When I first met Denae, I was a newly-wed and she was about to get married to her fiancé, Andy, who happened to be one of my husband's favorite coworkers at a computer company out in Manheim, PA.

They would get into all sorts of shenanigans together. Most notably, there was the time in 2012 when they got the entire office to participate in Mustache May Days which had all the men sporting an assortment of cringy mustaches--handlebars, the Charlie Chapman, and the Ron Swanson to name a few.

Denae and I both hated it (as detailed in the video they produced). Just imagine your partner wearing his facial hair in the shape of an "H" for a week. *shudder* I think I still have PTSD.

My husband, on the other hand, will to this day giggle like a schoolgirl whenever anyone mentions Mustache May Days.

But anyway... I digress...

My husband switched jobs in 2015, so the shenanigans have mostly ceased. Both Andy and Denae and my husband and I have had a posse of children since then, so we don't see each other as much but it's always fun to reconnect when we do.

As we first discussed having a photo session with her family I was both excited to meet her entire family (including some kiddos I had never met before), and very aware that she was a busy mom who needed this to be a clean, streamlined experience for it to work with her tight schedule.

Luckily for her, I specialize in making life easy for busy moms who still want to carve out time for their memories to be preserved.

Denae has always had a great sense of style. That, coupled with impressive administrative skills has enabled her to launch a now thriving online women's clothing store called Haven Jayne Boutique. Her impeccable taste is shown throughout the curated online collection. She calls this her "side business" though it certainly takes a lot of hustle to run the boutique and manage her household of 5 (plus holding down a full time cardiovascular tech job at Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center!).

As we discussed the best location to have their family photo shoot, we knew that we wanted it to be near Lancaster county, PA but as we talked more we finally decided to have their family portraits taken in Landisville, Pennsylvania on her parent's property.

They own a large farm, which was the perfect setting to dance a jig in front of a barn, snuggle up on what used to be a manure pile (!), run through a field at golden hour, and goof off with dad in front of a corn field.

I realize I say this a lot, but we had SUCH a GREAT time. Their whole family was light-hearted, playful, and up for anything... my favorite kind of family to photograph. What can I say? I love my job.

Even though she didn't need it, I always offer a styling service for any of the families I work with. It's one more way to take the pressure off of busy moms.

Denae did a killer job of making sure everyone was wearing complementary outfits--clothing that wasn't too matchy-matchy, but worked well within a color scheme, mixing solids, patterns, and textures. Kudos to her!

We ended our session in the most beautiful spot, right on the edge of a wheat field with golden light streaming through the trees. What a perfect night to photograph their family in Lancaster county!

Are you a busy mom?

I've got you covered.

I'm the best photographer in the Lancaster, PA area if you're looking for a stress-free, joy-filled photo session that will result in archival-quality wall hangings that belong in your beautiful home.