jes workman

behold, madison and jacy. these two knew it was fate from the first moment they met. i knew it was fate back in 2017 when i first fell in love with madison’s music. with only a few weeks’ notice, @gabrielapilarevents asked if i happened to be free on one of the most popular fall saturdays of the year and by some miracle, i was. after getting over the shock that i will be shooting madison mcferrin’s wedding, i quickly fell in love with who these two were both as people and as a couple. it’s impossible not to. from the wedding being hosted in their longtime family friend’s stunning backyard, to jacy giving everyone five minute hugs with endless tears, to having to remember that we were in the middle of a wedding day and not a fashion shoot, to speeches that had the entire dance floor sobbing, to the dreamiest ceremony garden by @pilarfloral and @lpjrentals , to the way these two looked at each other like not a single other thing mattered in the entire world. and of course, a ton of incredible music and dancing. it’s a love story that can only be told by the incomparable @shelbywax on a platform that is as big as their love. read it all now on @vogueweddings . @madmcferrin ❤️ @jacycunningham full-service planning + design @gabrielapilarevents photo @jesworkman florist @pilarfloral video @kolbylistenbee18 catering, bar + dessert @millerbutler_sp music @novenacarmel draping @lpjrentals gown @viviennewestwood from @loho_bride hair + makeup @indiamhammond jewelry @maggisimpkins @davidyurman shoes @valentarangoni suit @suitsupply cake @sugarstudiola rentals @premiere_rents @lolavalentinadesigns @luxe_linen lounge rentals @thriftedsisterevents

We are so excited to announce that Jes Workman @jesworkman is joining us this Friday at 3pm EST. for an Artist Talk on How to Set Your Work Apart. Jes approaches each wedding with a cinematic lens, drawing inspiration from music, film, and the people she photographs. In this conversation, we’ll explore what fuels her creativity, how her style has evolved, and why carving out your own voice as a film photographer matters more than ever. Our film community has admired her work for so long and are so excited to finally sit down with Jess. Photo by @jesworkman Artist Talk hosted by @caitlin____taylor Gather Around Film is a community for documentary film photographers to connect, learn together & elevate the artistry of film.

the wedding of haley and ilsey, as seen today on @vogueweddings . what can i even say about these two that wasn’t said by dozens of their friends and family over the course of their magical weekend in santa ynez? they’re two of the most impressive and intentional women i have ever met. from ilsey surprising haley by hanging pendants on the trees from the exact chandelier they met under years prior to musical performances by their talented friends (and ilsey!) to ending the night with tattoos on their ring fingers at the honky-tonk bar down the road, it was a non-stop display of love. on top of incredible fashion (hello, harris reed and danielle frankel), gorgeous humans and a stunning location made even more beautiful by the designs of geniuses @heartthrob_events and @kellyjross . a dream from start to finish. i could not be more honored to have been chosen to be a witness to ilsey and haley’s love and the people that surround them. congratulations, you beautiful angels. a huge thank you to the incomparable @shelbywax for continuously championing queer love stories. always an absolute pleasure to have my photos alongside your words. link to the full article in my bio! published by @vogueweddings planning + design @heartthrob_events photography @jesworkman stylist @sophiestraussstyling suit @harris_reed dress @daniellefrankelstudio venue @grassinifamilyvineyards florals @kellyjross linens @bbjlatavola rentals @brighteventrentals @archiverentals dj @dartcollective lighting & audio @distinctive_es hair @stevenfordhair makeup @emilylynnandcompany @blushandbone videography @foreverago_studio catering @poeandco paper goods @nubo_studio welcome party @thegenevievehotel welcome party styling @jamesdoinginsta content creator @thebtsbride brides @ilsey 💘 @hales.evans

