Jennifer Ryals

11/01/2024

Monkey D. Luffy 🏴‍☠️
Roronoa Zoro⚔️🗡️
Trafalgar D. Water Law ♥️
Admiral Borsalino Kizaru 🎖️
Tony Tony Chopper 🦌

Halloween 2024 was the best of them all 🥰

10/18/2024

This popped up in my memories today and I'm just so grateful because my husband is still this thoughtful and I still love it here🥰

This sweet, sweet man of mine.

I had a HORRIBLE day yesterday, some of which I took out on him. He knew it and he took it and he loved me still. He called today to say he was on the way home and asked if I needed anything (like he does everyday) and I said no. It took him like 20 minutes longer than it normally does to get home, but I was busy working so I didn't really question it.

Then he walks in with this. All the stuff was in a pretty pink bag and he had the flowers in his hand and walked in the house like that light that always comes after a rain. He smiled and said "you had a rough day yesterday" and then he made fun of me for crying (like he always does).

This isn't just flowers, candy, bath bombs and a movie though.

It's HalloweenTown + Halloween Town II because I said I wanted to watch it last weekend but couldn't find it so he drove to 3 different stores in the city to find it.

It's my favorite kind of chocolate and chocolate covered pretzels, because I eat those when I'm sad or on my period. It's sour gummy bears because he knows I prefer sour candy to regular candy.

It's bathbombs and bubble bath because he runs me a bath whenever he sees that I'm stressed. (he runs me a lot of bubble baths, y'all.)

It's flowers that aren't completely bloomed because he knows I love to watch the buds open up over time.

It's acceptance of who I am, and it's loving me through my s**t. It's the light after the terrible day. It's the greatest love I'll ever know.

06/06/2022

‼️MAJOR UPDATES‼️
I am closing my photography business. Jennifer Ryals Photography has served me, my family and my clients SO well over the last 6ish years, but as of right now, that chapter of my life is closing. It took me a minute to get here and be comfortable and confident saying that, but it is time and I'm confident that I did what I came to do. Since starting my company in 2016, I have:
- been published locally and nationally
- had my work PRINTED in The Knot magazine
- been hired to speak and educate other photographers locally, nationally and internationally at multiple conferences
- started my career photographing for free and ended it by booking 5 figure wedding contracts for my photography alone
- basically, I busted my ass and my career gave what it needed to give.
I am endlessly thankful for each and every one of y'all that have supported me or my business in any way over the last 6 years. I'll talk more about this in the next week or so, but it was time to make the announcement with all those that still refer others to my business.

Also within this past year I've been diagnosed with Stage 2 Kidney Disease & Fatty Liver Disease. I only got diagnosed because I had been putting my mental health at the absolute bottom of my priority list. I was overworked, constantly stressed, and honestly miserable. I felt like complete s**t at all times and had some daaaaark days and somewhat of a mental break and finally went back to my psychiatrist to request meds for my ADHD. They ended up putting me on an antidepressant instead and after being on it for a month, they called me to let me know of the new diseases I was facing that I didn't even know I was being tested for. They also recommended that I stop the medication they had me on because apparently it causes more health issues for people with liver and kidney issues. 🙃 Long story short, no they don't have any concrete answers for me. No, they haven't put me on any medication. Yes, we're looking into healing holistically. Yes and no, I'm okay and I'm not. I'm not dying, but it's been stressful and scary as f**k. Thank you again for being apart of this journey with me. I love you all. 😭🥺💗 -Jenn

01/11/2022

What more could I ask for?? This day was a dream! Audrey + Kristian are MARRIED AF!💍💍💍

06/30/2021

We prayed for this. We worked for this. We failed for this. We EARNED this.

It's you and me🤞🏾🖤

06/16/2021

This kinda glow only happens with real love. ✨😍😭

06/15/2021

Youuuuuu are so beautiful to meeeeeeee🎶

06/15/2021

😭😭😭😭😭 pink skies, pink sands, what more can I ask for?!

06/14/2021

It's still pride month and if you don't like it, we still don't care 🥰🙃

Also, pls bring your dogs to your engagement sessions, I always have treats!🐶😍

06/09/2021

"can we get in the water?" YESSSSS. My answer is always yes!

06/03/2021

The IG crop is super disrespectful, but there was some kind of magic in the air during Khaneisha and Josh's engagement session. 😭😭😭

06/01/2021

Not only is today the start of Pride Month (and 18 days til Juneteenth!), it is Lindy and McKenzie‘s second wedding anniversary and I couldn’t be more in love with these two humans if I tried! Let's mark these momentous occasions with some reminders for this page.

Hi, I'm Jennifer! I'm a real life person and not just an Instagram account. Which means I read every message, comment and story reply. I appreciate so much all of the people that are here to support and love on my clients and myself, but I do NOT under any circumstances tolerate hate. Around these parts, love is love is love is love, and if you don’t like what you see, you keep it to yourself.

