J3Designz

Hi, I’m Jess! I’m a wife, mother, daughter in Christ and lover of all things that inspire.  I am the proud creative mind behind J3Designz in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I’m a “General Hospital” junkie, cinnamon rolls are my guilty pleasure and I love restoring old furniture. Here you’ll find tons of beautiful photographs of my amazing clients along with posting gushing about my favorite li’l man Jaxson and his adventures with me and my awesome man Justin. Check back often as I have lots to say :)

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Ginger + Jonathan are married! | Fort Wayne Wedding Photographer

May 15th, 2012

Oh hai blog reader friends So glad you stopped by. Today is a special today, it’s Ginger and Jonathan’s ONE MONTH anniversary. Sweet Ginger has been patiently waiting as I sifted through the hundreds and hundreds of images and finally! I’m able to publish the fantastic nuptials of this amazing duo. Ginger and Jonathan were [...]
 

Oh hai blog reader friends :) So glad you stopped by. Today is a special today, it’s Ginger and Jonathan’s ONE MONTH anniversary. Sweet Ginger has been patiently waiting as I sifted through the hundreds and hundreds of images and finally! I’m able to publish the fantastic nuptials of this amazing duo. :)

Ginger and Jonathan were married at the gorgeous Plymouth Congregational Church . The sanctuary is so beautiful with it’s large pillars and amazing yellow ceiling. But before the wedding could take place the bride and groom to-be had to get ready for the big day.

The girls of course started their morning much MUCH earlier than the boys. Ginger was busy prettifying herself the morning of the wedding while the boys of course, were out to play.

Meanwhile…

Ginger put a ton of thought into the details of her wedding. I LOVE when brides (and grooms) do this. Everything, straight down to the candy on the table was very much, Ginger. Of course the shoes, well they needed to make a statement!

WOW!

Typically I don’t get the luxury of photographing a bride in her wedding dress more than once. With Ginger I got to photo her THREE times: once before the wedding, the wedding day and then a session a couple weeks later. I love the fact she had three totally different looks:

Are you kidding me with this gorgeousness?

Since Ginger is a teacher, I thought books might be a fitting addition to some of her portraits :) The librarians at the library were go excited to see a bride in her wedding dress there!

This is my favorite…

The weather was not terribly cooperative the day of the wedding, so Gill and I were left to find creativity within the church walls. She always does such an amazing job with the groom and groomsmen. Yet another bonus to having TWO photographers.

Love this one:

Doing a little “blue steel”

How beautiful are these ladies?!

And the guys weren’t too bad either ;)

FINALLY, it was time to get hitched!

There were some great moments during Ginger and Jonathan’s wedding ceremony. Part of the fun of being a photographer is that I get to see things happen that the bride and groom aren’t paying attention to during the ceremony. For example: a couple young kids deciding to lay in the isle during the ceremony. Hi-larious!

Husband and wife!

Due to the rain we headed over to the Grand Wayne Center to get a few fun photos of the Mr. & Mrs. with their best friends…

Awesome shot by the lovely Gill :)

Love the contrast and lines in this one…

Aren’t they so happy!

We took some additional time for photos at the always lovely Fox Island

He loves her so much :)

A request by the bride and groom…

Favorite…

Ginger put so much work into the details of her wedding. Pretty much all the decorations were created by her!

It was finally time to party and celebrate their marriage. They kicked off the evening with a slow dance to a song that brought me alllllll the way back to my elementary days: Weak by SWV

Ginger and Jonathan held their party at the very beautiful Landmark Entertainment for the evening was provided by my dear friend Brian, with Dance N Sound . His company was voted #1 DJ in Fort Wayne.

One of the special moments of the evening was when Ginger and her mom danced together. Her big sister, Tina, sang to them while they danced. And what a perfect song she chose: Mama’s Song

One of the coolest parts of the evening was towards the end of the reception when Ginger and Jonathan along with their closest friends and family released Chinese lanterns into the night sky. Absolutely breath taking!

