TBH, this is what most of our date nights look like around here. And now that This Is Us is over for the summer, we're wondering what to watch next...beside The Greatest Showman over and over again, obviously. So if you've got some suggestions for a great new show or movie for us to watch, drop 'em in the comments below. Because date nights are important, y'all.

Hey Insta, quick poll for you tonight. (Or today if the algorithm has you reading this on Thursday afternoon.) Are bridals sessions over? How are we feeling about this? Now, I realize they have been over, or maybe never were even a thing, if you are from the northern part of the US. But here in the South, bridal portraits were REQUIRED. When we were married 10 years ago, it wasn't even a question if I was going to have bridal portraits done before our wedding. And we bought the massive gold frame to display my favorite portrait during our reception. But we've been photographing our #JandMSweethearts for six years now, and tbh, we're doing less and less bridal portrait sessions. We still photograph our brides on their wedding days, because every bride deserves a few portraits to show her children and grandchildren one day. But now our Sweethearts are displaying their engagement sessions at the reception, and I'm wondering if bridal portraits are ever hung in their new home. So, give me your thoughts below. Are bridal portrait sessions done? @mrs_ekc @peacockriverranch #jasonandmelainaphotography #happilyeverchesser

If you saw this portrait on our stories, you know I promised to tell a funny story about this one. So gather round, friends. Our #JandMSweethearts wanted to have some fun with sparklers, so we worked out a plan for how to get this shot for them. J was going to be manning the camera on a tripod with a slow shutter speed, and I was going to be running around our sweet couple with a sparkler. Our plan was set and we were good to go. But here's the thing- running around in circles over and over again gets pretty difficult. Especially when you are holding a lit sparkler close to people, trying to get it near enough to make a fun spiral, but not too near to burn holes in your bride's wedding gown. I had to stay turned toward them while I was running to make sure I didn't burn them. And I had to run fast enough that I didn't show up in the photo. Have you seen those videos of people who put their foreheads on the end of a baseball bat on the ground and spin around it? And then they try to run in a straight line after? It felt sort of like that. Also, I apparently ran very loudly, stomping all around our sweet couple, which made them want to laugh. And they had to hold perfectly still, starring into one another's eyes, and not break! So J would yell "Go!", I would stomp-run around our Sweethearts trying to not burn them, they would try to hold perfectly still and not laugh, all until J yelled, "OK!" Then they would laugh and I would try not to fall down on the grass, completely out-of-breath. We were a sight to the wedding guests, I'm sure! Luckily, it only took us 3 tries to get it right. And getting them this fun portrait was so worth it! @e.liz.abeth411 @peacockriverranch #jasonandmelainaphotography #wacoweddingphotographer #texaswedding #sparklers #peacockriverranch #behindthescenes

So, did y'all click the link in our profile to see this wedding? Because it's just so pretty. And while the details are perfect and we definitely had some fun with sparklers in a couple of the pictures from the day, images like this one are some of my favorite. Something about seeing a big, expansive Texas sky over a bride & groom as they say their vows reminds me of how big and expansive this moment is. Because while the details are fun to plan, and the reception is a fun party to attend...it's the marriage, the moment in the ceremony when you pledge your life to one another, that's the most important thing. Double-tap if you agree! . . . . .#jasonandmelainaphotography #JandMSweethearts #texassky #texaswedding #wacoweddingphotographer #wacoweddings #dallasweddingphotographer #austinweddingphotographer #texasweddingphotographer #instagramadvantage #weddingday #realwedding #theknot #theknotweddings #southernwedding #brideandgroom #weddingvows #marriage #weddinginspo #peacockriverranch #gatesville @peacockriverranch @e.liz.abeth411 #farwelltokoelbel #happilyeverchesser #imengaged #imgettingmarried

Y'all! James & Elizabeth's wedding is live on the blog today! If you're dream wedding day attire is a gorgeous lace gown and your favorite cowboy boots, this wedding is a must-see for you! Head over to the link in our profile to see one of the cutest first looks with a dad we've seen, and check out our fun with sparklers! Congratulations again, Mr. & Mrs. Chesser! @e.liz.abeth411 @peacockriverranch #JandMSweethearts #happilyeverchesser #wacoweddingphotographer #peacockriverranch #texaswedding #texasweddingphotographer

Good Friday. It's the beginning of a weekend of springtime activities, of Easter egg hunts and new Easter dresses, of church services full of celebration and having a large lunch with family and friends on Sunday. It starts a 3 (or maybe 4) day weekend, full of activities or maybe just rest. But today is always a sobering day for us. As believers, we focus on what this day symbolizes. We remember the death of Christ. And while it seems a misnomer to call this day "Good Friday" in light of that, we know that in the sorrow of death the gift of eternal life was given. And what a good gift it is.

