Jesse Daniels Photography

Matt & Lauren | Terre Haute, Indiana | Engagement

Jesse Daniels — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:07:57 +0000

Matt and Lauren are our best friends. I know all photographers try to get cheeky and say that their clients are their best friends; however, in this particular case it’s a true sentiment! Gena and I met Matt & Lauren while in college and have remained friends ever since: partying, traveling, growing up, and just being together. So naturally when these MIDDLE SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS (sorry about the all CAPS but come-on… middle school!) decided the time was right to finally get married we knew we would be their photographers, we wouldn’t have it any other way. The couple decided to do their engagement photos in their hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana. We started the day just walking around downtown, then we drove out to to the country for a little picnic. After the picnic we made them daringly stand on a tree stump out in the lake (because we are friends, remember). We ended the night back at their house with lovingly prepared beer can chicken and pyrotechnics (that’s right, sparklers)!

Sweet Traveling Treats of Wandering Wedding Photographers

Jesse Daniels — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:59:03 +0000

Let’s take a blog break from all things wedding to talk about a very serious issue. This is an issue which is very near and dear to our hearts. That’s right people … cupcakes and popcorn. Ah, yes – we can smell it now – sugary sweet cream icing, rich red velvet goodness, and buttery corn so hot it can’t help but POP! Of course we have never mixed the two (at least not yet) but we thought it would be fun to share a couple wonderful finds from our travels. The first being an Austin, Texas jewel in Hey Cupcake! It’s a thing of absolute beauty, a vintage airstream trailer with a giant revolving cupcake on top, and it will change your world folks! The second happy accident was walking right smack into KuKuRuZa’s Gourmet Popcorn located in downtown Seattle, Washington (25 flavors of artisan popcorn). Gena and I have a love affair with popcorn because in college it was the only snack we could afford! We don’t have a ton of photos from KuKuRuZa because our hands were in a bit of a slippery state to be handling the camera, but you get the idea. Hope you didn’t read this before lunch. Our blog will return to it’s state of wedding bliss after this delicious post : )

Travis & Amanda | Anna Maria Island | Beach Wedding

Jesse Daniels — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:25:52 +0000

Who doesn’t like to travel, adventure out, and explore? Gena and I love traveling, especially to photograph destination weddings. One of our all-time favorites is Travis and Amanda’s beautiful seaside wedding. Something about the sun baked sand in-between your toes just makes for a happy wedding. The ceremony and reception took place on the beautiful beaches of Anna Maria Island in the sunshine state of Florida. We can still smell the saltwater and hear the ocean (… and not just because we brought shells back!) Congratulations Travis and Amanda on many more years of sunshine and romance : )

Jason & Nicole | Bloomington, Indiana | Engagement Photography

Jesse Daniels — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:36:36 +0000

There is something kind of magical about falling in love while you are in college, and Bloomington Indiana is the perfect setting for something magical. Jason and Nicole met while attending Indiana University; 40,000 fish in that sea and they found each other! We had a blast walking around the campus and ended our day in true Bloomington fashion with some Mother Bears Pizza… also pretty magical!

Travis & Amanda | Louisville, Kentucky | Engagement Session

Jesse Daniels — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:42:44 +0000

Louisville is one of our favorite cities; it’s a super short drive from Newburgh and it is filled with some of our favorite things – like Travis & Amanda! We were excited when Amanda asked us to shoot her engagement photos down in Kentucky, but we were over the moon when she asked us to photograph her wedding down in Anna Maria Island, Florida (and wait until you see those destination wedding photos coming soon, awe-mazing!)

It should be noted that, growing up as a young boy there are a couple of things you think are truly awesome, namely mini-golf and pretty girls. Amanda was/is a pretty girl and her family owned the local mini-golf… so yeah, we were friends! Her family sold the mini-golf, but we stayed friends… and I am glad we did.

The engagement session took place in scenic Butchertown near downtown Louisville, KY – such a neat part of the city.

Lukas & Kara | Evansville, Indiana | Wedding

Jesse Daniels — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:38:04 +0000

You know the perfect couple that stands on top of wedding cakes? Lukas & Kara were the actual models for that cake topper – true story! Okay, not true at all, but they certainly could have been! When writing about this wedding we just had to point out how beautiful Lukas and Kara are, but the real headline here is that they are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the out. Truly great people with truly great families to boot. The wedding day started off with a little good luck rain before the sunshine came out. The ceremony took place at St Mary Catholic Church in Downtown Evansville. After the vows, we all jumped on the party bus to swing by the historic Greyhound bus station (officially awesome photo op), and then it was off to Cambridge for the wonderfully decorated reception. Lots of gorgeous shabby chic details including burlap, twine, and moss adorned the reception hall. With the Pits rocking the stage, this wasn’t a sit down formal affair, it was a celebration and it went on well into the evening! So, without further ado, no more words – just photos!

