I'm Jessica Villarreal,

Adventure Elopement Photographer

 

Woman in blue floral off-shoulder midi dress holding camera among cherry blossom trees in bloom.

I’m Jesus-based and sometimes unnecessarily optimistic.


My faith is my life and my Bible is never too far away. I’m usually surrounded by some kind of background noise… whether that’s actual music, screaming kids or the Bluey intro playing for the hundredth time which I'm not completely mad at.


I’m a mom to what I lovingly call my “polite ferals,” powered mostly by coffee that could double as a dessert, and I'm fully convinced there’s no such thing as too many blankets. I don’t like chocolate (unless it’s mousse, because that somehow doesn’t count), and if you give me a plant, I will absolutely love it… right up until I accidentally unavoidably kill it.


I’m naturally pretty quiet and a little awkward, and I do try to hide it, but honestly, I don’t always succeed. My facial expressions tend to say whatever I’m thinking anyway, so that doesn’t help. Im always pretty calm and relaxed even when I'm very excited about something mostly because my kids have desensitized me pretty well.


I love new experiences, bucket list places have my whole heart, and I’m always up for an adventure even if my lungs protest the entire time. But more than anything, I care about real connection. I’m not a fan of small talk, I want the deep stuff. Tell me your dreams, your fears, the things you think are too much or too “out there.” I want to know what would make you laugh until you pee a little or what favorite flavor of ice cream will make a bad day disappear.  I’m here for all of it.


I don’t take a lot of life too seriously when I'm not behind the camera. There’s almost always a silver lining, an inside joke, or at the very least… a bad dance move and a random movie quote. I also have a weird talent for remembering the tiniest details about people, like if you casually mention your favorite candy once, I’ll remember forever… even if I forget your name five minutes later.


I’ll never say no to petting an animal, and if it were up to me, I’d absolutely have a pet giraffe (honestly, probably two). I spent covid lockdowns learning how to braid and I'm obsessed with my husband even when he sneaks the last of the pumpkin pie then colors in the lid with a orange brown sharpie to make it seem like he didnt.


I am in love with my life, I can't wait to celebrate yours with you 💕

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My Why

 

Two hands clasped together tenderly, showing interlocked fingers in a close-up shot against a dark background.

My passion for preserving memories was rekindled when I found out that my grandma had cancer, and although I was raised by her, we never really talked about her life. I knew some things and I saw the last 30ish years of her life but until my husband started asking her questions I never thought to answer. I realized there was more to her than I was led to believe (and some things I would have preferred not to know).  


These stories, im sure, my kids are sick of, but they get to know her even after she is gone. My mother, my friend and the one who saved my life more than she ever knew.


As we sat on her bed the week from her passing, she went through old photo albums that I had never seen and told me stories about her life. Stories that I never knew existed, photos I had never seen and memories that, in telling them, get to live on to be told to my children. Life lessons that she had learned the hard way so that I didn't have to learn them at all.


The most influential and important stories, when talking to others, include their wedding day or how their love story begun. Others share stories of their children even when they are no longer with us.


I want to document those stories for others. The ones that get put on walls of the home you create together and when your children or guests ask about those in the photo, you can relive those memories again and pass them down.

Two women hold mustache props to their faces, with text reading mom, grandma, best friend, hero, mentor, undeserved blessing.

We spent the last few of her time awake discussing what vacation we were going to go on next ( we just got back from a cruise where she got to go splunking and hang out on the beach with a monkey) She had never seen the world and expressed her regret at not seeing more of it while she could. For the last couple years my family has been at the receiving end of divine intervention, and we were sent to explore more of the world. The more I saw, the more I wanted to keep seeing, not only for me but for her.  Choosing adventure elopements and bridals is a way to showcase the world God made for us and a way to honor her by exploring the places she never got to go. Plus it gives my kids plenty of story creating opportunities that will follow them the rest of their lives. ( like getting their first pet leech in the Yellowstone lake )

 

My Wedding

 

Bride and groom posing in front of a decorated Christmas tree with golden ribbons and warm lights.

