Hello there!- Meet Lead Photorapher Shannon

I am so excited to do a series that introduce our amazing photography team to the world! We sat down with Shannon in a one on one interview to get to know her better! Now all we want to do is go eat a burrito and learn how to get ready faster in the morning! : ) So thankful that this beautiful girl is on our team, she loves our brides unconditionally and has an amazing eye! She's been shooting for over ten years and I'm blessed that we have been friends for over 12! Without further ado, please meet our lead photographer, Shannon! 

Hi Shannon!! Okay so, you like snacks more than any human I know, what is your go to snack food of choice right now? I LOVE FOOD! Snacks of choice right now are  beef jerky, veggies and hummus, chips and guacamole MmM

 How many pairs of shoes are in your closet right now?
Too many! I only wear a handful of them, time to clear them out!

 My hubby and I want to travel, where would you recommend we go?
*We had a blast in the Eastern Caribbean, but thoroughly enjoy a little getaway to Coronado Island in California! 

How did your husband propose?
Josh proposed to me in a special meadow we would ride on quads to in Pinetop, AZ. We kept a journal together and he shared his heart, read it to me, and proposed in the middle of the gorgeous meadow. We were celebrating Thanksgiving with his family that weekend up at their cabin. It was incredibly special to celebrate with them!

What was the last gift you gave someone?
Does making dinner for my in-laws at their house count? :) If not, Body Beast work out collection for hubby on our anniversary haha It was hit!..So much so that he actually ordered it for himself the day after I did without knowing it. I did good this year :0)

Are you a better cook or baker?
 My husband might say neither lol, but definitely cook :0)

How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
 10-15 min, just enough time while my munchkins chow on breakfast

What the one memory from your wedding day you think about the most?Celebrating with all of our closest family and friends at one time. It was a rare and incredibly special occasion to have everyone together at once, we loved every minute of it and didn't want to leave!

I love burritos, what is your favorite one and where should I go to get it?
MmM! Shrimp & California Burritos from Papa Chevo's (formally known as Los Favoritos) & Chicken Burrito from Chipotle LoVe! 

Lead photographers Shannon, Jenn and Ryan

More about this awesome girl! 

I'm Shannon and I am a wife, mother, photographer, believer, and lover of all things seafood! I received a fine art degree in photography from Arizona State University and have had the privilege of photographing weddings professionally for over 8 years.

 I am truly blessed to call my passion a profession and continue to pursue it with the love, encouragement, and support of my amazing family and friends. I am sincerely passionate about my faith, family, people, and photography's unique ability to savor all of life's precious details. Weddings are all about details and so am I. 

If I’m not behind the lens for work, you will find me soaking up (and most definitely photographing) every minute with my best friend and husband, Josh, and our two incredible little bambinos. They are the sunshine in my life and continue to challenge and inspire me each day. I treasure quality time with them and nothing melts my heart more than seeing my son and daughter light up and giggle together like the best of friends! 

The Change to Studio - The story

Rewind. 

Its 2013. 

 And it happened again. 

It was the 9th time I was responding to a cute engaged couple that I couldn't photograph their wedding. At the time I didn't think I could help them. So there I was about to turn down another bride and groom because their wedding date overlapped with my due date for our sweet baby girl Kaiya.

 

But for some reason, when it happened for the 9th time - it really hit me.  

Why did I think I couldn't  help them?  

Sure I am prego, but I have worked with my second shooter Shannon for three years; and she takes just as great photos as I do! (And honestly a lot of times nails the shot better than I do from a different angle! For real. ) 

A little lightbulb went off and I thought, what if........

What if I could do all of the backend stuff; the client consultation, set up their timeline, create their personal wedding website and gallery... What if I could add my Jenn Wagner touch to the wedding photos through all the editing, but count on Shannon to be there physically capturing those perfect moments on the day of the wedding?

Would people even want that? 

 Turns out they did. They booked Shannon and Ryan.

 I thought "Okay lets try this"...
So to be honest, the day of the wedding I was waiting by my phone, thinking that at some point I'd get a call that they need me and I'd have to rush in to save the day. I was nervous, I was scared. It was the first time Jenn Wagner Photography was photographing a wedding... without Jenn Wagner. What?
The phone never rang, no disaster ever happened. In fact, quite the opposite!
 Not only did I get back memory cards full of unbelievable photos, but more importantly a bride that was thrilled and even more, the brides mom that wrote an email saying how much they loved Shannon and Ryan.
Wait what? But I wasn't even there?!
That... a ... good ... thing... right?
Yes. Yes it is. 

(See their gorgeous wedding here. )

_____

So it worked. A month later  another inquiry came in that I wasn't able to do. 

 Sure enough; they booked... and then another booked... and then another... 

_____

While all of this was happening over the past year, I never really announced it or put it up on the website; to be completely transparent,  I kind of hid the fact that brides were booking someone other than me.
 Why? I don't know... I wasn't sure if it would really work and it was new and scary and something I had never tried before. I guess when you name is on the business and its been your brain child since day one, you kind of take ownership and hold on. Maybe it was a little blow to my own ego that I'm not quite as essential as I think I am. That the selfish piece of me wanted to think it wouldn't work without me there day of, it would all crumble. But it isn't true.

Its thriving.