This is a safe space for all of the LGBTQIA+ community. A place where all are welcome JUST AS THEY ARE. A place where all can know they are loved, appreciated and wanted. Not just tolerated. I may not understand fully the struggle or pain that all carry, but you are welcome to lay your struggles down here and be yourself. I love you and I will protect you to my last day.

If reading any of this made you realize that I'm not for you, that's okay! You don't need to announce yourself, but feel free to pick up some empathy on your way out!🥰✌🏾🏳️‍🌈💗🖤

04/27/2021

Hi, I'm Jennifer.

I created this shirt, which eventually sparked the company If You Know Co., because I am BOTHERED AF.

As a Black + Filipina wife to a Black man and mother to two Black boys, I'm BOTHERED by the fact that my children go from cute to threat before they're able to do long division. I'm BOTHERED by the amount of Black and Brown bodies incarcerated for w**d. I'm BOTHERED by the fact that saying Black Lives Matter is "making a statement" instead of just...stating a fact. I'm BOTHERED by the fact that LGBTQIA+ Lives are not given the protection they deserve. And you should be too.

If you're not, this aint for you. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Ifyouknowco.com

📸: Michelle Harris Templeton

04/04/2021

Just so y'all know this whole peaceful parenting and raising Whole Ass Humans s**t isn't easy. It's not all sunshine and rainbows and it's not always peaceful. Basically, you're gonna f**k up. I do. DAILY. I'm sharing this, not for sympathy, but because I share a lot of what's good and perfect in my life and I don't want anyone to see that and think they're doing something wrong.

In the past two weeks I've yelled way more than normal, to the point of even losing my voice. Today I had to send the boys to bed for a nap a lot earlier than usual. I sat at the table, put in my headphones and did two back to back guided meditations. Someone could have came in and robbed us blind and burned the house down during those 15 minutes and I wouldn't have noticed. I was D O N E. If you asked DJ, he would say I had "nothing left in my patience bucket" and I'll admit, I couldn't parent a second longer if I didn't get some silence and peace.

This has been an unbelievably heavy year and we didn't even have time to put down our old trauma before we were saddled with decades more.

Take time to breathe. If you're not comfortable or familiar with meditation, it doesn't even have to be all that.

Just literally take five minutes to breathe. Just focus on the sounds of your breath and the weight of your chest rising and falling. Think about things that make you smile while you're breathing and focus on the way it makes your body feel when you think of that.

We're all doing our best and sometimes that looks like just making it.

I have like 40 plus messages, texts, emails and DMs that need responding to, but y'all I'm so tired. I promise I'll get back to everyone, but it's been a long, hard few weeks. Thanks for the patience and thanks for letting me share the ups and downs of my life and this parenting thing.

Here's a picture of my Fat and just one of the ways they tried me today. And if you think this marker got on nothing other than his face, I can guarantee you've never met a child before. 🙃

We call this one "look Mommy I colored my face." I will say his lips were almost flawless before he added the wing 😂😩

04/02/2021

Happy Fri-yay, friends! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I have been looovvvvingggg all of the Engagement Sessions I've been having lately. They've been keeping me super busy and I'm really not mad about it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you're recently engaged, what are you waiting for? Let's get your engagement session scheduled asap!

02/20/2021

Needed this today!💗

I have an app that I downloaded to help me with my meditations and daily affirmations and today’s affirmation was this: “On the other side of this storm is all that I’ve been praying and working for. I will keep walking. I will keep working.” And wooooooooooo y’all that resonated with me today!
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Running your own business is the FARTHEST thing from easy, and when you’ve got a heart and head like mine, it can be even harder. I absolutely LOVE to serve others, and my anxiety and ADHD make me a perfectionist, so every little thing I do needs to be done to a T. I want to make sure that you have the absolute BEST customer service with me from the second you see my website until well after your wedding photos are hanging on your wall.
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This leads to lots of late nights, early mornings, website re-drafts, and “s**t, now I don’t like that photo in that exact spot, I’ll just fix it really quick…wait how is it 3 am already?!”, and over analyzing how long it takes for an inquiry to respond back to me. “Did I do something wrong?” “Did they not like my proposals?” “Did we not connect like I thought we did?!”
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But I know that through the hardships of owning my own business, I wouldn’t trade it for a corporate job any day of the week. I know that everything I’ve been praying and working for is right on the other side of this “storm”. I know that my hard work is paying off and my clients KNOW that I would bend over backwards to make sure that their time with me is one hell of an experience, and I see it reflected in the amazing reviews they leave me.
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No matter how tired I get, no matter how many (at least 76 billion) times I re-do my website, no matter how many times I agonize over small details, I am more than happy and more than blessed to be doing what I love. I get to serve amazing couples like you and I get to use my actions to reinforce that my couples ought to have their memories preserved by someone that CARES. What storm are you walking, crawling or crying through right now? And is it worth it?
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