When I got back from holiday travels last week I had a fun surprise in the mail…a copy of the Spring issue of Chicago Social Brides magazine with Ellen & Andy’s wedding feature! I’ve been waiting for this for a couple months now and was excited to finally see it in person. I photographed this wedding in September 2011 and loved every detail.
I remember talking to the people at the Nature Museum on Ellen & Andy’s wedding day about how beautiful and different they thought the wedding was. Ellen had a unique vision for her decor and with the help of her amazing planner (Shannon Gail) and florist (ZuZu’s Petals) the South Gallery at the Museum looked more beautiful than ever. Its no surprise that CS Brides wanted to feature such a beautiful wedding in their most recent issue!
As usual…magazine features don’t give you the full scope of any event, but if you want to see more there is plenty to see on my own blog post!
Big Red Barn Wedding :: Mitch & Amy
A couple of weeks ago I flew in to Fort Collins, Colorado to photograph Mitch & Amy’s wedding and one of the best NYE parties I’ve ever been to! For real.
I’ve been working on these photos for the past week and dying to share…I absolutely loved the rustic-chic style of the day, and every detail from the couple and their wedding party to the dress, florals and decor was perfect. I’m not going to waste much time with words in this post because I picked so many images to share…I guess I’ll let them do the talking this time!
Amy showed me a picture of her dress a long time ago, its even better in real life…I *loved* it!
Amy’s sweet mom, Penny and her sisters Kelda & Holly helped her get dressed.
Amy, you are the most beautiful. Truly, truly!
The reception was held at the Big Red Barn in Windsor, which is also where we headed to do pre-ceremony photos of the wedding party. 
This is one of my favorites of Mitch and Amy…
Amy put together this really creative & unique element of their decor…a map of her and Mitch’s 5 year journey leading up to their wedding day, highlighting some of the major stops along the way and surrounded by lots of their original love letters to each other.
The ceremony was held at the Covenant Church in Fort Collins, where Amy grew up attending.
I love these night shots…and I couldn’t resist using some sparklers at a NYE wedding.
The decor was stunning, and so cohesive (cohesive is my favorite)…Amy’s coordinator and florist did a beautiful job pulling all of the elements together.
Time to celebrate!
Congratulations again Mitch & Amy! I love you two, can’t wait to hear what ya think : )
Libertyville Wedding :: Heather & David
Last weekend I shot the. most. beautiful. wedding out in Libertyville! Heather’s family aren’t quite relatives of ours but over the past few years in Chicago they’ve become like family to Jamie and I (and we share a mutual aunt and uncle, so we might as well be family, right??). I had an impossible time deciding which images to share today, because I didn’t want to leave anything out…here are just a few favorites from the wedding day:
Heather’s dress was made by British designer Sassi Holford. Not only a stunning gown, but absolutely the perfect dress for Heather!
Heather…you belong in a magazine! I could have filled an entire blog post with photos of you. For real.
I have never photographed such an expressive bride…I think every bride should feel like this when they put their dress on:
The first look took place at the same little park where David proposed!
This necklace (later pinned to Heather’s bouquet) and matching earrings are a family heirloom that belonged to David’s mother, who sadly passed away last year. Heather wore the jewelry as a reminder of her.
Lookin’ sharp, David! 
I really love this wedding party shot! 
The adorable ring bearer and flower girl are David & Heather’s niece and nephew…so cute!
The wedding ceremony took place at the church in Libertyville where Heather grew up attending.
After the ceremony we headed to the brand new tent ballroom at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort…beautiful! The florals were done by Joseph’s Florist and everything was perfect.
Heather’s dad gave the most thoughtful, meaningful speech and had the whole place in tears…including me. Thanks a lot, Paul…its hard to shoot when you can’t see through the lens!
These cupcakes (which taste even better than they look!) are from Lovin’ Oven Cakery.
David & Heather danced to You Are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne, they were pretty impressive twirling all over the dance floor. I’d have to take years of lessons to look half that good out there!
Love this one!
I’ve witnessed some pretty awesome wedding dances this season, and this one definitely tops the list. I caught myself grinning at the end of a 12 hour day because it was so much fun to watch & capture it. And, that is why I love my job!
David & Heather, it truly was a fairy tale kind of day and I was privileged to be a part of it! Congratulations again, I wish you both all the best and can’t wait to see where life together takes you.
Columbus Park Refectory Wedding :: David & Eleana
David & Eleana’s wedding took place last weekend, at the Columbus Park Refectory. Theirs was one of two weddings on my last weekend of the ‘season’ and was the most beautiful Fall affair! I think that Eleana and I share a love for vintage touches, and she brought those elements into their wedding day so beautifully…not to mention she herself looked so beautiful.
See what I mean??
The Refectory is a Chicago Parks District gem that I just love to shoot at…but like I said to Eleana on their wedding day, I had never seen it look so beautiful! This is thanks not only to Eleana’s vision, but also to Kelly of Clementine Custom Events and her amazing planning skills…
The florals were done by Asrai Garden…and they were perfection.
Something keeps me coming back to this one…
And, just one more plug for this post: The food at this wedding blew me away. Some of the best wedding food I have tasted (or looked at…it was pretty too!) If you’re looking for a great Chicagoland caterer check out Phil Stefani Events
David & Eleana, congratulations again! You were both lovely to work with…I hope you enjoy this peek into your day, you’ll be seeing the complete gallery by the end of this week.
Gallery 1028 Wedding :: Julie & Andrew
Ever since their engagement session earlier this year, Julie & Andrew have been some of my favorites…I can say that, right? They’re genuinely sweet, kind people, and they’re super fun at the same time. They’re just really awesome individually and together…if they lived in Chicago I would want to hang out with them all the time and not only be their wedding photographer! Because of all of that, I have been looking forward to this wedding for months, and I thought it was a great way to end my wedding season this year. I have one in November, and one in December but Andrew & Julie’s wedding marked the end of my weddings-every-weekend run that started sometime in May!
We started off with some getting ready shots at the James Hotel where I was first introduced to Julie’s 10 bridesmaids (wow)…good thing they are all great people too or my day might have been a little chaotic!
Love the sparkle-y bridal TOMS!
Andrew was a little excited, I think he knew how beautiful she would look…
A favorite, for sure!
Gorgeous as always!
After the photos we headed to Gallery 1028 for the ceremony and reception. This is one of my favorite venues, if you’re going for a more urban vibe for your wedding it is definitely worth a look!
Even though Julie lives in California, she definitely hand picked every detail of the decor and her amazing mom put it all together here in Chicago…they must make a great team because everything was perfect!
Andrew’s mom officiated the wedding, below is the time when she had them turn around and soak in all of their guests…I love this shot.
I’ve never blogged a wedding party entrance shot before…but, the creativity here deserved to be recognized : )
The live band for the night was Tryst…they were so good, all night. There was never a lull on this dance floor, let me tell ya.
One of the most special parts of the day was when Andrew got up to sing a couple songs to Julie…this guy is talented! He also had about 20 of his friends singing back up vocals…I knew Andrew & his family were musically talented, but I had no idea so many friends were as well. 
Julie & Andrew, I love you guys and your wonderful friends and family. Your wedding day was amazing, but I know that your marriage and life together will be that much more-so!
Congratulations again…enjoy the last couple days in Hawaii!
