Chicago Wedding Photography: Art Institute of Chicago, Engagement photos

Any wedding photographer who shoots a lot of weddings in Chicago knows just how easy it is to get caught up in all the hype about the skyline, the fountains, and the tourist attractions that you can find all over the city of Chicago. Most wedding parties have a list of hot spots they want to visit, The Adler Planetarium, Buckingham Fountain, and Millenium Park are a just a few of the most popular photo opps on a wedding day. While these places can be great for photographs they are typically more about the location than the couple.

One thing I think more brides and grooms should consider is finding a quite place where they can take a few minutes to relax, enjoy each one another and allow the photographer to take beautiful photographs that focus the couple on their wedding day.

One great location that allows exactly that is the Art Institute of Chicago. There's a beautiful little garden on Michigan Avenue just south of the main entrance of the Art Institute where a couple can stop for a few quite photos together.

It's away from the hustle and bustle, and crowds of bridal parties you'll find at the Fountain or Millenium Park but that doesn't mean the photos will be any less beautiful!

In fact, the simplistic backgrounds and simple settings focus the attention on the couple and the connection they have with one another which is really what the wedding day is all about. Rather than oohing and ahhing about the skyline or fountain, your friends and family will be saying things like, look how In LOVE they were on their wedding day! This is one of the reasons why Engagement photos at the Art Institute of Chicago are such a great idea

So, when you begin planning the photo walk for your wedding day, talk to your wedding photographer about a less touristy location that will compliment those amazing photos of the bridal party with the skyline in the background and take a moment to enjoy one another on your wedding day!

Thank you Adam and Tatiana for allowing me to spend an afternoon with you this November and congratulations on your engagement, I can't wait for the wedding!!!


To view a collection of more recent Chicago Engagement Photos please visit my new blog here, or check out the Engagement Photos at Sunrise in Chicago, here!

Wedding photos at W Hotel - Lakeshore Chicago

A couple weeks ago I was in downtown Chicago at the W Hotel - Lakeshore shooting a wedding in the Altitude room overlooking Lake Michigan. The weather was perfect and the W Hotel was an amazing venue for a wedding reception.

Following are a few photos from throughout the wedding day. The bride and groom started the day at the W Hotel with prep in individual suites before heading to the Holy Family Church for the wedding ceremony. On the way back to the W we stopped at North Avenue Beach for a few quick portraits. North Avenue beach is a great location for wedding photos in Chicago because it's close to down town and it's easy on and off from Lakeshore Drive. If you've got a wedding on the north side of Chicago it's a great alternative to driving to the museum campus where most other wedding parties go for skyline photos.


After a few quick portraits it was back to the W Hotel - Lakeshore for cocktails and the reception in the Altitude room. The details were amazing and the view was spectacular!


Every Saturday Navy Pier has fireworks, and they made for a spectacular show during dinner, this is the view from the wedding reception at the W hotel.

We wrapped up the night with a quick shot of the bride and groom in the bathroom. Yes that is correct, this is the womans bathroom in the Altitude room. If the W Hotel puts this much attention to detail and style into their bathroom it's no wonder they can create such an unforgettable wedding experience for brides and grooms!

Engagement Photos by the Beach

Last week I was lucky enough to be able to meet up with Emily and Dan and do their engagement photos by the beach. We started out in Grandmere State Park where the mosquitos tried to eat us alive and then moved up the beach to St. Joe where we ended the shoot at Silver beach. Emily and Dan where so much fun to work with and they look amazing in the pictures!







To more recent Beach Engagement Photos click on the link provided!

Rain Rain Go Away!

What a mess the weather was this weekend! I had two weddings in Chicago this weekend the first of which was Chris and Niki's. The bride and groom flew all the way from San Francisco to Chicago to have their wedding here in Chicago on Wrigley Field but the weather had other ideas for their day! Unfortunately there had been so much rain leading up to the weekend that absolutely no one was allowed down on the field. The bride and groom were disappointed of course but we didn't let the weather prevent us from having fun taking pictures around the city!
We started out trying to take pictures of the skyline by the Planetarium but as you can see it was raining so hard you could barely see the buildings.

You can only keep a wedding dress so dry under an umbrella so after a few quick shots we were off to find some place nice and dry!