personally, i want it to rain on my wedding day — especially if the rain plan includes a glass ceiling 1920’s french bistro designed by charlie chaplin and an endless supply of the best board passed bread and butter in the city. micah and aj didn’t need the rain to draw them into republique but the extra layer of romance was welcomed by all of us in attendance. as dinner rolled out, their friends couldn’t help but stand at (and on) their seats and serenade each other to 90s r&b that everyone seemed to know by heart. a very special day in the heart of los angeles.  planning @aficialevents venue @republique.restaurantla florals @gentleofferings video @degennhodges @micahcaalaman <3 @ajcaalaman

we’re back, baby. my first wedding of the year. balthazar in a snow flurry. seafood towers, martinis, vintage furs. hometown friends playing electric guitar. heckling during toasts. cigarette breaks for as long as you can take the chill air, coat check is all the way downstairs and you’ve had a few too many. a dance floor until 1am, it’s all yours. husband and wife until the end of time. everytime i’m in new york, it feels like a movie. i suppose it’s because i have enough space from it to continuously romanticize it. or maybe i’m just lucky enough to always land in the perfect place at the perfect time? whatever spell has been cast, i’ll take it for as long as i can get it. congrats to savannah and malcolm on a dream of a wedding night and undoubtedly, a dream of a life to come. you two are it. @balthazarny @romananyc @savismith @malcolm_donaldson

the california coastline is one of those rare places that is somehow better than you can imagine. this particular piece of it, big sur and carmel, has held a special place in my heart for a while now. i’ve roamed it at midnight, in search of the milky way and checking over my shoulder for mountain lions. i’ve fallen in love here. i photographed my first wedding that ever got published back in 2016 on pfeiffer beach. i’ve cried while driving up and down pch to some of my favorite songs on both joyous and less joyous occasions. this place moves energy around and makes memories come up. it makes people want to be in love. it brings something in and out with the tides and every few years, it means something different to me. this time around, my first time in quite a while, it meant that i got to spend a few hours with two people than instantly felt like old friends. we got to take a little extra time cruising down the highway, learning about where we grew up and which books we loved and the who what why of their upcoming wedding in the spring. it was sweet. it was peaceful. it was my first shoot of this year and i’ll be lucky if i get to carry this feeling into the rest of my season. familiar but fresh. happy and beautiful and exciting. it’s gonna be a really, really cool year. @davitasp 💘 @gavin.goosum @heartthrob_events @emilylynnandcompany

thrilled to be able to share that sophia & mik’s wedding day is up on @whowhatwear ! a huge thank you to @nikki.chwatt for writing such a thoughtful and fun story about the many looks and intentional nods throughout this fashion-forward weekend. these two put together a truly fantastic evening (with the help of design genius @kcdeventco and floral magician @megan_gray , of course). read all about how sophia selected each wardrobe piece (one was a morning-of decision!), why it’s okay if it rains on your wedding day and all of the many other sweet touches this beautiful couple incorporated. thank you, @whowhatwear ! @tuna.rye <3 @mikayel planning + design @kcdeventco florals @megan_gray food @lamorrapizzeria hair makeup @chanelcross paper @olivejuicedesignco calligraphy @kei.haniyacalligraphy rentals @theark_ @foundrentalco @bbjlatavola red set @shereenmuhmmad white set @giorgioarmani tailoring @hs68.la

not sure what i did to deserve this dream of a year but the fact that it was so difficult to narrow down the highlights to only twenty images and videos is proof enough that the universe has not stopped giving me a green light. this year took me all over the world, from the most epic bash in new york city to my own backyard in los angeles. i honed in on education, for lack of a less annoying word, and was given the opportunity to chat with communities like @gatheraroundfilm , @lenselworld and @unveiledinterviews as well as thirty (!!) one-on-one mentor sessions. we got got into @vogueweddings — twice! — with brides who are powerhouses in their industries. we got our steps in. we went international (nicaragua and mexico) with a total of 34 flights (almost five days spent in the air). i spent time with my photo besties — an annual tradition that is as inspiring and energizing as it is silly and warm. @thepennylayne never stabbed me but instead, brought us on to some of our favorite weddings of the year. serena enjoyed her first delta one experience... and worked for it. we made new friends and got to work with so many old ones. we joined a second line in new orleans, danced along with dabke and belly dancers dancers in new york city, stuffed ourselves with chana masala at a sangeet in downtown, played games in a banquet hall in san francisco’s chinatown, echoed the joyous fa’aumu yells at a samoan wedding in washington and quite literally everything in between. i hope i’ll never stop saying this: i have the best couples and get to work with the best people in the world. year after year, that sentiment only becomes more true. thank you to all twenty nine of my couples who trusted us to shoot your weddings this year. thank you to all of the creatives i got to work with and i hope our paths continue to cross. thank you to @serenacflickz (who so many of you fall in love with) for getting on every flight, pushing through every early call time and making it through 12 hour days with no food. 2026 seems like it can’t get better than this but my schedule SOMEHOW says otherwise. endless gratitude for bringing me and my team in to your 2025.

