Planning a destination wedding? Need a photographer? Well you are in luck! If you are planning a wedding outside of the continental USA, or know someone who is, this giveaway is for you! J&M Photography is giving away one free destination wedding to a deserving duo.

To enter:

1. Email us at [email protected] and tell us about you and your love, your wedding plans, date and location

2. Post a selfie of the two of you with the hash tag #JMLovers2017 on Instagram and Facebook

3. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

Its that easy!

Be sure to tag anyone and everyone you know will be interested. All entries must be in by February 28, 2017.0

What you will win:

2 Photographers

8 hours of wedding day coverage

A day before or day after session

Custom USB drive with all edited images

Fine print:

Couple will be responsible for all travel and lodging arrangements and fees for 2 photographers

Just in time for Valentine's day, this weeks giveaway is a free curated couples mini session!

The rules:

1. Take a selfie with your love 

2. Post your selfie on our J&M Photography Facebook page with the hashtag #JMLovers2017

3. Invite your friends to like our page and your photo on our FB page

4. The couple with the most likes will win this weeks giveaway

5. All likes will be tallied on Tuesday February 14, 2017 at 11:59 CST

May the odds be ever in your favor!

All you need is love and we have plenty to give. This month we want to share our love by offering our services through 4 amazing giveaways. Each #WeddingWednesday this month we will announce a new giveaway and the winners will be selected the following Sunday. Today's giveaway is extra special as we are kicking off this giveaway month by offering a wedding.  Thats right!!! We would like to offer wedding day photography services for a deserving couple hosting an intimate 2017 wedding.

The rules:

1. In 365 words or less tell us your love story and make it good, we want to know how your love wins! Email all entries to [email protected] with the subject #JMLovers 2017 Giveaway and be sure to include the full names of the couple, phone number, wedding date, venue and number of guest. Entries should be submitted by Sunday February 5, 2017, 11:59 pm. 

2. Repost the pic above and like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram using the hashtag #JMLovers2017.

The winners will receive 8 hours of wedding day coverage with 2 photographers and an online gallery of all edited images (custom products not included). Best of luck!

Although both April and Antonio are both from Birmingham, Alabama it wasn't until they attended Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee that they crossed each other's path.  April was name president of the TSU Alabama Club and as fate would have it, Antonio was named vice president. The two did not meet one another until the following school year after the first pep rally of football season.  Antonio spotted April through the crowd gathered at the rally and knew he had to meet her. 

After the rally, Antonio ran into a mutual friend, Jari, and advised that he was looking for April, the president of the TSUAC, little did Antonio know it was the girl he spotted in the crowd.  Jari took Antonio to the student center where April was helping prep for an event.  Once Jari pointed April out to Toni, Toni began to laugh uncontrollably.  Jari asked what was so funny and Toni began to explain how he thought April was someone else entirely. As the two laughed April approached them.

As April walked down the stairs of the student center she spotted her friend Jari and a cute guy laughing in her direction. Approaching them she asked what the joke was but neither one could get their laughter under control.  Jari soon gained control and introduced April to Toni. From that moment forward the two have worked side by side, laughed until in tears and have loved each other unconditionally. 

Naturally TSU's campus and the streets of downtown Birmingham served as the backdrop to their amazing engagement session. 

It's crazy how fast time flies. We met Sammie her senior year of high school and had the opportunity to capture her senior portraits. Fast forward to just a few months ago we received a call from Sammie saying she is engaged and wanted us to capture her wedding day! This amazingly sweet couple will begin their journey as husband and wife this summer and we can't wait! 

I asked Sammie and Adam to share their "Love Story" and Adam wrote a novel...Sammie gave the cliff notes, lol. Here is the Love Story of a man meeting his destiny.

In describing Adam and my love story the phrase “love at first sight” would be quite the opposite. Our first meeting occurred freshman year at Troy University where we both attended. Prior to actually seeing and speaking to Adam my initial observation of him was that he was one of those loud and rumbustious boys that was hanging out with my roommate until the early hours of the morning.

