Category Archives: Whetstone Park Roses

whetstone park of roses

Whetstone Engagement

These two get married in 10 days so there’s no better time to blog about their dreamy Whetstone engagement shoot than now! Abby and Brent had a picture-perfect day last year just as all the roses were freshly in bloom at the park of roses. Purples, pinks, and whites were covering the landscape like earth-grown fireworks. As if it couldn’t get any prettier, the fountain just made it over-the-top gorgeous.

Look at how in love these two are! It’s so much fun to hang out with Abby and Brent. They are down-to-earth, funny, and grounded. From the day I met her, Abby’s eyes enchanted me. They have this captivating quality that just draws you in. Somewhat of an old-Hollywood glam vibe, and so fun to photograph.

I am so ready to celebrate with these two! And they have a lot to celebrate, too! Congratulations to DR. Brent who just graduated from medical school this year. The final countdown for their Zoo wedding is on so keep an eye out for their sneak peek that will be on my Instagram stories @Jmillerphotos.

whetstone park of roses

Park of roses elopement

Park of Roses Elopement

Today I am so delighted to share Eric and Bogna’s Park of Roses Elopement. When the world around you feels like it’s ending, postponing your wedding plans and everything else, I just love what Bogna and Eric said: F it! Let’s do this! I am so proud of them for following their hearts, pivoting during very uncertain COVID times, and tying the knot in a very small intimate ceremony at the Whetstone Park of Roses early last year.

Their adorable doggie joined the party, just like at their engagement shoot. All the trees in the park were newly coated green and some spring blossoms were still in full show. After the small ceremony, we walked around the park and took photos in the spring sunlight. When we came back, the family toasted the happy new couple, including some family across the world that was on zoom. It was so special and heartfelt.

I am so so excited to join them again later this year to have their bigger celebration with family and friends! Keep an eye out for these two on the blog later this year!

Park of Roses Elopement

Family Photo Session at Whetstone Park of Roses

Summer twirls with dad, snuggles with mom, and laughing family pile-ups! This session is so beautiful and comes to you from the Park of Roses, one of my favorite parks in Columbus. I have had the honor of photographing them before, but the Locke family has grown! Meet Oliver, the cutest little babe ever. He was right around a year old when we shot these last year. His older sister Clara is extremely proud to be the older sister. It’s also her birthday in the next couple of days (we’re almost birthday twins!). Having met her when she was 2, I just can’t believe that’s even possible how quickly time has passed.

Park of Roses Family Photos

How beautiful is this family? For this early summer shoot, we headed to the Whetstone Park of Roses in Clintonville as the roses were just starting to emerge. Baby Jack couldn’t quite walk yet but he was all smiles the whole time. He just loved being in his parents’ arms, playing, and getting snuggles. One of my favorite photos from this shoot is the photo you can see his new bottom teeth peeking through! Isn’t his laugh just infectious? I always find that so fascinating about photography. Even though it’s not video, you can still almost hear that giggle. You can still almost see him stumble and be caught by his parents. And you can definitely feel the love from his parents.

jenn and DW sitting by a fountain

Whetstone Park of Roses Engagement Photos

Horray!! I finally get to feature Jenn and D.W. on the blog today!! And, the thunder stealer extraordinaire, Cooper the adorable basset hound. For their engagement shoot last year, we started their session near their house in Harrison west. I love it when people bring their pets to shoots, but Cooper is extra adorable and so photogenic. He let us shoot with him for about a half-hour and then he had to go get some beauty rest.

From there we drove over to Whetstone Park of Roses and took the remainder of the photos with just DW and Jenn. I love it there because you can get so much natural variety with your photos. In June, the park is exploding with color around every turn. I love these two because they are so down-to-earth and easy to talk to. I feel so blessed they came into my life because I feel like I have a life-long friendship with them as a result. I just love DW’s dry sense of humor and Jenn’s calming presence. Together they make such a great couple.

So, as summer ends and we slowly creep towards fall, I’m going to try to pull out all the remaining summer shoots from last year and this year for the blog in the next few weeks. That’s a lot of blogs, but I’ve really found that blogging has provided me with a bit of grounding that I needed. It has been so much fun looking back at all these intimate and fun moments. It’s important to reflect on your work sometimes, and this year has been a gift in that way. When fall comes, I will be posting about DW and Jenn’s amazing wedding from last year that was one of my favorites from 2019!! Lots of goodness to come:)

PUBLISHED! FIGS & COCOA

I may not have been writing too much lately (and that’s about to change), but I have been a busy bee trying to show the world your amazing photo shoots! I have been so blessed that this year 6 of my 2017 sessions have been blogged online already by various media outlets. Today I’m so excited to feature this fall family session which I never blogged about last year because time just got away from me. Isn’t this family perfect?! I’m so blessed to know this family personally and I can’t even begin to describe how it fills my heart to be around them, their kids’ infectious energy, and their ear-to-ear genuine smiles. Enjoy!

http://www.figsandcocoa.com/2018/02/17/fall-family-session-columbus-oh/

Whetstone Park of Roses Wedding

You might remember these two beautiful people from their engagement shoot posted here earlier last year. Jess is an OSU super-fan, so when it came to their wedding, the theme was a no-brainer! The entire bridal party wore OSU colors and of course, it wouldn’t have been an OSU wedding without a stop to the shoe for photos during the portrait session.

