Jon & Nicole's

Dream Come True

"This is like Christmas!"

Each pregnant with our firstborn, Nicole and I met shortly after Nate and I moved into our first house in 2013. In the nine years since then we've enjoyed seasons of weekly play dates and informal tot school, summertime walks to the gas station for ice cream, and open-ended play on our driveways and back yards.

We asked Jon and Nicole a few questions on the evening we delivered their two Spark Collections and mini snapshots.

How did portraits end up on your radar?
J: Nicole.
N: I love your photography and how you go about it. Hearing all of your ideas and everything made me want to support you as well as finally get some good family portraits.

This little box holds your snapshots and smaller pieces for the wall. The big one has your Spark Collections in it.
Nicole (opening the little box of mini snapshots...): Ohh, this picture is my favorite. No ... they're all so good. Jon, these are the mini photos I got because I needed every picture. (...and lifting pictures from the big box): This is like Christmas! Oh, my goodness. I didn’t realize how big this was! We haven’t had nice pictures of Jon and me since our engagement. We never even put big wedding photos up. I could just stare at these all the time. My whole vision is coming together. I love it. I LOVE it!

"I don't know why we waited so long."

For how long have you wanted art on your walls?
N: Gosh, well…
J: I think we’ve always said some of our walls look bare, even upstairs, but with our new basement project we wanted to get stuff up on the walls right away.

Did you wait so long for any particular reasons?
N: I don’t know why we waited so long to get family photos…of baby B and all six of us.
J: I don’t think there was any major reason. Probably just timing. We wanted to get things on the walls as soon as the basement walls were done.

How did you feel as your session approached?
N: Like I had to get the outfits just right.
J: She had me try on four different shirts!
N: Oh, stop it.
J: She wanted to get the colors matched.
N: I felt relaxed, though. You called ahead of time to make sure we talked about everything … what to expect and what we should bring. I felt relaxed, and then anxious because we were sick for a while. But now it feels like my dream has come true.

"It flowed really well."

Is having these on the wall worth the effort you went through to prepare for your pictures and then have an hour-long session?
Nicole: Absolutely, yes.
Jon: It didn’t even feel like it was that much work. It was great weather. I enjoyed it.
Nicole: It was the best photos we’ve had since our wedding day. That was really fun.
Jon: It can be tough when it’s uncomfortable.

What do you think made it feel as comfortable as it was for you?
Jon: I’m all about weather. It was perfect weather. The kids actually cooperated. We all know that when the kids don’t cooperate it makes it that much more difficult. They all did a really good job. And you guys coordinated everything too, and it really worked out.
Nicole: It just flowed really well.
Jon: Yeah, that’s the perfect word. Good flow.

Advice for Families on the Fence

What advice do you have for someone who is on the fence about committing to portraits and wall art?

N: It feels so good to have a part of who you love and cherish on your wall. I’m excited to watch the kids come in and admire seeing themselves on the wall. They’ve only had picture frames–smaller ones–and we’ll have big ones here. It makes everything feel a little more special, complete. Go for it!
J: Yeah. This was our first time having something professional on our walls like this. It looks great.