Meet Jacquelyn Phillips

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacquelyn Phillips.

Jacquelyn, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was always an artistically inclined youth, and while finishing a business degree at ASU my husband gifted me a digital camera- mind you, they had just come out on the market and were three megapixel, but as it turned out, I had a natural knack for it and decided to spend my senior year building a photography business.

Within a year I had exploded onto the market as a wedding and portrait photographer. I had found my calling, I was able to care for my newborn, operate a business and contribute financially. At a wedding expo, I met the now-former owner of Chapel At The Farm and partnered with her providing photography to her venue. After nine years of operation, she was ready to move on and I seamlessly transitioned into owning that business as well.

Over the past fifteen years, I have had the pleasure of photographing everything from newborns of couples whose weddings I photographed, political candidates, womens’ marches, cancer survivors, returning veterans, small business retail items, cherished family pets and the occasional destination wedding. I still do all the photography for the Chapel, I have employed a wonderful coordinator and officiants to keep the well-oiled machine running while I keep pursuing my love of art. As my son is getting older, he is also playing a pivotal roll in the weekend operations.

I still get to be a mom first, a business owner second, and in my spare time, I’m finishing my very first book. A story of perseverance, dedication to positive growth and empowerment that can be implemented by anyone wanting to be their authentic and growing self.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I often remind myself, that if it was easy, everyone would do it.

I struggled as an empath, not letting every little hiccup and every unhappy person being the end of me. I’m terrible at sales because I want to be an artist- setting and sticking to prices kept me from making real profit versus breaking even. I struggled as a working mom- we were fortunate enough to be able to have 1 child, but my business was my baby too, so I juggled both- sometimes successfully, others fraught with tears and sleeplessness.

I had challenges with staffing when we got too big, and scaling down when my heart wasn’t in the operations and wanted to be back to the art. My marriage hit hard times because I couldn’t allocate myself to all of my priorities appropriately. I emptied my entire life savings the day I purchased the Chapel, which at the time was limited in its scope of use and had less than stellar reviews. I still am challenged by creating the hustle and building in time for living.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
As a photographer, I am classically trained- meaning my work doesn’t fit a specific genre of light and airy, or dark and moody, overly edited or overly photoshopped. I studied with Hanson Fong and learned strong posing, good lighting and work that was timeless beyond a current editing style. I don’t specialize and because of it, I’m flexible and able in a variety of facets. Starting as a wedding photographer meant that I had to be good at a variety of different styles of shooting so I could encapsulate not just the event itself, but the details, the locations, the people and the emotions.

I’m best known for the relationships I build while photographing people- so many will come into a shoot or event with negative thoughts based on past experiences, and part of my job is to make it a fun, positive, painless event. It’s really a lot of play. I am most proud that I did it my way. I didn’t find a niche like I was told to, I didn’t buy into a retail space, I never spent a ton of money on marketing and I never went into the red. I played by no one’s rules and even as the market becomes more saturated and the barrier to entry is lower, I am still successful and profitable, and I think my ability to weather the changes in the field make me stronger.

As for the Chapel, we are a judgment-free, people and pet-friendly, military supporting, celebration space. We host weddings, parties, meetings, and other celebrations. We are best known for our relaxed and affordable approach to celebrations, we support the military with free elopement ceremonies on Thursdays, we are openly LGBTQ friendly- we believe if you found someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, we support you being happy. We’re open to pets on the grounds- so if your best man has paws, that’s pretty neat, plus he won’t roast you during the toast.

We operate on the premise that you shouldn’t have to spend a mortgage to have a wedding, and we focus on smaller celebrations with under 100 guests. Chapel At The Farm hosts toddler safe trick or treating to the community and has been a springboard for other non-profits like Zen Nights, which now takes over downtown Mesa once a month. I’m proud that I took a giant leap that serves as a welcoming place in the community, a place to help others grow and something that I can pass down to my son, should he want it.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I haven’t had it. Or maybe it’s because I’m proud of it every day for different reasons. I’ve been afforded the opportunity to do things in my life I never dreamed of because of my career and that makes me proud. I’m proud when people choose my service because they believe in me. It’s humbling when someone calls to tell me their expecting and I find out before anyone else because they want me as part of their journey. Or at the end of an event, when I’m embraced and told it was beyond their expectations.

Contact Info:

• Address: Jacquelyn Phillips Photography 310 S. Granite Cir Gilbert AZ 85296
  Chapel At The Farm 397 S. Gilbert Rd. Ste 110 Gilbert AZ 85296
• Website: www.yourazphotog.com www.chapelatthefarm.com
• Phone: 602-550-2574 480-454-5595
• Email: jacquelyn.l.phillips@gmail.com gilbertweddingchapel@gmail.com
• Instagram: jacquelynphillipsphotography weddingchapel_gilbert
• Facebook: yourazphotog chapelatthefarmweddings

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