It was an amazingly beautiful sunny Valentine's Day. The air was cool but the sun kept you warm. We were on The Mountain Tower at the Gazebo in Hot Springs Arkansas. This was the day that Tony and Shannon were getting married. There was a small group of guests, family and close friends and everyone waited for the Bride to walk the road from the tower. It was an amazing day and I even teared up a bit! This couple was so fun and photogenic. I wanted to share a bit of their story as well as some photos from the day! Shannon and her mom were in Hot Springs on their yearly
mother daughter trip this past summer for the 4th of July. They were looking
for fireworks with their family and they walked into this place on the lake
and as soon as Shannon and Tony saw each other...They knew that their lives would never be
the same. Truly LOVE at first sight!
They were engaged on New Years and wanted to get married on Valentine's Day. The couple wanted something sweet, simple yet romantic and they just knew that even though it was in the middle of the day and mid week,
that was the perfect day to add to their love story! The
mountain was very special to them. That is where they went on their 1st date
and since they had a lot of distance between them with Shannon living in Houston
and Tony living in Little Rock, they literally made it their mission to move
mountains to be together and that has become the theme of their love story. Moving Mountains!
SHANNON: Everything came together so perfectly. The weather, the view... the
entire experience was a dream come true! God put the two of us in each
others path and it was just so precious to stand on the top of the
mountain, getting married by your Ordained Uncle who was also there when
we first met and breathing in new life, knowing that we did it! We
literally moved mountains to be together!
Amanda and Jon came into my life a year ago as I started dating Jon's friend Jeremy (hey babe!). I was at their wedding and they had the BEST chocolate cake ever. Sadly they didn't get any cause we ate it all. Not long after the wedding they starting growing a little bug! In November sweet Eowyn came and I was so excited because Amanda said I could be there for the birth. Unfortunately she had to have a c-section so I didn't get to be with her but OH their baby was HUGE and adorable!! I was in love and so were they. I got to takes some photos of her after she was born and she was perfect. This month we did some photos of all of them but Eowyn was not in the mood to smile (which she always is). She is 3 months in the photos where they are wearing red and it's also Jon and Amanda's 1 year anniversary!! Enjoy these photos of my sweet friends and I can't wait to watch their family grow! - Aunt Mary Jane ;)
It's either a much dreaded holiday or one to be excited about depending on what side of the fence you are on. As a kid it's fun. I remember our home school group would get together and we would have the best time with those little v-day cards, sweets and we would have a party instead of regular classes. That was some of my favorite memories! As I got older it became less great. V-Day was a reminder that everyone (yes everyone) had someone, but me. There were a couple of years I had a "Valentine" but one ended up in a snowy mess and and the other with half dead thorny roses...so there is that. Oh, here is a good one... I was "talking" to a guy while I was in beauty school. V-day in a school full of females is horrible enough but it was the freaking parade of roses that day. I kept hoping all day he would send me flowers then suddenly, a giant bouquet of yellow roses (did I mention it was giant) walked in the door and I heard my name called "Mary Jane?!" My heart dropped and the little girl inside me squealed, he had sent me flowers! Before I could catch my breath I heard "Oh sorry, wrong name!" That moment was BURNED into my poor brain forever. An hour later my sweet Dad walked in the door with gifts and flowers for me...I don't know if he will ever understand how much that meant to me. It said to me that I am worth something, single or with someone. I love pretty things, surprises and flowers. (Thanks Dad) Many other V-day's came and went, there was Galentines (Thanks Aerah for making that SO fun!) and last year I was blessed to have a sweet man in my life who made me dinner and we had candles and french music. Tonight he had me leave my own apartment for 10 minutes and I have been finding these cuties (above) all over. :) Now up to date... V-day is special to me but not as important now as it used to be. Maybe it's because I have someone who makes lots of days special or maybe cause I'm older and a bottle of wine and Netflix would be great too? Who knows. Wherever you are on this Valentine's Day know that you are loved and special. Also if you watch this video all your problems will leave. No really, they will after your giggles stop! - Mary Jane
I've known Aubree for years. We met in beauty school. She was doing Esthetician school and I was going for the hair. She saved my life. Girls in school can be brutal and it doesn't change when they are out of high school I guess! Aubree was my shining light. We would hide out in her facial room away from everyone and just chat about life an boys. Boys were always the top of our list. We could take the smallest story about one and drag it out and add drama. We thought we would be single forever. Then last spring Aubree met Brian through a church friend. And that's where it began. He was the sweetest thing to her and treated her like the lady she is and a precious gem. We had a going bet that she would be engaged by Jan 1 2013 (that's what I thought) and she lost the bet! Well I guess she won really because on the only Christmas snowy night we have had in 86 years, Brian got on one knee and asked her to be his bride. She of course SAID YES! I am so excited I got to be apart of their photos and I'm the Maid of Honor too :) I hope you enjoy these because I feel like they really show off their love and how much fun they have together :) - Mary Jane
What is JUST JANE? Well to answer that you'll need a nice long back story but I'll skip that and give you the short version. Basically I am a jack of all trades. I've always said I am good at a lot of things but I am not a Master at anything. I love to cook, sing, paint, read, do hair, take photos, throw stupid stuff in my house away, drink coffee and watch Netflix (oh how I LOVE Netflix.) None of these things am I famous for nor do I really want to be a master at. I enjoy doing lots of different things. I named my photography Just Jane Photography quite a few years ago. It was cute and I like it. Lately I have felt bogged down because I want to keep up with the Facebook for the photos and the hair and the blog, but separately it was too much. So I decided to re brand. So now everything I do is under Just Jane. Why not my actual name "Mary Jane" you ask? Because, that's my name, not my brand. I like it as just my name.
Without further mumbling I hope you will enjoy this journey I am taking and will follow my rantings and startings (and hopefully finishings) on projects and I hope more than ANYTHING it will inspire you to have some creative fun too! - Mary Jane