Could have gone better, but it could have gone a lot more wrong than it did. We got engaged on July 3rd on the beach in Corpus Christy Texas after getting lost on the way there because he fell asleep and let me drive. We got married on November 30th about 4 months later. Not because of a shotgun but because Brian's step mom had cancer and wanted to see him get married. So we threw out our " ideal" wedding and opted for a quick one instead. Ironically (Feel free to judge me harshly) we DID NOT have a photographer and my grandma accidently deleted all the photos she had taken with her first ever digital point and shoot from Walmart the following day when showing them to my niece.  We have a few his aunt took on her camera. My dress was made by a distant relative of his and wasn't what i had wanted and it didn't quite fit right.  We had to constantly fight his mom on who we were going to invite because the venue we chose only held 15 people and she wanted her long guest list of extended family fulfilled first. Instead of a reception his dad chose a Mexican restaurant along the San Antonio river walk, in which our cake was lost until most of the guests that i didn't know or hadn't met yet had gone home, i never got to eat and we didn't get a first dance because it was a public restaurant rather than a private hall. Brian spent most of his morning juggling relatives that ran late and didn't catch our shuttle to our ceremony site ( which was the wedding island on the River Walk, fully decorated by Christmas lights for black Friday) My face broke out in a horrible allergic reaction rash from my first and last ever facial from earlier that week and lets just mention my parents bringing in contraband rice to throw ( which worked a little too well because my eldest daughter was born a year to the week of our 1st anniversary) . The best man forgot the marriage license and the rings and had to run a few miles to get them while we stood at the alter talking to the tourists on the ferry that drove by. Lets add in that my wedding ring was .30c from amazon and also didnt fit. My maid of honor got sick and my sister started a fight, My Father in law was convinced that we had almost ran over his cousin in a parking lot ( he confirmed that when fact did not ) and the hotel wouldn't let me into the room because my name had not been changed to match the reservation Brian made yet. There were a few more ( like being called a child bride by the hair salon while getting my hair done, my grandma losing a shoe) But the worst part was that his step mom Trish passed away just a few days before.


A few years and two kids later we had our wedding photos redone. Best decision i ever made by my mentor and friend ( who is an amazing photographer in Tennessee DawnSimmonsPhotography. Looking back now we made a lot of concessions to fulfill the wish of his step mom and i dont regret doing that even a little bit, but if i knew.... we would have taken her down to the courthouse and got married with her as a witness then taken magazine worthy wedding photos in a castle in Scotland during our honeymoon! ( which is on my to go list so if you have that same dream..... im totally willing ;) )

A bride and groom share a romantic kiss in a lush green meadow, she holds wildflowers in her white gown.

 

My Life

 



I have 4 kids all 12 and under and am married to a trophy husband. We met at church and immediately I knew he was the one I was going to marry. My family of 6 and our 2 dogs and 1 cat named Floyd travel in an RV full time, we have both fallen in love with exploring the country that God made for us and giving our kids unique life experiences that come from traveling full time. Every place we go, I learn something new and meet great new people. I also see places that inspire me and want nothing more than to take photos in those places. I'm a little quiet at first but I love to hear people stories and see them the way that God does. I have always had a passion for photography and was my high school unofficial yearbook photographer. I put it aside when I got married and had children and when my grandma passed it rekindled my love for it, and I got the honor of learning on a whole new technology advanced camera than I did in my high school years. I now get to document my family's adventures all over the U.S and hopefully beyond one day.


Lets be real for a moment. I don't believe my life is real, everyday feels like a dream and my biggest fear is forgetting it. I saw memory loss in loved ones, and it quickly became my biggest fear. Photos and stories that come with them will last longer than my memory, and give my family the stories of this dream life, even when theres nothing left... I should start taking photos of where I leave my coffee everyday ;)

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