I can’t wait to see the video that their amazing videographer and my friend, Lance Clark made. It’s going to be awesome!

Ginger and Jonathan, happy one month anniversary. I can’t wait to see how God blesses your marriage with happiness and lots and lots of babies!

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Waiting for Katelynn | Indiana Maternity Photographer

May 2nd, 2012

This is a special week for one of my best friends in the entire world! It isn’t often I get to use my art for my friends and family, but it makes me so happy when I can. I’ve known Rachael for roughly eight years, we lived together in college and I had the honor [...]
 

This is a special week for one of my best friends in the entire world! It isn’t often I get to use my art for my friends and family, but it makes me so happy when I can. I’ve known Rachael for roughly eight years, we lived together in college and I had the honor of standing up for her at her wedding. Ever major life event since my 20′s she has been a part of and happily, I’ve been able to do the same for her.

Baby Katelynn is due this weekend and she needs to hurry up! In the meantime, here are some gorgeous pictures of one beautiful pregnant mamma!

This is one of my favorites of Jeremy and Rachael :)

She’s so happy…

So sweet…

Jeremy is too funny :D

Rachael’s only request for her finished images was to incorporate this bible verse somehow. Baby Katelynn’s room is purple and butterflies and I think this will go perfectly :)

Sweet baby Katelynn, you are going to be so loved when you decide to make your appearance. Your mom and dad love you so much and are going to rock at being parents! Now, just hurry up and get here!

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Meagon & Dave | Fort Wayne Engagement Photographer

April 24th, 2012

First off, I have a huge congrats to this adorable couple. Though these are their engagement pictures they are now MARRIED! No, I’m not that far behind in blogging…they eloped at the beach this past weekend From the photos I’ve seen, they had an absolutely blissful day. So huge congrats to the new Mr. & [...]
 

First off, I have a huge congrats to this adorable couple. Though these are their engagement pictures they are now MARRIED! No, I’m not that far behind in blogging…they eloped at the beach this past weekend :) From the photos I’ve seen, they had an absolutely blissful day. So huge congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs. B! Thankfully, I will still get to photo their gorgeous selves in their wedding attire in a few months but for now, I have some fun images from their engagement session with me a couple weeks ago.

We spent some time hanging out in downtown Fort Wayne and I got to witness first hand just how much they love each other. Would you agree? Take a look…

We started the session at Headwaters Park on the bridge

I love Meagon’s laughter…

Fort Wayne doesn’t have a ton of boldly colored walls so when I find one it makes me super happy :)

Of course this cute little girl came along for the photos too!

Favorite :)

I love how much he loves her

This photo totally encompasses their relationship. Laughter people, it’s the key to an awesome marriage.

And finally…

Huge congrats to you love birds, so so happy you had the wedding of your dreams :) Can’t wait to see the both of you all dressed up again later this year.

Hugs to you!

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Welcoming Kensley | Fort Wayne Birth Photographer

April 22nd, 2012

If I could do one thing for the rest of my life (besides photograph weddings) it would be photographing births. There is something absolutely amazing about witnessing a baby coming into this world. I see strength of a woman, I see the gentleness of her husband and above all, I see the miracle of God [...]
 

If I could do one thing for the rest of my life (besides photograph weddings) it would be photographing births. There is something absolutely amazing about witnessing a baby coming into this world. I see strength of a woman, I see the gentleness of her husband and above all, I see the miracle of God upclose.

I have been so excited to see this little girl come into the world. Her mom and dad are such special people to me. I photographed their wedding , Tara’s maternity session with big sister Kennedy and 18 months ago I photographed Kennedy being born. I adore this family.

I anxiously kept my cell phone by my bed every night waiting for the phone call from Tara that she was having her baby. Even though Kensley wasn’t due until May, Tara knew she’d be coming early. After several times of having labor stopped, finally Wednesday evening it was the real thing. I paced back and forth in my living room waiting for Brandon to call to say it was time. I missed Kennedy being born by 7 minutes, I did NOT want to miss Kensley.