 So I put my ego on the shelf, took a step back for a minute and realized that the sweat, blisters and energy I've put into this baby of a business of the last 4.5 years truly has turned into a well oiled machine that does right by our brides, serves the heck out of them, and most of all; finds joy in photographing weddings!  We are able to offer our clients the best technology, customized wedding websites, the best albums, personalized attention and the best streamlined services that allow them to share their photos across distance and time.  (Thanks Pass and Showit!) From a brides' first inquiry, to our awesome engagement session, to gifts in the mail and then their final album delivery; its seamless.

And its more than just amazing photos; its an experience.

The amount of brides wanting the Jenn Wagner Photography Experience has grown, this baby of a business is ready for that next step. To make it Facebook official shall we say. 

This well tuned machine is working. 

And it is working well. 

It has been such an eye opening and humbling experience to realize what a great thing we have going on. That I am surrounded by such talented artists and servant hearted photographers on my team that shoot with the same philosophy I do. That we have brides that truly respect and love our art and that by the end of the wedding night we are all giving each other HUGE hugs bye!

 I hated when I had to turn away brides; feeling like I couldn't offer services to all of those brides  because I was booked or not available. So this idea evolved and took root. Now it is a part of our identity.
 Its not I, its WE.
And we now have the ability to serve more brides with all three of us shooting. We've been doing it for a year under the radar;  but now its official.
Its out there! No more hiding, no more being egotistical.

 So Jenn Wagner Photography has grown. Our mission has grown along with our purpose and our goals.  Our team has expanded, and with it so has our image. 

So it is with a tear in my eye and joy in my heart that I change from Jenn Wagner Photography, to Jenn Wagner Studio. (Thank you Taryn Pollack at Serendipity for your advice and push to rip the band-aid off and go for it!) I feel like this better encompasses our team atmosphere and represents our brand as a cohesive unit. Thanks to Elizabeth Langford Creative for the new logo and feel; we absolutely love how it turned out!! 

What it comes down to, is this: 

We love our brides, grooms and their families. We believe that serving you is our top priority. We fall in love with your stories and get giddy when we get to capture them. We tear up on weddings day when you say your vows- and the day after your wedding we are reliving what your crazy bridesmaids did at the reception. In our eyes, we are more than a vendor and your wedding is more than a transaction. We are there to serve you on one of the most important days of your life and capture those moments you didn't even know we were watching.  And when its all said and done, handing over your wedding photos and hearing how much you love each and every photo; well that, that right there makes us happier than you could ever know. 

Thank you for reading along, and for following our story as we help tell yours. 

Much Love, 

The Jen Wagner Studio Team

From left to right:

Cayla- Assistant

Ryan - Lead Photographer

Jenn- Owner and Lead Photographer

Shannon - Lead Photographer

Check out our new website here!!
www.jenn-wagner.com

Peter and Grace White | Scottsdale Wedding

Everyone gets a little anxious on their wedding day. You spend months planning and invest a lot into making your one wedding day perfect. I could see Grace was a little nervous at the beginning of the day, just like most brides are. However, once those doors opened to the church and she joined Peter at the front of the chapel, everything changed.
You could physically see her relax once she had Peter next to her.
Her smile couldn't be contained.
She was with him, so now it was all okay.
She was home.

Peter is has one of those personalities that you just want to be around. The youngest in a large family, he is laid back and hilarious. The kind of person it would be difficult to stay tense around.

Watching Grace and Peter interact throughout their wedding day, you can just see how much fun their life is going to be together. It was an absolute blast capturing this amazing wedding; from the random pit stop at CVS during the middle of their wedding day, to the best mother son dance I have EVER seen, to our extended bride and groom portrait time where we got some of my all time favorite photos (LOVE when couples build in extra time for their wedding photos)
It was such a fun wedding day!

Here is to the next 70 years of life next to each other. 

Here is to being home. 

Much love, 

Jenn 

And now, their wedding day, in photos... 

 "The morning of the wedding was a little stressful—not only was I preparing for the biggest day of my life, but I was packing all of my things after 6 weeks in Phoenix, so there was a lot to do. I was calm until the last 10 minutes before we were leaving and then the stress hit. I had everyone, even our wonderful photographer, packing my things. Looking back, it was pretty funny (thanks for your help, Jenn!)"- Grace

"As the groom you have no idea what the dress looks like, so when the back doors first opened, it was

pretty fantastic. You also realize how the bride makes the dress, not vice versa." - Peter

"I was surprised at the times I did and didn’t cry throughout the day. Tears were definitely shed, but the

moment that sticks out to me the most was during our vows—when he looked at me and said “I, Peter, take you, Grace, to be my wife.” His wife! I just loved hearing it. It was an emotional moment."- Grace

"The ceremony was just so beautiful, and it was a great opportunity for Pete and me to have some quiet moments together before all the craziness of the reception. When we were kneeling with our backs to the congregation, it was almost as if we were the only two people there, and we were really able to take it all in as a newly married couple." - Grace

"The reception and party were a lot of fun but my favorite part of the day was the ceremony. It had been something that we had really prepared for and after nine months of preparing ourselves for this day to  begin our marriage - actually experiencing it was amazing." - Peter

"The party bus air conditioner wasn't really up to par so it was extremely hot, which wasn't ideal, but

definitely made some great memories - we ended up stopping at a CVS store just to cool off. That store

had definitely never had a wedding party crash their place, buy a bunch of liquor, and have the groomand best men taking pictures of themselves cooling off in their ice fridges." -Peter

All my best to you guys as you begin this new journey as newlyweds!

Book your wedding at www.jenn-wagner.com