For our wedding, my husband and I were looking for a photographer who was first and foremost able to capture real moments from our day. We wanted someone who took exceptional candid photos, but was also able to make posed shots look candid. We wanted to have fun taking photos and have our photos reflect that. We especially didn't want any of the "typical" poses--traditional wedding party "church" shots, bridesmaids back-to-back, people randomly jumping...all that nonsense. We also wanted someone who could energize us without being annoying. Jacki was all of that, and more. The pictures we got back from our wedding day were astoundingly beautiful. In the words of my good friend and fellow bride, they were the best wedding pictures that she has ever seen. I have to agree. There are many reasons why the pictures were so exceptional, and I'll name a few of the important ones here. 1) Before the wedding, I pointed Jacki to a pinterest board that I had created to reflect my picture "style". On the day of the wedding, Jacki printed off thumbnails of all the pictures and made sure we got every. single. one. 2) Our wedding day was raining AND freezing. Jacki was literally standing in the rain taking pictures without a jacket while our wedding party stood underneath a tent. She made sure that we maximized our time in between spurts of rain and found some great creative spots to take photos inside during the worst rain. 3) Jacki really made taking pictures fun. Her positive attitude, energy, optimism and constant smile really allowed us to have a fantastic day. You can tell that she really loves her job. The result of all of these things--professionalism, empathy, positivity, energy, talent, and selflessness- all resulted in amazing photographs. I could not have asked for anything better. Oh, and did I mention she comes at a good price? Jacki is definitely one of the best, if not THE best, decision I made for wedding day vendors.

When I first came across Jacki’s website I immediately fell in love with her photos. When I found out how much she would cost to have for our wedding I was really bummed because she was way out of our budget. After talking it over, my husband and I decided to at least still meet with her, hoping we wouldn’t get a good feel for her anyway and it would be easier to move on and keep looking for the right photographer. After meeting Jacki, there was no turning back. She is such a fun, talented, genuine person. My husband and I absolutely loved her! We made some changes in our planning so that we could work around our budget to have her as our photographer. We paid more than we wanted, but it was well worth the money! I’ve been married for a couple months now and we still get compliments about our photographer from our guests. She never missed a beat and caught everything! Jacki you are an amazing person!

Ahh Jacki...where do I even start. Best choice we made for our vendors simply put. Photography was extremly important to me, as you never get that day back again, so I knew I needed the best. "Get real" is her slogan and her pictures are just that-real, natural, beautiful. We have only seen a "sneak-peak" of our wedding pictures on facebook and I'm already in love. We also had an engagement session with her and they turned out Awesome! My husband and I are not the most photogenic individuals and feel completley uncomfortable in front of the camera, but you can't tell in the pictures at all- very impressive!

The prints she has from her lab she uses are top notch- pretty expensive but get a few on top of the digital rights to all your photos. I think in most cases they are 50% off the first two weeks she releases them. Also, her albums she makes are b-e-a-utiful. Once again, expensive, but you won't regret it- it's something you will be able to treasure forever. Because of my budget, we aren't able to get one right away, but believe me, it's number one on my must haves once I save up!

She's extremley responsive to any questions, flexible, and professional. Just an all-around, likeable, genuinely good person.

I'm so excited to see my wedding photos...Jacki, you're awesome!

I am starting to tear up as I write this, I came to know Jacki through my mom as Jacki did the photography for my mothers wedding to her second husband. Jacki did an amazing job for my mom and I only wanted Jacki for my own wedding, no one else would do. I cry from happiness every time I go through the pictures, to have the moments from the most special day of my life captured in a way where you remember the feeling is something no one can put a price on.

From the first moment that my husband and I met Jacki at her home we had such a warm and welcoming feeling about her. She was so excited to hear about our story and what we wanted for our wedding.

I had a couple of concerns about having pictures taken. My family does not like their pictures taken. I was so worried about having picture after picture of eveyone lined with the plastered smile on their face because I have seen that before.