As I sat in the corner of the delivery room watching Tara breathe through her contractions I was in awe of her strength. After difficulties of conceiving, a hard pregnancy and now early delivery she breathed through each contraction as though this was want God had called her to do. In actuality motherhood IS what God has called her to do. Brandon held her hand and counted with her through the contractions, always being her pillar of strength. Finally, it was time to push. Their obstetrics doctor said it would all be over in five minutes and he wasn’t kidding. Five minutes of pushing later and this gorgeous 6 pound 5 ounce baby girl was taking her first breath in this world. I tried hard not to cry but watching Tara and Brandon see their baby girl was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life.

Kensley was six weeks early. The NICU team was in the room when she was born to make sure she was healthy. By the grace of God she was perfect. 19 inches of cuteness from head to toe. I know that she is going to be one loved little girl and not just from her parents!

So little Kensley just know I am always in your corner. You are such a lucky little girl to have your mom and dad and big sister Kennedy, you’re going to have so much awesomeness in your life!

Grab tissues friends here is Kensley’s birth story:

Love to your family Tara and Brandon.

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Michelle and Brian are gettin’ hitched! | Fort Wayne Engagement Photography

April 19th, 2012

Oh sweet sweet people of the blog world, I have so many things to update you about. It’s been a crazy ride the last couple of weeks with engagement sessions, weddings, not to mention photo’ing my college BFF and her baby bump and most recently (9 pm last night) the birth of a beautiful baby [...]
 

Oh sweet sweet people of the blog world, I have so many things to update you about. It’s been a crazy ride the last couple of weeks with engagement sessions, weddings, not to mention photo’ing my college BFF and her baby bump and most recently (9 pm last night) the birth of a beautiful baby girl. So SO many things about this job that give me sheer joy to my core.

To kick off this stretch of shoots and events are Michelle and Brian. It’s funny how paths cross in life. The longer I do this, the bigger my circle gets. Remember that show 6 degrees of seperation? Sometimes, that’s my life. Take for example the gorgeous lady in these images. She and I attended the same highschool, I say attended and not “went to school with” because A: she was a few grades ahead of me B: my school had upwards of 2000 kids. I remember her from those days, she was tall and always beautiful. I guess some things don’t change. :)

Her love story with Brian is sweet. Romantic comedy type sweet. The handsome guy sitting at the bar nursing her broken heart from a recent breakup. But wait! She recovered from that broken heart after realizing how much she loved this handsome guy at the bar she saw every week, and the rest is history :) Okay, there’s a lot more in between those things, but really…you just want to see their pictures am I right? Here we go…

Love the fire escape

So sweet…

<3

So excited for their wedding coming up later this year at the gorgeous Allen County Courthouse

The willow trees at headwaters park are so gorgeous

My favorite image from their session :D

Can’t wait for November to see how their vision comes together for their wedding day!

Stay tuned in the next week or so as I post images from a few other sessions I’ve had this last week. So many awesome memories to blog about it :)

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Mikayla’s 3 months old! | Fort Wayne Children’s Photographer

April 9th, 2012

Well after a week of spring break I’m happy to report we made it out alive with lots of adventures to tell! Had so much fun with Jaxson just soaking up the time he is home. It hit me recently that my baby boy is no longer a baby boy and very much a growing [...]
 

Well after a week of spring break I’m happy to report we made it out alive with lots of adventures to tell! Had so much fun with Jaxson just soaking up the time he is home. It hit me recently that my baby boy is no longer a baby boy and very much a growing young man. Gone are the days of just sitting on the couch and snuggling with him, but instead, we are hunting for worms, riding motorcycles, building fires and forts… I took the week off from processing images just to enjoy the time with him (yet another perk of being self employed). But I’m back and will have so much to share in the coming weeks. Today, I have a super awesome family/little girl to show you.

