Chestnut the Wondermut

In case you haven't met her, this is my dog. Chestnut! (You may remember her from my very first post from back in 2007.) I took the leaping picture a few years ago in the field behind my house. The other two are from this past summer. She is embarrassed about the two portraits, but is very proud of her hunting picture. Chestnut is one of the main reasons that I met my husband. When Simon and I were hiking the Appalachian Trail, he was hiking with this little dog. Naturally, when I met these two I fell in love with the dog immediately.... then a little while later, I fell in love with Simon!

Mary Claire ~ Bridal Session

Mary Claire is hands down the most creative bride that I have photographed yet. I just photographed her New Years wedding this past weekend, so I can now post images from her bridal portrait session. She created the perfect outfit for a winter wedding with the royal blue and sparkling vintage jewelry. Also, her bouquet of Christmas ornaments and fabric was created by her mom... it even lit up as she walked down the aisle at her wedding! Her fancy Mustang is something that she and her dad worked on together over the years. Naturally, something as beautiful as that had to be a part of the photo shoot. Thank you so much Mary Claire for having me photograph you. Also, thank you again Simon for coming out on a cold cold day to help cary my photo gear!

A New Year and a Year In Review

January 1st, 2009 - my sweet Simon and I take a walk in the forest behind our house. We were walking along to go visit our favorite spot along Robinson Creek where the water turns and the river rock rises high about the riffles. I'm rambling on about my new business - this was when I started Jessica Benton Photography. Simon was about to start his own business, Chatham Environmental Consulting, so we had a lot to talk about. 2009 looked like the year of big change for us, we were moving from the commuter lifestyle, Simon heading off to Raleigh, and me off to Elon, to working in our own town. My head was already spinning with things to do and thoughts of possible starvation.

We made it to our beautiful spot along the creek, balanced on some rocks in the middle and watched the water flow by. Simon then asked to talk to me, he started talking about our life, and our future. He then asked me to marry him! I thought about it (remember, there was a lot to think about) I started bawling, and said yes. Naturally I had to turn around and ask him the same question, which he also said yes to. Simon had spent a year and a half panning for wild gold in the surrounding waters, including in the creek we were at just then. He showed me this gold that later became the lining to my wedding band. He also pulled out my Grandmother's engagement ring, which I then wore as an engagement ring. We walked back from the creek under the beautiful blue sky and my head ached for three days solely due to being completely overwhelmed and filled with emotion.

The year naturally was very busy. I worked very hard to get my business off the ground, and with the help of family, planned a wedding that was the wedding of my dreams. My friends Steve Exum, Joey Seawell, GriffIn Davis, and Will all came out to photograph our September wedding. It was a day that I wished I could have everyone attend and that I wished would last forever! But alas, wedding days only survive in the pictures and memories.

For an entire year, I struggled about whether or not to change my name. I am a very independent person in some ways and am not of the belief that there is a "head of the household." Therefore, I wasn't sure if I should change my name. What I do know though is that Simon and I are a family now, we are committed to being together for life. If we ever have children, we want them to share the same name as us, but what would that name be? Finally, after polling all of my loved friends and family and changing my mind about ten thousand times, I decided that I could have not only three, but four glorious names. I have now officially changed my name to Jessica Massey Benton Lobdell. (To me it sounds like a queen's name!) While I was at it, I decided also to change the name of my business to Jessica Lobdell Photography.

Thank you to everyone who has made this first year of Jessica Benton Photography wonderful. I can't wait to see how 2010 and Jessica Lobdell Photography goes! Also, thank you to everyone who supported Simon and me in this important transition in life.

Leigh-Ann and Harrison, December Engagement Photos

Burr!!! This was the coldest day! I was wearing a big fluffy down coat and you can see what poor Leigh-Ann wore... now this is a couple that will sacrifice for pictures! The cold actually made it easier to get good close cuddles out of these two for the pictures as they huddled together to stay warm. We started at Yates Mill Pond for the cute sweater photos, and then on to NC State's Centenial Campus for the dressed up photos, both places were lovely Leigh-Ann's suggestions, and they were awesome! I want to thank my husband, Simon, not only for assisting on this day, but for introducing me to these two. Simon and Leigh-Ann worked together at the same engineering firm. Thanks Leigh-Ann and Harrison for making this engagment session so much fun!

A&W

In what seemed like an entire month of rain, the sun broke out to create a beautiful wedding day for Andrew and Whitney in Raleigh, NC. You can tell that it is going to be a good day when the bride gets out of the car and starts joking around with one of her bridesmaids (notice the mock rush to get inside before the guys see them...). Bonnie of BonBer Photographics came out to help me photograph this wedding. She took the beautiful ring shot and the the cool pics of the guys before the ceremony. Andrew and Whitney had given all the groomsmen socks to match their alma maters during the rehearsal dinner the night before... pretty sharp looking guys! They had a beautiful church wedding then headed over to Sister's Garden for the reception. As you can see, this bride loves to dance! She even brought cowboy boots to change into for all the line dancing that she and her college friends danced to. I've never seen so much organized dancing, or for that matter, such an organized wedding. Everything was perfect and beautiful down to the bubble exit! Thanks for having us at your wedding Andrew, Whitney, and family! Bonnie and I really enjoyed photographing this wedding!