Their day started with a first look on a spectacular fall afternoon at the Whetstone Park of Roses. Their bridal party was so cute- they were all peeking at the interaction from around the corner and couldn’t wait to join them right after! After a huge group hug, it was time for them to walk down the aisle and get hitched.

Keeping with the OSU theme, their ring bearer wore an OSU jersey and carried a football. It was beyond cute as he ran and smiled ear-to-ear. The ceremony was officiated by a mutual friend of the couple and Misti and Jess said their vows in front of tons of family and friends in the scenic rose garden. After a few photos in the park, we made a pit stop down the street at Lineage Brewing so the happy couple could share their first toast as a married couple with their closest friends. Afterward, we ventured to the Horseshoe on the OSU campus for some fun and relaxed photos with everyone.

The party ramped up at the Westerville Legion where the OSU campus specialty Adriatico’s pizza was served as part of a tailgate food spread. Sentimental toasts were given to the happy couple and the entire place filled with love and laughter as the open dancing started. Dance moves were incredible and I’ve never seen so many hugs in one night. Everyone was just so happy and I feel so lucky to have been there to experience it. A huge thank you to Misti and Jess for honoring me with being able to spend the day with you both!

Whetstone Engagement

One of the most rewarding parts of photographing happy couples is photographing happy couples that you know in your personal life. Over the past two years, I’ve gotten to know Alyssa, her family and her fiance Jeff. I am so honored to be able to call them friends and celebrate their wedding with them next weekend!

I’m slightly obsessed with the dress Alyssa wore to the session. When she stepped out of the car, I literally had a moment- she took my breath away. She was glowing from ear to ear.  We had their session at the Whetstone Park of Roses as the sun set on a warm August evening.  The park itself was having its second wind of roses blooming everywhere, which needless to say made for a magical setting.

Whetstone has this gravel road path that I’m so enamored with. I think that path alone is why I’ve scheduled so many sessions there this year. For some reason, it reminds me of the path that leads to Forrest Gump’s house. I’m even going to use it for my son’s Christmas photo this year. I digress.

When the sun was at its lowest point in the sky where I could still shoot, we brought in the doggie brigade to step up the photo excitement. A Golden Doodle and a Mini Golden Doodle…needless to say both of them are balls of non-stop energy. The funniest part of the whole session was when it came time to shoot their photos, I swear to you they were posing like little models. Still, calm and patient. I’m not sure that’s really ever happened on one of my shoots with multiple dogs before. Take note all people looking for dog models!

I’m so excited to share these with you all today and I’m even more excited to spend such an exciting day with these two next weekend! Enjoy!!

Columbus Family Portrait Session

Welcome to the last day, day #5 of Babypalooza!

Clara is a beaming, inquisitive, goofy and loving little angel. I love this age because kids are so genuine- there’s no show. Their little personalities shine so brightly. I just love being around Clara. She is such a ball of infectious energy. I was honestly a little scared that Scott and I are having a girl until I met her. Just look at her smile!

I’m so excited to share these today. Earlier this summer Clara brought her family to the park where we basically just played for an hour and I had the honor of photographing what happened. The weather and garden grounds were stunning and made for the perfect backdrop. Lots of smiles, hugs and silly moments happened!

Thank you for joining me the last few days as I shared these five wonderful shoots. It’s been really fun giving a special highlight to the beautiful families and families-to-be.

Baby Kellen

Columbus Family Photography

Welcome to Babypalooza day #4!

A couple of months ago, baby Kellen brought his parents out for a fun family snuggle session on a perfect summer day! He gave me lots of good stare-downs, but his parents were able to grab a couple of smiles out of him. Look at his beautiful hair and cute as a button chubby cheeks. Does it get any cuddlier than that? I personally love this stage- you know, the one where they can’t yet run away from you lol. His parents Easter and Jay were wedding clients of mine a couple of years ago when their venue, Vue Columbus, first opened their doors. It is the best part of the job being able to continue to cross paths with people, hug them, hear how they’ve been and reveled in how their life has changed. Thank you so much for being able to come back and capture this amazing point in your lives. Kellen is a little heartbreaker for sure!