We ended up at Union Station in Downtown Chicago along with 2 or 3 other bridal parties. Unfortunately we all got kicked out by security for not having permits... apparently they aren't very sympathetic when it comes to brides running from the weather. But at least we got some fun shots before they asked us to leave including this shot of the bridal party by the south entrance!

Finally we headed for Wrigley Field to get a shot by the Marquee along with a few other photos around the stadium before finally taking cover from the weather once and for all in the Batters Eye!

Chris and Niki where so much fun to work with and I couldn't believe how they just kept having fun in spite of the weather. They actually embraced the rain and I couldn't have been happier to spend a rainy day with the two of them! Congratualations to them both!!

Congratulations Kim & Ernie!!

After finishing my blog post last night I realized everything was about the reception at the Blue Dress Barn and I'd hardly shown anything from the wedding day so I thought I'd throw up a few fun photos to give you a feel for what went on during the day!

We started out at Mane Street Salon and Spa and managed to get the hair and veil done just before the electricity went out!

Weddings require a LOT of energy so on the way to the church we just had to stop for a little coffee!! =)



After getting ready for pictures I surprised the bride by bringing her into the basement of the church for a few quick portraits. Yes, she did wonder what we were doing in the basement... but after seeing a few of the pictures she got the idea, as you can tell she looked incredible in her wedding gown. I especially love the picture of her with her Mom and sister!


I love how this classic pose brings out all the details in the Kims amazing wedding gown and bouquet!

The ceremony was at The First Church of God in Saint Joseph Mi. It was a beautiful church to shoot in!


After the Ceremony I took the bride and groom down to the basement for a couple quick photos and then we stopped at the beach for a few more pictures before heading to the Blue Dress Barn!


All in all it was an amazing day and I was so excited to be a part of it! Congratulations to Kim and Ernie!!

The Blue Dress Barn - A wedding Reception

This weekend I had the opportunity to shoot a wedding reception at the Blue Dress Barn in Millburg Mi. This is the first time I'd ever been there and I was amazed by what a neat place it was to take pictures. Everywhere you look at the Blue Dress Barn there's charm, and character. This is by far one of the best venues not only for a wedding reception but for wedding pictures that I have been able to shoot at in Southwest Michigan.
When we showed up we only had about 10 minutes for pictures outside the barn before dinner was supposed to start and I thought maybe we wouldn't have time for as many fun pictures as we were hoping for but I was in for a treat because the pictures inside the barn of the reception were just as fun as the photos outside the barn. What a fun day!





Look at the incredible light that was spilling in at the end of the barn during the first dance.

As the night wore on the the Blue Dress Barn really came alive and it became obvious why so many people choose this location for their summer weddings, it's simply beautiful!




To view more recent reception photos at the blue dress barn click the link!

OR

Check out this amazing Barn Wedding at Millcreek Barn in southwest Michigan!!

Milwaukee Wedding Photography at the War Memorial

The Milwaukee War Memorial is an incredible venue for wedding pictures!! The wedding ceremony on the terrace over looking Lake Michigan was amazing and so was the wedding reception. The wedding party danced the night away to some great tunes and we finished the wedding pictures with this incredible bridal portrait of the Bride and Groom in the stair well of the War Memorial in Milwaukee Wisconsin!

In the background you can see the Milwaukee skyline! I think this is one of the most unique and beautiful facilities I've ever shot at and although this particular bridal portrait took quite a bit of co-ordination to pull of it was well worth it and one of my favorite wedding pictures of the year! Although I don't get to shoot in Milwaukee as much as I'd like I look forward to coming back to this location soon!!

Wedding Photography: Saint Joseph Michigan

Saturday was such an incredibly beautiful day for a wedding here in Southwest Michigan! I started the day shooting the bride getting her Hair done at Devoir Salon's brand new location in downtown Saint Joseph, if you haven't been there it's worth the trip, what a cool space!! After the hair we went just up the road to Saron Lutheran Church where the bride had her makeup done and got ready. The ceremony was in a beautiful little chapel and we went to the Tiscornia beach for photos on our way to Point O'Woods golf course where they had their reception. The images where processed using one of the Boutwells Totally Rad Actions, which totally rock!! I love the way the muted colors enhance the mood in the photographs! Congratulations Kirk and Carolyn!