Well you better settle in for this post. I guarantee it’s going to be a long one. Many of you reading this know Robyn because she is and has been  my primary second shooter for weddings since I moved to Chicago. She’s an amazing photographer, a great friend and for this post she is the beautiful bride you are about to see 🙂 As I went to write the post I was remembering back to when we first met for coffee and ended up talking for over an hour. I knew I was going love her! I remember her talking about Bob and their relationship and when she thought he was going to propose…. and then when he actually proposed haha. So needless to say I couldn’t wait for their wedding day to arrive.

You may recognize Hotel Baker as it’s been in the news a lot lately because Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg got married there a couple weeks after Robyn and Bob. They must have heard it’s where all the awesome people get married:)

I’m going to let all the brides of the world in on a little secret….. if you want to look really happy in all your wedding photos you just have to is hire professionals and trust them to do what they do best and you’re free to enjoy your wedding day! Not really a secret, but easier said than done for most people.  I absolutely loved this wedding because I knew that I had Robyn’s trust to do the photo schedule however I wanted and capture the day without her worrying about photography at all which left her time to just have fun!  I worried about everything of course. I was a nervous wreck most of the day because I knew that I wanted to blow her socks off with the images. Sami (my other awesome second shooter) will tell you that I was probably harder on myself this day than any other day she’s been with me! Shooting for another photographer is stressful… fun… but stressful!

With an 60-70% chance of rain looming we were worried that their outdoor ceremony might not happen. But luckily they decided to chance it and not a single drop of rain fell! It was the perfect August day for a wedding! Hotel Baker is one of the coolest venues in the area  if you ask me. It was the very first place I shot when I moved to Chicago and I couldn’t wait to get back.

We did their first look (I didn’t even have to talk her into this one) in the beautiful rose garden and then were able to take the majority of the photos before the ceremony so it was right into the party afterwards. You might recognize some familiar faces in this group. One of our July brides, Julia, was a bridesmaid and we will be shooting Alyssa’s wedding next year who was also a bridesmaid!

The guests enjoyed cocktail hour outside in the garden before heading into the amazing reception space. I wish every reception room had a balcony around the entire thing and a light up dance floor! It makes for some awesome dancing shots and angles we can’t always get without a balcony!  The dance floor was packed and thankfully Robyn has been working on her wobble throughout the year so she was able to bust it out. We headed outside for some night photos with Bob’s father’s Cadillac which was a suprise to me. I had no idea it would be there, but it made for some sweet photos!

Thank you thank you thank you to Robyn and Bob for allowing me to be a part of your day. It was truly and honor! And a special thank you to Bob for letting me borrow your wife for many Saturday’s throughout the year!

Here are some of my favorites… and by some I mean a lot….

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Hotel Baker

Hair and Makeup: Mario Tricoci Salon

Videographer: Mike Hendzel Productions

Flowers: Palomino Floral Designs

Cake : Oak Mill Bakery

Invitations: Wedding Bellles Invitations

Bridal Gown: Wedding Belles

Bridesmaid’s Dresses: David’s Bridal

Tuxes: Jos. A Banks

DJ: Grand DJ Entertainment

Time for first look! I love that Robyn had also already scoped out and decided how and where she wanted to set this up so it was super smooth! It was a long walk so we waited until about halfway before Bob turned around to see her walk the rest with her dad.

Well hello there Mr. and Mrs. Lisy!

Can’t wait for September 2015 when these two get married !

They snuck off for a few minutes during cocktail hour so naturally i lurked in the bushes. These series is my favorite 🙂 Totally worth being a creeper!

And of course for this wedding I had to get a few photos!

Sami and I with our two newest pairs of newlyweds!