I remember vividly walking into my apartment to discover that once again my roommate invited her typical entourage of guy friends back to my living room for yet another late night movie session which would only leave me upset and unrested for the next day of classes. As I was leaving to go back out my roommate, sarcastically asked “Sammi, don’t you want to say hello to my friends?” I then responded in an equally sarcastic way “Oh, so you’re the buttholes (explicit college version) keeping me up all the time.” After a brief silence, I then properly introduced myself to everyone and one-by-one the boys all went around introducing themselves. Approaching the farthest corner of the room I heard this blue eyed, bushy haired boy say “my name is Tom”.  This then lead to a low mummer of laughter amongst the group and I quickly realized that this guy in front of me was two things; 1. His name was not Tom and 2. He wasn’t worth my time.

As I stormed out the door I remembered thinking to myself that I hope I never have to see those guys again however, fate was already working. From then on we soon became friends which grew into love. Three and a half years later our life turned upside down and with a full heart we welcomed our baby girl, Hadley Elizabeth. A short month after Hadley joined us he proposed. Looking back the blue eyed brown haired butt-hole turned into the love of my life and I couldn’t imagine my life without him."  

We ended our 2016 wedding season celebrating the love between Adrienne and Djawa. Brittany of Brittany B. Events and her fabulous team made sure the day ran flawlessly for the couple and all the vendors involved.  Here are a few of our favorite moments from that special day. 

VENDORS:  VENUE:  Capital City Club Montgomery, AL   ||  WEDDING PLANNER:  Brittany B. Events  ||  FLORALS:   Melissa Kendall Floral Design ||  BRIDAL ATTIRE: I Do Bridal & Formal  ||  HAIR:  Lets Makeup Artistry  || INVITATION:   Little Magic Cards  || BAND:  Souled Out Groove  || VIDEOGRAPHER:  Danny Austin Photography 

This weekend we travel to Chicago to celebrate Linda and Quentin and we can't wait!!! Check out their engagement story.

Quentin has always loved singing ever since he was a child. He was a member of the acapella group Shades of Brown while in college, and knew that he wanted to incorporate singing into his proposal. He wasn’t quite sure how, though. He asked his and Linda’s friends for advice and ideas. The brainstorming results weren’t so pretty...Ultimately, after researching local quaint places in Chicago he landed on an idea. There was a local Jazz club, Andy’s, that played live jazz music on the weekends. He thought it would be great if he could elicit the help of some jazz musicians in order to pull off his proposal. He called the manager at the club and explained his intent to propose during dinner at the club. Everyone at the club was AMAZING. They were super excited about the idea. They emailed the jazz quartet that would be performing that Friday and helped setup the evening. Quentin thought Ribbon in the Sky by the legendary Stevie Wonder would be the perfect song to share his love.

In order to make sure that Linda was oblivious, Quentin set it up with their friends for a double date at Andy’s. Quentin was nervous the whole night. They ate dinner. At the end of the quartets first set, the MC of the group stated “Usually I don’t do this, but we have an aspiring singer in the audience tonight. I remember when I wanted to get my start in the game; I wanted to take every opportunity I could to get up and sing in front of people. So, Quentin, come on up here!” Quentin rushed up before Linda knew what happened and the background to Ribbon in the Sky began. He introduced himself and sang the first verse and chorus. With the chords to Ribbon in the Sky echoing in the background, he jumped off stage professed his love for Linda and got down on one knee. At the end of his speech, Quentin said in Linda’s native tongue, Somali, “Ana wakujahli…mi i arose?” or “I love you…will you marry me?” and she said YES!

We met Dariel a few years ago through a dear friend of ours, her sister, Ronita, Ms. Jackson, if you're nasty ;). Dariel was interested in learning more about photography and became our mentee! She recently got engaged to the love of her life and we are honored that they asked us to share in their love by capturing their wedding day.
 