Things We Love| Rustic New Harmony Indiana Bridal Photography

Jesse Daniels — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:27:32 +0000

Gena and I had this idea to start a new series of blog entries devoted to things we love. We decided to call the series… “Things We Love”. The title is surprisingly direct and to the point – perfect! Now we really have no rules or guidelines for these blog entries – just things we love all across the board. The first entry in this new series covers several things we love: 1) It was in New Harmony 2) It started in a charming, rustic little home 3) and it’s a bridal portrait session (Jesse & Gena style) with the beautiful Brittany. This session happened a few weeks before Brittany’s actual wedding. This can be a good idea for many brides because we were able to select a day with awesome weather, there were no timelines, there were no nerves, and we were able to hand pick a wonderful location. So take a peek at something we love!

We Make Stunning Wedding Albums

Jesse Daniels — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:35:02 +0000

Okay, the title should read that Gena makes stunning wedding albums. Of course I help, but really she is the ‘duchess of design’ as I lovingly call her. We design all of our albums in house – we literally design them at home in our house I guess that gives “in house” double meaning – but the real point here is that we don’t outsource our wedding albums. And we enjoy the entire album design process of meeting with our couples to select leathers, fabrics, and photos; to posting the album online for proofing and sharing. These are not your typical drop in wedding albums of old – these are heavy duty flush mount, custom designed, beautiful books. We lovingly put together every unique spread with the idea that you will cherish this book for the rest of your life. And Lord forbid the house is ever on fire – we think you will grab your wedding album (well, probably children first but then definitely your wedding album). We will spare you all of the details about how are albums are printed with the best inks on earth and each page lovingly hand-trimmed, and just show you one that recently went out of our house to be forever cherished in its rightful home.

Cory & Mandi | Evansville, Indiana | Love Session

Jesse Daniels — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:33:39 +0000

Okay, so photogs have a lot of “hip” lingo that most likely only other photogs consider hip. And let’s be honest, anytime someone says that something is hip, chances are they haven’t been cool since, like… a really long time ago! The point is, sometimes we do wedding shoots weeks before or even weeks after the actual ceremony, and we call them Love Sessions (because we are hip)! Being huge football fans, we have been anxiously saving Cory & Mandi’s Love Session for play-off time! Of course, that didn’t stop Occasions Magazine from picking up on the couples photos last September, but who is going to complain about a national publication stealing a little bit of your thunder – CERTAINLY NOT US! And we don’t always do this, but we just had to publish the amazingly kind words Mandi wrote on the Occasions Magazine Blog:

I have known Jesse and Gena Daniels for years. I had “liked” the link to their facebook website many years ago. I always enjoyed looking at their pictures, and have always thought they did amazing work. So when I became engaged, I started looking more at their wedding photos. Every time I looked at them, I was saying, I “love” this one!…I want something like that! So, it was obvious that when it came to a wedding photographer, I just had to have them. I love how creative and unique their photos are. I loved how after looking at their photos, I felt like I knew the people and felt like I could have been friends with them. Did they just have really attractive clients that lead really happy, wonderful lives? I’d like to think so, but I think it’s also a testimony to how great of photographers they truly are. They capture people in a unique way, showing their personalities, their passions, and most importantly their love for one another. Not every photographer captures this. Not every photographer goes that extra step to make their clients feel comfortable. I must say, that Jesse and Gena really have a great talent, and Cory and I are honored to have them take our photos that we will cherish forever.

We love you too Mandi! And without further ado, because it is play-off time after all, check out this awesome gridiron themed Love Session. Also, feel free to check out the full feature which explains the couples’ deeply rooted passion for football at Occasions Magazine.

David & Megan | Evansville, Indiana | Wedding

Jesse Daniels — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:50:53 +0000

Once upon a time Gena worked at a local newspaper. Gena met a girl named Megan and a boy named Dave who also worked at the paper. They all became good friends. One day it seemed as though Dave and Megan might be GREAT friends, Gena told Jesse and we all started hanging out. Wouldn’t you know it; Dave and Megan soon became an official more-than-just-friends item! Now we can’t really take any credit for this cute little love story… HOWEVER, Megan and Dave are truly good friends of ours; so naturally when Dave did pop the question, they called us right away to employ our photo wizardry skills. Megan asked Gena to be a bridesmaid and her photographer. We gladly accepted, and the rest is one awesome party for the record books. We should mention that the party had a teensy little bit of precipitation… okay, it was a lot of rain, but it didn’t stop everyone from having one heck of an awesome time. Megan and Dave have a tad bit of nerd love, hence the amazingly delicious Rock Band grooms cake made by Megan’s mom. Dave and Megan were married under a grand tent at the always beautiful (even when it rains) Bauerhaus, and DJ Rick Dobbs of Khaotic Entertainment kept the party going with an impressive sound and light show.