & Steve (along with the cutest bridesmaid ever - their daughter Phoebe) were married in Shakespeare Garden in Central Park and it was just perfect. I love it when a couple brings their child and involves them in their wedding - it’s really an incredible experience to see a family come together this way. Although the forecast predicted rain all day, the showers held off until the very end of the afternoon, and everything went off without a hitch. Here’s a small sneak peek - much more to come! Dawn & Steve (and Phoebe) - you are truly lovely people, and I had such a fantastic day with you all!

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Original Article