This little beauty is three months old already, I don’t know how that’s even possible! I got to hang out with her and her awesome parents for a while to capture some cute expressions :) Sidenote: she makes me work for smiles, but I think her serious faces are equally “squee” worthy. So happy 3 month birthday pretty girl…

Such a big girl…

I LOVE this image of miss M

I wonder what she was thinking…

FINALLY got her to smile :)

Smooshes…I freakin love this!

Stephanie found an image similar to this on pinterest and wanted a recreation, I think this is pretty cute.

Her faces are hilarious

And finally, my favorite from the day…..(I think this should be blown up huge above their couch!)

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Nick & Jessy | Fort Wayne Engagement Photography

March 21st, 2012

I could squeal like a little girl playing in jelly beans and bubbles today. (Yes, I was being overly dramatic). I digress. These images are going to blow. your. mind! Meet Jessy and Nick, two adorably sweet college co-eds. When asked what brought them together, both said, “we’ve just always been in love with each [...]
 

I could squeal like a little girl playing in jelly beans and bubbles today. (Yes, I was being overly dramatic). I digress. These images are going to blow. your. mind! Meet Jessy and Nick, two adorably sweet college co-eds. When asked what brought them together, both said, “we’ve just always been in love with each other”. How adorable is this? Nick is a totally layed back nature guy who loves fishing and being outdoors. Jessy? She’s a gorgeous girl with a personality to match who has an affinity for fun shoes and purses. (We might end up BFFs by the end of this journey). ANYWAY… we spent a gorgeous winter spring afternoon together a few weeks ago, exploring the quaintness of the Windmill Museum in Kendallville, Indiana. The creeking sound of old steal windmills have been a *tad* creepy, but they were an amazing backdrop for a romantic engagement session with this adorable couple. Take a look…

We found this old truck on the property, L-O-V-E!

So rustic and dreamy <3

Sassy!

Her love for him is so sweet

The blue sky that day was gorgeous :)

We found these super fun blue things while walking around the Windmill Museum, love the bright splash of color.

Nick loves to fish, of course we had to encorporate that. I’d say he got the catch of his life with Jessy :) (oh my gosh did I really just make that cheesy joke? Yes, yes I did)

This is my FAVORITE from their session. Canvas? Yes please :)

I’m becoming a huge fan of this type of processing for images, it’s so milky and vintage yet crisp. Amazing :)

I’m so excited for Jessy and Nick’s winter wedding coming in December. :) Happy wedding planning lovebirds!

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Baby Christopher | Fort Wayne Newborn Photographer

March 17th, 2012

Oh how I have anxiously awaited the arrival of this little boy His mamma and daddy got married back in August in one of my favorite weddings to date and I have watched as Marissa posted pregnancy updates throughout the past several months. FINALLY, it was time for Baby Christopher to have his first session [...]
 

Oh how I have anxiously awaited the arrival of this little boy :) His mamma and daddy got married back in August in one of my favorite weddings to date and I have watched as Marissa posted pregnancy updates throughout the past several months. FINALLY, it was time for Baby Christopher to have his first session with me. (his daddy’s name is ALSO Christopher)

How adorable is this kid??

I’m always in awe of God’s miracle when I see tiny fingers and toes

We had to finish the remainder of the session a different day because Baby Christopher was tired of pictures, and thankfully it was nice enough we were able to go outside the next time!

Marissa had a board on Pinterest dedicated to newborn photos, this was one that she really wanted…

LOVE

I love this one, definitely should be a large canvas in Baby Christopher’s room don’t you think? :)

Congrats again Marissa and Chris, your baby is such a doll. I am so excited to watch him grow!

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Mamma Mondays

March 5th, 2012

I’ve been busy brainstorming about the direction I want J3Designz to go for 2012 and have lots of wonderful ideas. One of the things I want to do is bring all you lovely readers purposeful content beyond beautiful images. I want to be able to connect with you on a level beyond me: the photographer [...]