I was also concerned because I am a plus size girl and wanted to look beautiful on my wedding and didn't know how this was going to go.

I shared these concerns with Jacki and she told me not to worry. She assure me that it was my job to enjoy my wedding day and it was her job to capture the beautiful bride and get those "real" moments of that special day.

Jacki did that and so much more. I have never felt more beautiful or had more amazing pictures taken. She captured pictures of my nusband, I and our families we look back at now and will cherish for a lifetime.

I have recommened her to everyone one that I know and was one of the best decision we made for our wedding!!!

From the moment I met Jacki standing at the bottom of the Giant Yellow Slide at the MN State Fair (after my fiance at the time proposed) and she snapped a few pictures just minutes after the proposal, I knew it was fate. There is something about Jacki that is simply magical- you see her work and it brings you to tears. She really does get just as excited as you do about your big day- the way she brings energy into everything she does is amazing. I cannot tell you how many compliments I have received about our wedding photos- too many to count! Jacki is a joy to work with and is so professional and fun. Something that was very important to me was capturing those candid moments I want to remember for the rest of my life and she exceeded my expectations. My husband and I just sit and look at picture after picture that really help us relive our special day. Jacki is the best. It's as simple as that!

There is a reason Jacki has a perfect 5 star rating on Wedding Wire - she is the best out there!

I began my search for a wedding photographer shortly after we got engaged as it was my number 1 priority - find a good photographer. Jacki came recommended to us through our reception site. We met with her and instantly I felt a connection with her. After meeting with two other photographers, it was evident, Jacki was the one for us.

Jacki was/is always so willing to answer our questions, provide feedback etc., and my husband asks a lot of questions! She was extremely helfpul in helping us put together the schedule for the day of the wedding. Having never done it before, I had no clue how long things would take etc.

She was flexible when we needed to schedule things and made our engagement session so fun, despite the heat and humidity that day. The site for our engagement session wasn't all that exciting- a street corner where we met. But Jacki managed to find beautiful places for us to pose and the result is phenomenal pictures that we will treasure forever.

On the wedding day, it was a treat to have Jacki and Laura there with us. They just felt like part of the group! They are both fun and professional and managed to capture all the moments (and then some) we deemed important. At one point during our cocktail hour Jacki remembered to ask about a special picture I wanted with my closest girlfriends. Had she not asked, I probably would have forgotten all about it!

Our wedding party and friends have also commented on how great, easy and fun Jacki was to work with. We were so fortunate to have such a great team of photographers cover our wedding.

Recently we reviewed the wedding photos on the DVDs Jacki gave us and it was like reliving our wedding day. I laughed alot and cried a bit too - the photos really do tell the story and that is truly a gift.

You will not be disappointed with Jacki V Photography and I would highly recommend her to anyone that asks.

As a mother of the bride I want other parents to know they will be "blown-away" by Jacki!!! She has a wonderful heart, an amazing eye, she does not miss a thing, and takes time to get to know the bride & groom. Our daughter filled out a 7 page questionnaire-she knew everyone's name from the beginning and the entire bridal party loved her!!
Jacki is truly gifted-one picture of our daughter brought my husband & I to tears and we could not stop looking at the picture. We showed it to several friends from an I-phone and literally their jaws dropped and they stopped what they were doing!!
Jacki will capture the essence of your Forever Moment in Time and will bring you to tears of joy!
We will be forever grateful we chose Jacki-a talented and beautiful woman inside and out. Truly AWARD WINNING!!

If you are the type who doesn’t like to read long reviews and wished people would just get to the point already…well, here’s the point. Jacki V is the best photographer you can get, period. If you are planning a wedding, meet with her and get her booked now so you don’t kick yourself after you miss your opportunity. For those who want details, feel free to read on below.

