Jamie Grant Photography

Dan & Courtney | Wedding

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:57:56 +0000

I know Courtney through the college ministry my husband leads… and she never ceases to amaze me with all her sass and spunk. I love it. Her hubby Dan and her met through Fuel after signing up for the same missions trip. Though they weren’t “technically” allowed to begin dating to others going on the trip – their love continued to blossom leading up to the trip and by the end of it… they were pretty crazy about each other.

I was thrilled to get to photograph Courtney and Dan. One of the most fun bridal parties… ever.

Courtney & Dan got married at Eastland Suites so got to use one of their gorgeous suites for getting ready in!

I’ve found that in nearly every wedding I get to be apart of SOMETHING always goes wrong. But always, at the end of the day, the couple is married and the quirks and crazies that happen only make their story more memorable. This day, Courtney’s zipper got stuck. I mean badly stuck. After a good while of working at it, we just covered it up and didn’t fret.

Dan & Courtney originally had a June wedding set, but ended up moving it up to December. Our hopes for a light snow didn’t quite happen but we were able to get some gorgeous pictures regardless!

My cheeks hurt from laughing so hard at these guys…. Oh my.

We headed downtown Bloomington for photos in between the wedding and reception. It was COLD outside… but good sports all around!

One of my favorites from the day…

Mmmm I love this next set!

Cousins | Personal

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:39:03 +0000

Love my sweet little niece and nephew, Keira and Kellen! Elyse had so much fun playing with her cousins this past week when we traveled down to Louisville.

Elyse | Personal

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:46:24 +0000

Our new favorite activity is playing in the sink! We get nice and soaked but have an absolute ball. She was being a little ham today and just making me laugh…. love my little girl!

Matt & Kendel | Engagement

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:44:31 +0000

I get to photograph Matt & Kendel’s wedding next August. They were the sweetest, most fun-loving couple! He was just a plain goofball, and Kendel just laughed the whole time! It was quite entertaining – and I so loved hanging out with them for the afternoon!

They both love to read so we had fun with some books we picked out from Babbitt’s books downtown Normal (and a couple they brought along). We had a great time. Here are some from their session!

Jordan & Marqui | Engagement

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:34:20 +0000

ohhhhh Jordan & Marqui. Another couple I deeply love and have gotten to know over the last several months. Marqui came on staff as my husband’s administrative assistant for the college ministry we’re apart of. The beautiful thing…. we not only got her awesomeness in our little close clan of staff, but her fiance as well. They’re getting married at the end of April but have been dating since high school…. you’ll notice their high school sweatshirts towards the bottom of the post. We had such a good time… a lot of adventure – such as a near collision on the way out of Denny’s (one spot that’s been particularly meaningful to them during their dating years) and an encounter with some type of wild animal we heard snorting through the tall grasses. Here’s their teaser!

Since Denny’s was a particularly fond restaurant to the two of them, we hit up a milkshake for the first part of the session.

Elyse | My Baby

admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:49:50 +0000

Elyse was helping me rake the leaves the other day… though I can’t say we were very successful in getting much accomplished. We had a lot of fun though

Alan & Kara | Engagement

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:59:33 +0000

Our first scheduled session was canceled due to rain and our rain date has overcast skies in the forecast. But the sun graced us with her presence and we got a beeaautiful day! Our early morning session made for some gorgeous light and since Alan & Kara met through work (both work in agricultural) we had to hit up some fields outside Bloomington.

These first few that we took ended up being some of my favorites…. they were quite easy to photograph with how relaxed they were with each other.

One of my favorite trees in Bloomington. Love it.

We were planning on doing a little drive by shooting but ended up settling at this old barn. A new spot for me that I fell in love with.

Alan & Kara…. what a joy it was to get to know you both! I look forward to your wedding next year!!

Shawna & Eric | Wedding

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:44:02 +0000

Shawna & Eric met through a mutual friend at a Barbecue in Peoria. Shawna is from the area but Eric lived in Boston and was just visiting for the week. After hitting it off, Eric volunteered to drive Shawna to New York, where she was headed for a visit. Yes. NEW YORK. You know that’s a guy who’s interested if he volunteers to drive her half way across the country. :) And the rest, they say, is history. Here is their wedding.

Shawna made a whole morning out of getting ready. We talked about the importance of taking our time and setting aside plenty of time for each part of the day. One of the things I always encourage my brides to do. More time=less stress and more time to enjoy the day, your friends, and your mimosa!

When Shawna started wedding dress shopping – the only thing she knew for sure she wanted was buttons all down the back. Her dress was just exquisite!

We headed over to her cousin Bethany’s home on Prospect Drive in Peoria for photos. It was their dream home and has an AMAZING view… thank you Bethany for letting us use your home for the day! Here is Shawna’s grandpa. I loved him.

All set for the ceremony. Bring it on.

The reception was held at the Contemporary Arts Center in Peoria. It was so artistic – totally perfect for Shawna and Eric. I loved all the details, including imported Beringer Wine with all original labels from Napa, California (where Shawna & Eric live now), a lego bride & groom (lovingly put together by Shawna & Eric!), and a live jazz band (including some good friends of Shawna’s from California).

Shawna loves music. She sang Eric a song during the reception! Soooo sweet… I definitely was wiping away some tears

Shawna has three sisters. Jayma, seen below as the catcher of the bouquet, is the youngest and the only one left to be married. A little fun was poked at her and her longtime boyfriend during their dad’s speech. But after Jayma caught the bouquet… all laughter broke loose. Especially when I overheard Jayma innocently say “I just stuck my hand out”. Jayma…. I’m sorry my photo incriminates you!

Luke & Amy | Engagement

admin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:19:11 +0000

Introducing, the future Mr. and Mrs. Roth.

As you can tell….. these two just ooze FUN. I’ve known Amy for a few years now (since she was a wee little freshman at ISU!) – and now she’s all grown, graduated, and getting married. CRAZY! Right from the very beginning of this session though, I knew it wasn’t going to be hard to capture their goofy, quirky, fun loving relationship. They (especially Luke) was hamming it up the entire time.

They definitely got in touch with their serious side too. Pure love.

The next few are some of my favorites… the light and the sweetness of these just make me smile

After a quick outfit change we were off for some more…. a little more classy for these. But it was a lot harder than it looked to get Amy up on that log. :)

Thankfully Luke was there to help her down.

Luke’s a heel-clicking kind of guy…. so we had a little fun with the next one!

And for all you office fans. Here’s a little planking.

I love you guys….

Keith & Sislye | Engagement

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:45:22 +0000

Keith & Sislye have been dating since their junior year of high school. While they broke up a little bit throughout their nine year relationship, Sislye just found herself comparing every guy she dated with Keith. No matter how cool, how fashionable, how funny a guy was, she easily said that they just didn’t compare. That’s the sign of a soul mate. For their session, we headed out to her dad’s property on the outskirts of Bloomington. It was beautiful…. a little cold (I think my toes about froze) but beautiful and we had a great time.

I loved how much fun they had together.

Halfway through we went inside for an outfit change and I got to meet Sislyse’s dad and his wife. They had a beautiful home and offered me some hot coffee…. will never refuse that

Sislye thought she couldn’t pull off the serious face… but honestly, the one below might have turned out to be one of my personal faves. You rocked it dear.

It was sooo great hanging out with you guys for the morning! Hope you love your photos and I can’t wait for your wedding next year!