I'm Jo from Photography By Jo, a wedding photographer based in Staunton, Virginia.

Your wedding photographer is ready.

I’m ready to provide truly personalized wedding photographs for you. You want your wedding to be a celebration–not a photoshoot. Because while you want gorgeous photographs of you and your spouse, the wedding photos you will actually cherish most are the brief and candid interactions with friends and family that came from all over to celebrate you. I promise not to hold you captive for endless portraits, so you get to actually enjoy your time with these people.

Enjoy your wedding day, and get the privilege of forgetting about the details.

I take the stress out of timelines, shot lists, family formals, and wedding day minutia to create an experience you enjoy and photographs that are memorable. My hope is that you get to stay in the moment enjoying this once-in-a-lifetime day with your absolute favorite people. And afterwards, you have a wedding album that helps you relive that incredible day and tell those family stories for decades.

As a bonus, maybe we become friends, and we create some unique and personal artwork to hang in your home.

I’m Jo Mahaney, an Augusta County and Staunton wedding photographer dedicated to creating images that showcase the connection between each couple I get the joy of serving. There's nothing more personal than your wedding day. I consider it such an honor to be chosen to photograph these family moments. The instant they happen, the moment is gone. As much as we try to remember and cherish, our memories fade and our lives, families, faces, all change so fast. I want to preserve these memories and stories of your wedding day for you and your loved ones. My goal is to document the emotions and unique story of each wedding day as authentically and raw as the events unfolded. I specialize in documenting candid interaction and emotional expression. We spend our whole lives seeking joy and contentment, and I love that I get to spend my career celebrating and sharing love through Photography by Jo.

You’re here because you're a Virginia bride, groom, or are helping plan a really special wedding. I’m so glad you found me! If you didn’t know, I’m from the Roanoke area, but grew up in Staunton Virginia and started my wedding photography business there. In 2013, I moved out of state to attend Shepherd University in West Virginia. After college, I got married and landed in northern Virginia for a while. We have an adorable toddler together, and five crazy animals. Six years of NOVA, Washington D.C., and Baltimore weddings has me yearning for sweet southern ceremonies, small town sweethearts, and precious historic venues yet again. I moved home to Staunton n 2021, and am serving all of Virginia in 2022. For more about my approach to photography, history and education, family, and personal style, visit my about page.

After dozens of weddings, I have come to cherish the emotion in the transitional moments and unexpected experiences of each wedding day. I used to look forward to sunset portraits with my clients the most. But now, I love returning wedding photos filled with sweet looks between mother and son, bridesmaids wiping a tear away, the awe on a groom's face as he first sees his bride, and the giggling flower girl taking her dress for that first twirl. I will give you great portraits to hang on your walls too, but these unplanned and unposed memories are the moments that make your wedding unique and memorable.

Whether you realize it yet or not, choosing a wedding photographer is a very personal choice. Staunton is full of talented wedding photographers, and our style, approach, perspective, and demeanor are all a little different. I created this page to tell you all about how I work and make sure that we're a great match. If not, many of these of photographers are great friends of mine, who I'd love to introduce to you!

My values:

Your wedding is about you two, and I'm here to be an active supporter of that, even if it breaks every tradition in the book.

I give loads of time and attention to detail to each client. I believe your experience with your photographer impacts the way you will view and remember the images in the future. I want you to have only the best memories of this day. I work with limited couples who truly value intentional photography.

I celebrate this love and contentment you've found in each other. I want to know your unique story. I cherish you, no matter your size, shape, gender, religion, color, ethnicity, or past.

Finding your wedding vendors should feel like finding your dream team. They should be supportive, informative, and encouraging, in addition to being great at their profession. It's a special honor to be chosen to photograph each couple's union, and it's not lost on me what great trust these brides and grooms have in my ability to handle documenting their wedding day with care.

While wedding photography is a job to some, to me it is a life calling. There are wedding vendors who do their jobs, and there are wedding vendors who truly serve their clients. As your wedding photographer, I’ll start by giving you resources for mapping out the perfect stress-free timeline, finding other amazing vendors to support your vision, and planning an engagement session that will get you warmed up and ready for the camera on your wedding day. No two wedding days are the same, and I can't wait to hear about yours!