Meet Abby and Jerimee! These guys were troopers through this session. It was raining most of the day and still spitting rain as our session started. Luckily it cleared up for a bit while we were at Lincoln Park. I actually enjoy some images in the rain (although preferably not the whole session). After Lincoln Park we headed down to the LaSalle Bridge where it started raining again. It was this magically foggy, misty feel downtown that day that I actually loved.
Thanks to Abby and Jerimee! Here are some of my favorites from the shoot!
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And off to downtown….. I love these next few images 🙂 Because of the rain it was already getting dark so city lights were startingto come on… rain isn’t always a bad thing!
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And just a shot of the Chicago River to close it out 🙂
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Next up on my list is The Details….. oh how I love the details 🙂 Or The Deets as Tom Haverford would say (high five for those of you that got that Parks & Rec reference). It’s a tough job being surrounded by such beautiful things all the time, but someone has to do it!
This is the time of the day that I like to take a couple minutes away from all the madness of the getting ready area and just create some nice well lit creative images of all the bridal details that they careful picked out in the planning process. This includes everything from the dress and shoes, to the jewelry, and the invites. I always ask my brides to bring an extra invite or save the date for me the morning of the wedding to include since it’s unlikely they would think to bring on. I love all the personal touches and special meaning behind some of the details. Whether it be a broach that belonged to the bride’s grandmother or a handkercheif from the groom’s mother as “something borrowed” the attention to detail my couples take is awesome!
PS – to all my 2014 brides, it’s always nice when you have a good looking hanger for your dress instead of a plastic one! I used to have one I brought with me and it broke so I need to invest in another before this season starts!
I’m not including the rings in this post as I have a pretty serious addiction to ring shots that will be addressed in a later post (The Bling) and I’ll be doing a seperate post for the flowers and reception details as well.
But here are some of my favorite details of the year!
Elizabeth and Andy’s program surrounded by her jewelry and the handercheif Andy’s mom let Elizabeth borrow 🙂
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You could get lost in the layers of Leann’s dress!
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Carrie added photos of loved ones that had passed to her boquet so they could be with her all day.
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The hand stitched detailing of Emma’s wedding gown by Victoria Sdoukos was unreal…. one of the most gorgeous gowns I’ve ever seen! The personalized bridal gown hanger is an added bonus 🙂
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Ok I just couldn’t decide which of these to post so I’m doing both because it’s my blog and I’ll cheat if I want to 🙂
On the left is the engraved watch Morgan gave Mike as a wedding gift and on the right is the personalized handerchief she gave her mother.
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Lauren and Jordan paid tribute to the important people in their lives who had passed with this creative picture collage in the church.
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Of course I’m a sucker for pretty jewelry, but when Julie’s mom brought out this vintage beaded handbag that she was letting Julie borrow for the wedding I just knew I had to shoot the details on it! I love all the texture and the contrast of lights and shadows.
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Richwood Plantation is like stepping back in time, so when it came to shooting Rebecca’s details I wanted to incorporate some of the great items already in the room such as the wardbrobe her dress hangs on and the antique tray with hand mirrot etc.
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Gina’s shoes might have been my favorite pair of the year 🙂 The remind me of the blue shoes Carrie Bradshaw wore in Sex and the City.
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And last but not least is Rachel’s polka dot dress. This was the first wedding I shot this year and as soon as I walked in and saw this beautiful ruflled gown with subtle polka dot detail I knew it was going to be a good one!
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So I still have a couple other sessions/weddings to blog but I wanted to start my 2013 recap series. I started out trying to pick just one image from each wedding as a favorite for a blog entry…… that was a complete failure…. seriously one image from a whole wedding?! No idea what I was thinking but that’s impossible haha.
So instead I’m going to do it in a series of blog posts : Getting Ready, The Details, The Brides, The Grooms, The Bling,The Moments, The Little Guys, The Ceremony, The Wedding Party, The Venues and The Parties and The Engagements. I will choose my top 10 images for each category (or try to keep it to 10). Since the winter months are a little slower I thought this would be a fun way to recap and show some images that may or may not have even been since by my blog viewers before.
First up are my Getting Ready favorites. It varies from wedding to wedding how much of the getting ready process I’m there to photograph. Some brides like me there for the entire day, and some prefer me to show up once they finishing up hair and makeup. I like to at least arrive before the bride gets in her dress. It’s just an emotion filled moment. In come cases my brides have had the dress for months just waiting for the day they get to wear it!!!
One thing is for sure that there is always a flurry of activity during this time. You can usually smell the hairspray down the hallway, the mimosas are flowing, bobby pins are flying, someone is trying to fit into their Spanx and the flower girl has already spilled something on her dress! But I love every second of it! There is so much excitement during this time that it’s hard to capture it all, but I do my best!
My top ten Getting Ready photos …. in no particular order
Emma gettting some help from her mom and bridesmaids with the bow.
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Barb getting what is most likely at 3rd coating of hair spray !
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Gina having her sister lace her dress up.
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Keri getting a final hair/veil adjustment from her stylist.
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Krista getting a final touch up from hair and makeup before we started photos.
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Leann getting some blush during her hair and makeup time at Gotham Beauty Lounge in NYC.
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My wonderful assistant Robyn took this photo below of Rachel revealing her dress to everyone 🙂
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She may hate me for this years down the road, but I caught this jr. bridemaid dancing around with the bride’s bra while the bride was getting dressed. This girl was a total ham… I want to be her friend because she made me laugh all day…. Call me in 15 years when you get married!
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Morgan getting help from her mom as she slips into her wedding dress!
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I really wish I could remember what was said here, but as Elizabeth’s reactions tell you – it was funny!
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I had to include a couple for the guys…. although they have a much easier process than us ladies!
Jason sliding into his shoes before their beach wedding in Hawaii.
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Michael adjusting his bowtie before heading out to the ceremony.
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My 2013 Favorites: The Engagements - Becky Brown Photography » Becky Brown Photography - […] A Rainy Engagement : Abby and Jerimee – 10/30/13 Chicago, Il […]