There's a lot of advice out there about what your wedding day should be like. There's all these articles telling you the hottest trends for 2018, and the tired trends you should definitely not do. It can feel like there's a lot of outside expectations about when and where and how your wedding is going to be. But ultimately your wedding day is about you two as a couple. And it can be whatever you want. Bobby and Connie are Sweethearts who found one another late in life. And when they decided to get married, they chose the Spring Equinox as their wedding anniversary. The beginning of spring symbolizes the beginning of new life, and that symbolism was important in their love for one another. So Tuesday, March 20th, at 11:15 am, Connie walked down the aisle and married Bobby in a small ceremony at their church, surrounded by a small group of friends. Their wedding wasn't a day-long party that ended with a sparkler exit on a Saturday night. But their wedding was uniquely them, and told their unique love story. And that's what a wedding truly should be.

If you watch our Instastories you may recall that we entered some of our images in the Shoot and Share photo contest this year. Well results are in and we found out this bridal portrait of @fawners at @springsvenue finished 215th out of 14,265 images entered in the Bride category! We are so happy to have had an image make it that far! Check out our stories to see how far some of our other images made it in their categories. #jasonandmelainaphotography #shootandsharecontest #shootandshare @shootandshare #wacoweddingphotographer #texaswedding #dallasbride #dallasweddingphotographer #springsvenue #bride #instabride #texasweddingphotographer #weddingphoto #realwedding #weddinginspo #weddinggown #offtheshoulder

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Chesser! ✨💏😍

It's wedding day for these #JandMSweethearts! James & Elizabeth, we are so excited to be with you today and are praying for you as you start this married life together! @e.liz.abeth411 @peacockriverranch #JasonandMelainaPhotography #WacoWeddingPhotographers #TexasWedding #happilyeverchesser #engagementsession #imgettingmarried

It's Monday, but that doesn't mean it's a bad day! The weather is gorgeous and we're heading out to a new venue for a styled session (aka- wedding inspiration shoot). And our models are former #JandMSweethearts from 2015! We're looking forward to enjoying the weather, exploring a new location, and catching up with some old friends! And it's always fun to photograph two people in love! What does your Monday look like, friend? And ps- looking forward to seeing your beautiful place @thevenueatlillypond! #jasonandmelainaphotography #wacoweddingphotographer #texaswedding #engagementphotos #wacotown

Remember 2 weeks ago on our Instastories where we said we were getting our own photos taken? We'll we thought a #fridayintroductions would be a great time to unveil them! Hi there, we're Jason & Melaina, college acquaintances who started growing interested in one another over handwritten letters while Jason was serving in Iraq. After almost 2 years of dating, we said "I do" way back in 2008, and have been having a blast these past 10 years. 5 1/2 years ago we had our first daughter AND started our wedding photography business, and both of our little babies have been growing up beautifully! We love getting dressed up and going out on dates, but our favorite date night is eating bowls of cereal on our couch, watching This Is Us or Parks and Rec after our daughters are in bed. So that's a little bit about us. We'd love to hear more about you! What is your perfect date night? (And high-five if you're tempted to write April 25th!) Thanks @klynn413 for the session!

I got to catch up with this sweet bride a few days ago on the phone and go over all the final details of her wedding day timeline. (@e.liz.abeth411, can you believe we're so close to your wedding?!?) We work with each and every one of our #JandMSweethearts on their timeline. (And with their wedding planner if they have one of those too!) Because having a timeline is what makes all those once-in-a-lifetime portraits happen. If our bride wants pictures of her and her girls getting ready in their matching robes, and a first look with her daddy, and portraits with her mama, and a first touch with her groom, and sunset portraits during the reception (YES, PLEASE!), then we can't leave all those beautiful moments to chance. And we can't leave all her guests waiting for the ceremony to start, or more importantly, dinner to be served, because we're running behind getting all those moments saved forever in our cameras! So we plan ahead. We make a schedule for the day, and we designate time for all those portraits to happen. Because your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event and we don't want to miss any of it! We want to know - what was/would be the most important moment on your wedding day timeline? Mine was our ceremony, and then followed closely by the cake! #jasonandmelainaphotography #weddingplanning #weddingtimeline #wacoweddingphotographer #texaswedding #texasweddingphotographer

This post is for all of you who tell me that you love to watch the groom's face when he sees his bride coming down the aisle. Because same. If a bride ever wonders how her groom truly feels about her, all she has to do is look back in her wedding album to this picture and see the love he has for her so plainly on his face. Swipe left to see more of the priceless groom's reactions we've captured recently. #jasonandmelainaphotography #JandMSweethearts #jandmgrooms #groom #groomsreaction #WacoWeddingPhotographer #texaswedding #realwedding