We had met with one other couple before Jacki and they were very nice but we left without a connection. After 10 minutes of talking to Jacki we knew we were going to go with her. Our 60 minute session turned into almost two hours because we got carried away talking about engagement photo ideas! Once she got to know us a little she knew that the usual walk down the stone arch bridge wasn’t really our style. She had picked up on the fact that we both loved the state fair so she suggested we have our engagement session there, to which we quickly agreed.

We parked our cars and it began to downpour on us, monsoon-esque rain, but Jacki didn’t care. She marched on, risking the safety of her camera with a price tag that might rival that of decent used car. The rain finally stopped and the sun came out and it turned into an incredible day. Jacki found shots that we, as two self-proclaimed creative minds, never would have thought of. She kept us on our toes and always had ideas so we weren’t just standing there looking for a shot. Some things worked, some things didn’t (mostly the things we suggested). By the end of the day we knew we had some incredible shots. Within days she had every picture up on the website and we began to select the ones we wanted for our engagement book (which turned out amazing!).

On to the wedding. Jacki showed up early and started taking pictures of the girls (and guys) getting ready. She and her assistant Laura always managed to get the right angles and the perfect shots of every “key” event (e.g. first look at the dress, putting on the shoes, guys taking shots in the back room…shhhhhh!) We spent the next hour or so taking bridal party shots in downtown Stillwater, with Jacki directing the show but still allowing for our creative input. Jacki kicked it into gear when the family photos began. She had her work cut out for her with cousins, uncles, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and grandmothers running all over the place, but it was clear in the end that she somehow managed to get a photo of everyone wearing a “real” smile.

Once the ceremony started, Jacki was always in motion, looking for the classic shots and getting “candids” of almost every guest. At one point, the electricity went out, the music stopped and the guests began to gasp. Looking back at the video of the wedding, all we could see was Jacki sprinting past the other vendors, who had no idea what was going on, to notify the lodge of the electrical issue, one minute later the power was back on and Jacki was snapping photos again!

The reception was incredible, she got the real spirit of the dance-floor and we decided that we were having too much fun so we asked her to stay for two more hours. We considered ourselves lucky to have the opportunity to work with Jacki. I think it’s important to remember that when it’s all said and done, the dress gets stuffed away in a closet, the tux gets returned, the food and cake gets eaten and the presents get returned or thrown in a cabinet somewhere but the pictures will be around forever.

I couldn’t have written a review of Jacki without also mentioning her incredible husband Pastor Vince Vaughan. What an incredible guy, we were having scheduling problems with our original pastor and Vince made himself available and ended up providing very meaningful advice and direction that we honestly didn’t expect to get out of a pre marital counseling session. Get Jacki, and if you can, upgrade to the dynamic duo and grab Vince as well, you won’t regret it!

Don't get posed, get real!!!! This is exactly what Jacki is all about! I had heard about, seen, and followed the fabulous work of Jacki even prior to my wedding. Thus, we I was engaged, Jacki was the first vendor I called to reserve for the date! And nonetheless, a holiday weekend. Jacki was ecstatic from the get go. I could feel her energy and enthusiasm from the moment we first met. Moreover, we actually never met in person until my wedding day, although, I felt like I had known her forever. She has a true understanding of what the client wants and works diligently to meet your needs. She is easygoing, friendly, organized, and timely. I did not have to worry about communicating with her often, as she was eager to get the planning started early, and was sure to let my now Husband and I enjoy the moments prior to our wedding, as all the planning and discussions were already complete. The picture quality, need I say more, absolutely impeccable. She captures the heart and soul, and true emotion of the event. Our wedding will forever be cherished, and the pictures show the love, joy, happiness and FUN that was had by all throughout the day! Jacki's positive attitude is contagious, and she brings her charisma, energy and creativity to all the events she photographs. It was a pleasure to have Jacki be such an integral part of our wedding. She is a trustworthy vendor and I can promise she will exceed all your expectations! Good Luck, and look no further, you have found your wedding day photographer!