when i say my couples are the coolest, please direct your attention to exhibit a. @jingaing landed in my inbox and i immediately thought, “yep, that’s it”. wildly talented, impossibly kind, effortlessly stylish. she squeezed her california wedding in between a full festival run for her film @forgefilmofficial like it was nothing. and @blakecolquitt ? also pretty cool. dripping in issey miyake (currently my favorite look for grooms). so thrilled i got to capture their los angeles dinner celebration before their big wedding next year. the bar is continuously high, folks. planning & design @thepennylayne photography @jesworkman florals @kellyjross venue @horsesonsunset rentals @casadeperrin tabletop @bbjlatavola

even before caroline and i sat across from each other earlier this march, teary-eyed at thai diner over breakfast sandwiches and life, i knew my year was going to be one big wonderful crescendo leading to her wedding in new york. the kindness in how her and devin spoke about and to each other on our first call extended to every single detail of their weekend. thoughtful gifts for each guest, bird motifs to celebrate their shared love of birding, mountains of caviar to encourage everyone to simply indulge and enjoy. it’s rare that a wedding this extravagant has so much heart and love at the center but it was just that. love. two gorgeous, angel humans. two incredibly thoughtful and generous families. friend groups that were off their phones and in the moment, dancing their hearts out to frankly, the best band i’ve ever heard. all for one weekend in the greatest city on earth. i don’t know what i did to deserve to witness these celebrations but man, this one was one of the special ones. congratulations to caroline and devin and thank you for letting me exist in your orbit for a few days. planning + design @amychampagneevents dress @paulanadal_official video @laurel.weddingfilms florals @foreverinbloommtkisco band @starlightmusicnyc hair @rosibeldeljesus makeup @jkinfordbeauty @isabelyrosado rentals @westsidepartyrentals lighting @fusionlightingproductions cake @rbicakes cuties @aulait__ @dexcov

Featured on lensel.com: A wedding full of film, instinct and a little chaos. jump in to read all the behind the scenes details of how @jesworkman photographed it. Spoiler alert, she nailed it.

there really is no greater honor than being asked to photograph the wedding of another photographer. terrifying, sort of. but an honor and a privilege to witness and document the day for both a friend and an artist that i’ve admired for a very long time, @gabbieburseth . us wedding photographers get asked endlessly “what kind of wedding would YOU want?” and the answer, at least for me, is constantly evolving. but this weekend in the desert with twenty of gabbie and ben’s closest people, sunny pool days, a sick dress, a short and sweet (and tearful) ceremony, unfussy portraits, cool florals, good food and late-night tattoos for everyone? yeah, that sounds pretty perfect to me. congrats to these two very special, beautiful people and thank you for making *our* job so, so easy for the day. venue & accommodations @korakia photo @jesworkman catering @whoanellycaters florals @goingsteadystudios planning @onedarlingday rentals @hostesshaven  & @planksandpatina hmua @jenpluscolour dress @shop_cinq alterations @s.rothan tattoos @cheerstattooevents paper & signage @velvetfoxdesigns @gabbieburseth ❤️‍🔥 @bonpopkon