Dariel and Agelo were introduced to one another by a mutual friend. Dariel vividly recalls the first time she saw Angelo. "He had on black jean shorts, black and red Jordan's and a red and yellow striped shirt. His locks were pulled to the back and when he walked, he walked on the tips of his toes, lol, he was so shy." "I don't exactly remember when we fell in love. I feel like we always were in love and it just grew stronger over time. We complement each other in many ways. He is the peanut butter to my jelly and I can't see myself with anyone else."
 

When asked how he knew Dariel was the one for him, Angelo's reply was perfect, "Every time I am with you I feel comfortable and loved. Dariel is my backbone, she gives me strength to keep on going."    
 

Kaitlin traveled 2,000+ miles from Birmingham to Ecuador to visit her high school sweetheart Seth. Seth, made sure he would make her trip the most memorable one of her life to date. After hiking through the mountains of San Cristobal of the Galapagos Islands, Seth dropped to one knee, not just because he needed to catch his breath from their long hike, but, to ask Kaitlin for her hand in marriage. Surprised and overwhelmed, Kaitlin said YES! 

We are so excited to share in their love story this coming May.
 

Degree..Check.  Career..Check.  Love... On paper, Amanda had it all. A degree from Alabama A&M and a successful career as a travel agent, the only thing left on her "life list" was to meet the man of her dreams, get married and start a family. Little did she know, she had already met him. Lecaris, aka "Skut" and Amanda met and dated on and off in college. After graduating, they both parted ways moving to different cities in Alabama.

Amanda spent those years after college building her career and dating from time to time hoping to meet Mr. Right. One day while scrolling through Facebook, she noticed a missed message. She opened the message and was surprised to see that it was from her former college sweetheart, Skut. Yes, it went down in the DM. 

They began talking on a regular basis and quickly realized that the love they shared for each other never died. Skut soon realized that Amanda was "the one" and the feeling was mutual for Amanda. After a heartfelt, tearful proposal, Skut and his two boys moved to Mobile to be with Amanda. Though their love story began on the campus of A&M, their life as husband and wife is just starting. Here's to many years of love, joy and being one. 

VENDORS:  VENUE:  The Admiral Mobile, AL  ||  FLORALS:   Fleurs de Bonner- Shelby Bonner  ||  WEDDING DAY COORDINATOR:  Tammy Holcombe  ||  BRIDAL ATTIRE: David's Bridal  ||  GROOM ATTIRE:  Jos A Bank  ||  MAKEUP:  Gabrielle Smith MAC Artist   ||  HAIR:  Jessica Massey of JC Studios Mobile  ||  WEDDING CAKE:  Publix Bakery  || INVITATION:   Sophia Benn  || DJ:  DJ Thadeo

Angela and Louis have known each other since they were kids but by fate they were recently reconnected. Louis, hungry and on his lunch break, had a craving for some delicious fried chicken. Angela, also hungry, decided she was going to take her younger brother out to practice driving and stop for some lunch. While waiting in line to order their food, Angela spotted louis walking out of Poppeye's and turned to her brother, who started to pull off, and said "I think that is Louis!". As Angela's brother Chris likes to tell the story, Angela then proceeds to jump out of the moving car to reunite with her childhood friend. From that moment the two were inseparable. On a beautiful summer day in Birmingham, AL these two joined as one in front of their closest family and friends. 

Bethany and Christian's paths almost never crossed but a few mutual friends decided to play matchmaker and set the two up on a blind date. Bethany, completely apprehensive, decided to step out of the box and go with the flow. She and Christian shared their first date at Mirko and Christian proved to be the perfect gentleman. 
 

A few days after their blind date, Christian asked Bethany to ride to Starkville to see the Alabama vs MS game with him. Bethany, being the die hard Bama fan and alum she is, could not resist and jumped at the chance to see her favorite team. Being in a car with Bethany for 6 hours gave Christian a chance to really get to know the girl he was surely falling for. As fate would have it, Bama won the game and Bethany's warm smile, easy conversation and sweet spirit won Christian's heart.
 

A few months later, surrounded by friends, Christian got to one knee and asked Bethany for her hand in marriage and she said YES!
 

Here are our favorite photos from their recent engagement session in historic Downtown Mobile, Al.