The Lokal Hotel in Old City was without a doubt the perfect spot for an anniversary shoot like this. With its very artistically decorated vintage and industrial vibe decor, it’s a one-of-a-kind hidden gem that helps make Philly such a romantic city. We first met Thomas and Jackie at the Lokal Hotel in Old City back in 2017 for their engagement shoot which is what brought them back 5 years later for their 4-year anniversary shoot. They’re a couple that we’ve gotten to know well over the years so we were excited to hear from them about their anniversary plans and if we were available to tag along to capture it for them. Especially, once they had explained what they had in mind.

Jay and Cecilia met up with Thomas and Jackie at the Lokal Hotel on the morning of their anniversary. After spending a couple of hours (very spicey hours) hanging out there we went over to the YAY Clay studio in the art community of Port Richmond. They had rented out the entire studio just for themselves so we had a blast photographing this. Thomas and Jackie picked out a couple of blocks of clay, sat down for some instructions at their own clay stations (more than likely not the correct name but it sounds good) before they worked on making a piece together. Once that happened the mood quickly switched from frustratingly trying to craft a pot to getting each other as covered in clay as possible and enjoying their anniversary in a romantic way again. Clay class had quickly turned into the scene from Ghost with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore.

We couldn’t be happier for these two and even more so that they continue to bring us along to photograph big milestones in their lives like this one. It’s photoshoots like these that allow us to let our creative and artistic little monsters out to play. Especially, after the extremely long and busy wedding season that we just had. Thomas and Jackie are prime examples of why we built this business around the foundation of taking the time to get to know our clients. The trust they have for us goes without question and even though these two still tell us how awkward they think they look in front of a camera, their trust allows us to make them look like they do in all of photos you see below.

Here are Thomas and Jacquelynn’s other blog posts that are worth taking the time to check out:

Engagement (mostly shot on film)

Wedding

First Anniversary (cupcake making)