Remembering The Meaning | A Personal Post

When thinking about what I wanted to blog about this week I knew it was going to be a crazy week for me. This weekend is the Explore North Workshop which is the very first workshop I have ever planned and hosted. That being said, I thought it would be nice to just take a little breather and have just a little time for reflection.

With all of the final details and busyness of every day life you can easily forget why you're doing something in the first place. You put in countless hours, sleepless nights, elevated levels of stress, and then you get to the big event and forget the reason behind it. This can happen with any work project, but unfortunately I see it happen all too often with my wedding clients as well.

That's why today, just a couple days before we head to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, I want to remind myself why I've been working so hard on this new project. I love helping others, creating a community, teaching, exploring, and most importantly sharing in a unique and valuable experience with others. April, Shaunae, and I have poured everything into this workshop so we can create the best experience possible for all of the wonderful photographers coming and I can't tell you how excited I am to see everything come together!!

I wanted to take this week to remind myself, but to also encourage you to do the same! If you're feeling overwhelmed or stressed with your wedding plans, just remember to take a step back, take a deep breath, and just remember why you're doing all of this work. It may be stressful now, but it'll all be worth it in the end :) 

Destination Elopements + Weddings | Hiking Washington National Parks

For a lot of wedding photographers it is the dream to get to photograph a wedding in some exotic or adventurous location. Haha I know I will raise my hand and yell "pick me!!" any time someone asks to travel somewhere for their wedding. But for me it goes a little further than that. I seem to have this burning desire to see the world and all of the unique and beautiful places in it.

For those of you that don't know, photography is actually my second career! I started my adult life as an accountant, but a semester studying abroad in college taught me that life is just too short and you shouldn't settle for anything. That is why I'm now following my passion as a photographer, and that is why I want to photograph more destination weddings and elopements! I LOVE getting to photograph so many beautiful weddings here in Wisconsin, but I want to push it just a little further than that. There are so many amazing places to see and experience and I want to do that with my camera in hand.

Last summer I spent some time exploring Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier, Puget Sound, and the North Cascades. I will hopefully be going back to the area of the PNW soon, but it's just a little reminder of the gorgeous places even right here in the United States that we should all take advantage of and visit. Haha and of course take advantage of having portraits in these epic locations :)

I've been posting a lot more images like this in my Instagram feed (@jendederich) to hopefully inspire people to not only get out and explore but to try something new and adventurous for their wedding, elopement, or portrait session. Happy traveling!

Your Wedding Memories | Why You Should Have An Unplugged Wedding

I recently just started working on my best friend's wedding, and something happened when I got to the ceremony on their wedding day, I started to tear up! Just the simple act of scrolling through the images I took that day and remembering all of the wonderful moments made me cry. I have been fortunate enough to photograph several of my friends weddings and during the ceremony I often have to remind myself "don't get caught up, shoot!!" because otherwise I would probably cry every time. I texted Jen (the bride) and told her how "omg! I didn't cry on your wedding day but just going through the images is making me tear up!"

What does this all mean? Be there and be present during every wedding you get to attend! Have an unplugged wedding ceremony!! This means guests are not allowed to use their cameras and smart phones during the ceremony. You can actually take in, and be a part of all of the wonderful moments happening in front of you instead of digging through your clutch for your phone and checking Facebook quick after you snap a pic.

Please, let the photographer do their job and capture all of the memories with their cameras, and just sit back and watch two awesome people make a wonderful commitment to each other. Take lots of fun photos throughout the rest of the day, but for the ceremony, just be present.

Sienna + Dan | A Beautiful Purple + White Summer Wedding | Lake Windsor Country Club, Windsor, Wisconsin.

An outdoor wedding at a country club is guaranteed lots of images with beautiful greens, but Sienna and Dan incorporated purples and soft whites to really make this wedding pop. The touches of gold and fun pink accents in her bouquet not only made this wedding bright and colorful, but also a classy summer event.

Sienna and Dan made sure their guests were well taken care of and having a great time with a whole room devoted to games! This day was truly a celebration of their love, but also a testament to how much this sweet couple cares for their family and friends and wanting to make sure everyone had a fantastic time at their wedding.

Venue: Lake Windsor Golf Club  Dress: Mori Lee  Bridesmaids Dresses: B2 by Jasmine  Groom's Suit: Nedrebo's  Florist: Daffodil Parker Stationery: The Bride!  Hair and MUA: Texture Salon      DJ: Juke Box Bandstand  Videographer: Speed of Light Videography  

Liz + Brian | A romantic spring wedding at the Monona Terrace in Madison, WI.

I figured since we are now heading in to fall it was time to catch up and start blogging again! And what better way to start than with Liz and Brian's spring wedding! This gorgeous Chicago couple planned a celebration here in Madison that took advantage of all of the best places like the UW-Arboretum, Memorial Union Terrace, and a fabulous party at the Monona Terrace. Please scroll through and remember what a beautiful spring we had!

Ceremony: Our Lady Queen of Peach Parish Reception: Monona Terrace Wedding Planner: Piece of Cake Consulting Dress: Vera Wang Bridesmaids Dresses: Donna Morgan Florist: Daffodil Parker Props/Rentals: A La Crate Stationery: Stercale Press DJ: Midwest Sound Hair/MUA: Be Inspired Salon Videographer: Just Hitched Wedding Films