I have said it again and again, but it is SO true…the relationships that happen out of the process of photographing weddings and families and stories is my FAVORITE part of this business!  I love how my brides end up being friends, and being people that I care about so far beyond their wedding days!  I also love how I am getting to work with so many people going through similar planning processes, some with similar taste and some using the same wedding locations and vendors! So as I was thinking about these wonderful couples who have trusted me with this SUPER important day of their lives, and how thankful I am for that and how much I love spending time with them, I wanted to do something for them that would show a little appreciation…and give us an excuse to get together! So I invited my 2014 and 2015 JGBrides to a paint night as a little thank you gift to them!  And it was SO MUCH FUN!  While you wouldn’t guess it from the general state of my home, the amount of Pinterest fails I have on record (more on this soon!), or the way we host birthday parties here, I LOVE hosting and decorating and planning events, and had such a blast prepping lots of little details for this one! I am going to share more about some of those details in coming posts but for today, just enjoy the brief documentation of this event from when I wasn’t painting and Michael wasn’t playing super dad!  Starting with one of my favorite parts…the grooms gifts I sent home with my brides! I didn’t figure the grooms were interested in paint night…but I figured they WERE interested in a drink!

I invited each bride to bring a friend–I know how scary it can be to go into new social situations alone, so between familiar faces and name tags, we were all able to chat a little easier! 🙂
In my opinion, these heart strawberries were the cutest! I will share about these kabobs later!This was the painting we were making, and our teachers start of hers in a few pictures.Our AWESOME teacher Lindsay giving some serious instruction- these lovely ladies might not love their serious faces here but don’t worry, my I-can’t-stop-talking-with-my-hands situation is worse! One of my darling super recently married brides etched her and her new husband’s initials into her tree…seriously?! So so cute! I have the BEST brides who LOVE their men!My finished product- not amazing, but so much better than my first paint night- and it will always represent such a special event to me!And all of us with our finished cherry blossom trees!  I chose this image with our teacher Lindsay because they are one of my favorite trees (and one we recently planted- I hope it will grow here) and I LOVE them in part because of the photographic beauty they offer–so this seemed fitting! Thank you SO MUCH for joining me ladies- I had a blast and loved spending time with each of you!  So grateful for you all!