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I’ve been busy brainstorming about the direction I want J3Designz to go for 2012 and have lots of wonderful ideas. One of the things I want to do is bring all you lovely readers purposeful content beyond beautiful images. I want to be able to connect with you on a level beyond me: the photographer and show me: the mamma :)

Winter is typically a slow time in the photography world since no one wants to freeze to death outside :) That means I get to spend time more time focusing on munchkin. I love this kid beyond words (obviously). I want so much for him to be a well rounded person when he grows up. Justin and I have started to introduce him to the world of sports. Last spring and summer he played soccer, which he wasn’t entirely a fan of. A few weeks ago we attempted wrestling (his daddy was a wrestler when he was in school).

Jaxson loves anything as long as his daddy is involved. Truth be told, as his mamma I was a little nervous about the wrestling thing and wasn’t looking forward to watching him get possibly hurt in a match.

Wrestling was a no-go. At least for now. The Lord gave me such a tender soul for a boy and trying to explain to him that he was supposed to “hurt” someone else just didn’t make sense to him. I’m okay with that. I think I’d rather he remain tender hearted and not wrestle than the other way around. So for now, we’re just going to keep playing at home until he’s ready for organized sports. If he’s like me, sports might not be his thing though, I was the music girl in highschool :)

He’s been doing AWESOME in school. Of his 13 classmates, he’s the only one who can READ! I can’t believe my baby can read and he’s not even in kindergarden yet! It is such a blessing to watch him conquer new obstacles. I was sitting in the car with him while waiting for preschool to start and was reading with him, teaching him to sound out words and before I knew it, he was able to read sentences! I was, of course, bursting with pride.

His preschool has theme days every so often. They’ve had color days, crazy sock days, and just recently, tie day. (we stole one from daddy’s closet)

That’s Jax with his bff Peptide (our newest kitty).

And the most recent theme day was Wacky Hair day. Of course we had to do something ca-razy:

He looked pretty cool in my opinion ;) THis last weekend in reward for being a “super star student” (they get a good report every day of the month at school) we went and saw:

Can’t wait to share more awesomeness with you :)

But before I go, I wanted to share this video with you. Jaxson made this for me when I was out of town last weekend for my friend’s baby shower. He sang it to me over the phone, but, recorded himself doing it. Probably one of my favorite things he has ever done!

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Baby Jane | Auburn Newborn Photography

March 2nd, 2012

Oh how I love squishy precious baby girls. I got to spend time with this little punkin a couple weeks ago. She was just 10 days old when I met her and she was a complete peach throughout our session. She even stayed asleep during all the moving and bending we did with her! We [...]
 

Oh how I love squishy precious baby girls. I got to spend time with this little punkin a couple weeks ago. She was just 10 days old when I met her and she was a complete peach throughout our session. She even stayed asleep during all the moving and bending we did with her!

We started our time together with mamma and Baby Jane rocking together in her purple bedroom. The light coming through the window was absolutely beautiful.

Lisa took a photo of herself during her pregnancy with a pink ribbon wrapped around her belly. Now that Baby Jane is here, we wrapped her in the pink ribbon!

Catching a baby’s yawn is one of my favorite things to document during a session :)

It never ceases to amaze me just how tiny new babies are. Truly a miracle from God that they are tiny little people!

I love this one!

How precious is this?

This photo is so special. It was the very first time Big brother Adam got to hold his little sister. It took him a while to warm up to me but once he did he was a complete cheester in front of the camera. He did such a great job holding the baby too!

FAVORITE image of little Jane from the whole day! Check out that smile :)

And the whole family hanging out on mom and dad’s bed. I like to try and get the families in a place where they are comfortable and can be playful with one another instead of just a stiff “look at the camera and smile” kind of photo. This would be a canvas in my house if this were my family. :)

Kesse family it was so wonderful getting to spend time with you and seeing all the love you have for one another. I can’t wait to photo these precious kiddos again soon!

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