The ground was covered with fresh powdery snow the morning of Elizabeth and Spencer’s wedding. As Emily and I were driving out to Joliet to meet with both Elizabeth and Spencer for their first look, I thought I gave her a call to confirm final details. I then asked her how she felt about shooting their portrait session in the fresh snow. Elizabeth said yes and that she’s open for anything. When I got off the phone we her, I did a little happy dance. I’ve shot in the snow before. But never a wedding!!! So needless to say, both Emily and I were ecstatic! On our way to meet them, we drove past this beautiful open field that caught my eye. I just knew we had to go back there for their portrait session. I’m so thankful that both Elizabeth and Spencer were adventurous and braved the cold. Both Emily and I were so, so happy with how the images turned out!

Winter Snow Wedding

Elizabeth looks so stunning here. She kinda reminds me of the actress Shannen Doherty!

I am IN LOVE with this beautiful winter bouquet!

University Club of Chicago Wedding

Love the use of cotton for the florals at the reception!

Everyone piled into the bathroom for this last photo of the evening. Lol. Long, long story but it’s quite hysterical! My belly was hurting from laughing so hard of them all in this tiny bathroom!

Elizabeth’s wedding dress-Alvina Valenta

Spencer’s tuxedo-Hugo Boss

Bouquets, boutonnieres, and ceremony florals-Palmer Florist

Reception florals-Vale of Enna

Church-Cathedral of St. Raymond

Reception-University Club of Chicago

Second photographer-Emily Gualdoni

Thank you so, so much Elizabeth and Spencer for being the sweet couple that you are. I’m so blessed to have clients like the two of you. Hope you enjoyed your pictures as much as I did! Have yourself an awesome 2012!!

Winter Wedding in the Snow

I have to warn you, this is a REEEEALLY long blog post with lots and LOTS of pictures.  You see, when I shot Mimosa and Will’s wedding, I was 8 months preggers.  And because I was that far along, I had two photographers and one assistant handy.  I normally would have one photographer and one assistant but brought one more photographer on board just in case.  Thanks Jimmy, Ray, and William for everything!!!

Mimosa is the epitome of the word “blushing bride”.  She was beaming from ear to ear the entire day.  I’m so surprised she didn’t mentioned anything about her cheeks hurting.  Mine does just looking at her.  Lol!!

Their tender first look…

We then took off to Hotel Palomar downtown Chicago for their portrait session before heading to the church for the ceremony.

St. Joseph Church

Now I’ve gotten my wedding party in the past to form a human pyramid before but this one here is a REAL pyramid.  Mimosa actually climbed to the very top!  I was seriously in tears.

Yes, I brought props with me this time.  Wanted to try something different.  Hehe.

Also check out Mimosa and Will’s Same Day Edit by the talented Brian from Pogi Photo Video!  To turn off the music on my blog, scroll to the very bottom and hit stop.

Thank you Mimosa and Will.  Thanks for being such an amazing client but most of all, thank you both for your friendship.  Looking forward to many more years of this!  Hope everything works out well with your honeymoon planning for this month.  Can’t wait to hear about your Italian honeymoon!!!

For friends and family that want to see more of this gallery, you can pre-register here.

My past bride Katrina.  It was so good to be able to see and hug her again!

The day before Laura and Glen’s wedding, Emily and I drove up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais and saw this stunning location.  It was breathtaking.  We literally felt like we were on top of the world.  

Ceremony and Reception was held at the Mountain Home Inn in Mill Valley.  The San Francisco fog came rolling in during the reception but everyone that sat on the patio braved it.

A special thanks to the talented Emily Gualdoni for coming to second shoot.  It was so much fun and I couldn’t have thought of a more perfect person to bring.  Actually, I didn’t think to bring anyone else other than you Emily!

Thank you so much Laura and Glen for having both me and Emily there to document your beautiful day.  We had such a great time and loved being surrounded with so many of your friends and family.  Too bad you both are so far away and I won’t get to see your until God knows when.  Hopefully we’ll cross paths again.  You both are truly a gem!!

For friends and family that want to see more of this gallery, you can pre-register here.

I love this idea with the thumb prints!!  I’ve never seen this before!

My favorite part of shooting an Indian wedding, the Baraat.

Thanks Anna and V for having us and allowing us to document such a big part of your day.  You both are so perfect for each other and I know you two will have a lifetime of joy and laughter.  Love you two!  Can’t wait to see you both this weekend for our shoot!!!  We get to crash another hotel together.  LOL!!!

For friends and family that want to see more of this gallery, you can pre-register here.

Rosie and Mike’s emotional first look. One of my most favorite part of the day. I love how about 95% of my couples chooses to see each other before the ceremony. This way, they get to hold each other and take in the day. Just the two of them. A moment together before the madness of the day begins.

Rosie and Mike set aside a good chunk of time for their portrait session (overall almost 3 hours) after their first look. We decided to swing by the Aloft Hotel by O’hare airport for this session. I just LOVE the colors there! Thirty minutes after we got there, it started pouring outside. Talk about luck!

Both Rosie and Mike love playing Scrabble so Rosie was so excited when she saw the Scrabble board game in the hotel lobby. How could we not incorporate this into their session!?!

The wedding reception was held at Concorde Banquets. The lighting there was amazing for their reception.

This is my first time attempting to talk the bride, groom, and bridal party into forming a pyramid. When I threw out that suggestion, no one hesitated. It was quite hysterical needless to say. Lol! Yeah me!!!

Okay, I admit, I got a little teary-eyed during Rosie and her dad’s father and daughter dance. It reminds me a lot of me and my dad’s dance at my wedding.

Thanks Rosie and Mike for the honor. Thanks also for allowing us a nice chunk of time for your portrait session. It’s so worth it!

For friends and family that want to see more of this gallery, you can pre-register here.

For friends and family that want to see more of this gallery, you can pre-register here!

One of my most favorite moments of the day.  I got a little teary-eyed when I saw father and daughter hug.

Their church was held at the Holy Family , one of the prettiest churches in Chicago.

By the way, these photos will all be posted on Facebook tomorrow and can be viewed through my fan page here!

After their portrait session downtown, off we were in the party bus (and boy did everyone party!) to the Meadows Club for their reception!

Smitha and her dad surprised everyone with this ADORABLE and hilarious dance.

I seriously have never seen a dance floor this packed before.  These people knew how to dance and party!!!

For friends and family that want to see more of this gallery, you can pre-register here.

Thanks Smitha and Justin for being the fabulous couple that you are!  We all had such a blast!!

Shannon and John had set aside a good amount of time after the ceremony for their portrait session (almost three hours). You know how much I love and appreciate my couples for doing this. It gave us time to hit four different spots throughout the city and we still had plenty of time for them to get back to the hotel to enjoy cocktail hour with their guests.

How many pairs of hands do you see here helping Shannon into her dress?

One of the officers whipped Shannon on the cheeks as she was walking away. It was hysterical!

What a good looking couple these two are. They seriously can’t take a bad picture!!

Hotel and Reception was held at the Chicago Swissotel.
Flowers were by Natural Beauties Floral, Inc.
Bride’s dress-San Patrick
Bridesmaid dress-Jim Hjelm

Thanks so much Shannon and John for allowing us the honor. I absolutely adore your friends and families. Actually, take that back, I love them! They seriously were the best. To both Shannon and John and myself and my team!

For friends and families that wants to see more of this gallery, you can pre-register here.