Sometimes when you use social media for your business or your side hustle or really anything besides just sharing funny memes with your friends, it's easy to get caught up in the numbers. How many followers do I have? How many likes did my post get? Am I being judged by that number above my account name? Full confession, that's where we've been in the past. Our social media (especially Insta) was solely for sharing our work, writing some little quote about love, and then waiting for the likes to role in. Our goal was to have our social media be billboards for our business, and the amount of followers we had made us feel validated...like we were PROFESSIONAL. But in the last year, we've learned something. It's just way more fun to have friends that interact with us on social media than faceless followers racking up likes (with the majority probably being fake bot accounts anyway). So I guess I'm just a girl, standing in front of her social media followers, asking...Can we be friends? It's fun if you like our posts but it's EVEN MORE FUN if you DM that meme or send me a funny Parks and Rec quote. It's more fun when we get in conversations in the comments about which Easter candy is best (Cadbury Eggs, obvs. DOWN WITH PEEPS!). Our promise to you is we're going to start letting our more friendly selves shine here. And we'd love it if you'd join us. Tell us in the comments if you're up for being social media BFFs! And special thanks to @nataliefranke for the fun graphic. #jasonandmelainaphotography #instagramadvantage #communityovercompetition #tuesdaystogether #texasweddingphotographers #wacoweddingphotographers

Raise your hand if you agree there's something extra romantic when a man holds his love's face in his hands when he kisses her. 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️ Yesterday we were off the social media grid celebrating at our youngest's 4th birthday party, but yesterday was a big day for some other sweet people we know. One year ago yesterday, we were all gathered on a rainy Saturday watching these two #JandMSweethearts begin their forever. And what a beautiful wedding full of love it was! (If you want to see how to have a gorgeous spring wedding in the midst of a rainy March day, check out their wedding blog in our profile's link!) Happy one year anniversary, Michael & Pamela! We know this last year has been full of love and happiness (hello, Little Brooklyn!) and we pray you have many more ahead! #JasonAndMelainaPhotography #HappyAnniversary #JandMSweetheartsForever #WacoWeddingPhotographer #TexasWedding #RainyWedding

When we take our #JandMSweethearts behind the venue to get out of the bitterly cold wind, and the wind finds us anyway. No throwing veils and jumping out of the frame needed here! What's the weekend blowing your way this weekend, friends? We're doing a couple different photo shoots, and trying to have our youngest daughter's birthday party this Sunday, since strep throat made us cancel it last weekend. Let us know what you're up to this weekend, or if there's something we should check out in the comments below! #jasonandmelainaphoto #wacoweddingphotographer #texaswedding #brideandgroom

Behind every woman is a tribe of women who have her back and surround her with love. Here's to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them. Happy International Women's Day! @meghanmaceyra @bearcreekwed #internationalwomensday #internationalwomensday2018 #strongwomen #girlsquad #bridesmaids

You know what the biggest fear our couples and friends express to us when talking about their upcoming photo sessions or wedding photos? They're afraid they're going to look awkward in front of the camera. And while almost any photographer worth their salt is going to pose and even help style you for the session so you feel like a rock star, I think there's something more at play here. And it's based on the idea of self fulfilling prophecy. A self fulfilling prophecy is a belief that something will be true and then acting in a way, consciously and/or subconsciously, that makes the event true. This is why coaches want their players to go into a game believing they will. Because if the players BELIEVE they're going to win, they'll PLAY like they're going to win...and therefore, they'll probably win. So what does self fulfilling prophecy have to do with being awkward in pictures? Well simply put, if you believe you always look awkward in pictures, you are going to set yourself up to always look awkward in pictures, no matter how awesome the posing and wardrobe and scenery and lighting were. Because here is a huge truth I want you to know - When we look at pictures of ourselves, we don't just see how we look, we remember how we felt. And if we FELT awkward during the photo session, we'll remember FEELING awkward when we see the pictures, which then influences how we see ourselves in the picture. The cycle goes like this - "I always look awkward in pictures" -> I feel awkward during the session because I just know I'm going to look awkward in these pictures -> I get the pictures back and when I look at them, remember how awkward I felt -> Those awkward feelings make me think I look awkward in the pictures -> "I always look awkward in pictures" And the cycle just keeps repeating. So friends, let's break the cycle! If you think you're always awkward, I want to challenge you to put on your dress and have fun in front of the camera. Because that's going to make you feel confident and beautiful! Are you someone who thinks "I always look awkward in pictures"? Let me know below your thoughts below! #jasonandmelainaphotography #awkward #weddingphotographers