Jen Dillender Photography

State: Texas
Category: Photography

We are truly inspired by Jen’s outlook on a wedding day and her role within it. We love her luminous photographs and sweet spirit and know you will, too!

Editor's pick

Hi there! My name is Jen, and as a wedding photographer, my passion lies in capturing contagious love in an authentic, luminous way. While I love amazing wedding details and unique ideas, I’m most inspired by couples in love and the way that they enjoy life together. Taking pictures with the one you adore should be the most relaxing part of your wedding day, and Jen Dillender Photography does our very best to make that happen.

Name: Jen Dillender
Where you call home: Austin, Texas
Things you’d write home to your Momma about: I’ve had the extreme honor of having my images appear on Style Me Pretty, Magnolia Rouge, 100 Layer Cake, and, of course, Southern Weddings! Seeing my work featured on the same blogs as some of the artists I’ve looked up to for years never gets old. I can’t believe I get to do this!
Location/Coverage: All parts of Texas, and beyond!
How I got into weddings: There are three things my husband and I love: Jesus, each other, and (being true Southerners) college football. Shortly after we got married, I wanted to pursue photography, but being newlyweds, we couldn’t afford a nice camera. My husband and my brother ended up making a friendly bet on a football game (Texas A&M vs. Baylor), and if our beloved Aggies won, my brother would buy us the camera I’d been eyeing. If Baylor won, we’d name our firstborn after him. As luck would have it, the Aggies pulled out a victory, I had the camera a week later, and the rest is history!
Favorite thing about weddings in the South? Warm Southern sunshine, laughter, authentic love, tall trees and open fields, fried food on every menu, and watching big families gather around to celebrate two people starting their very own legacy!
Favorite part of a wedding day? My favorite part of any wedding is always the bride and groom’s portraits. I love watching them celebrate together, and I love capturing that excitement on camera. There is so much joy in those moments, and I feel like I can visibly see them relax around each other in the midst of a hectic day. It’s also a priority for me as the photographer because I feel like out of all of the pictures I take on a wedding day, those are the ones that end up adorning the walls of their new home!
Best piece of advice you can give to brides and grooms? Invest in the photographer that just gets you. If you and your photographer live on the same page creatively, you will be in love with the images they deliver when the party’s over. Also, look for less reasons to stress on your wedding day. Hand all the hard stuff over to artists that you trust, and then go spend the day with your favorite people.
Dream travel destination? Greece, but also pretty much anywhere in Europe!
Favorite Southern city? I might be biased, but I love Austin! The food, the music, the scenery – there’s so much to do, and I enjoy getting to be a tourist in my own city.
Early bird or night owl? Night owl!
Pie bar or red velvet cake? Pie bar IF there’s cobbler involved!
Pottery Barn or Anthropologie? Tough choice! Pottery Barn for the big stuff, Anthro for the details.
Succulents or peonies? Peonies. All. Day.

See them on the SW blog

Camp Lucy Wedding by Jen Dillender