Finally spring decided to show up for Emma and Michael’s late April wedding! It was a gorgeous 60 degree sunny day in Chicago – the perfect setting for their downtown wedding. Although they are now living in St. Louis, they chose to get married in Chicago where they used to live and had fallen in love.
I met everyone in the morning for hair and makeup with the amazing team of Jody and Christina from Tamara Makeup and Hair Artistry. The ceremony was at the gorgeous and historic Holy Family Parish where Emma walked down the aisle in her custom made gown by Victoria Sdoukos . From there we stopped in the West Loop area for photos and the iconic Chicago Board of Trades. Then it was off to the gorgeous reception at Hotel Allegro. KT and her team there did an AMAZING job. The venue was perfection with flowers from Stemline Creative and cake from Alliance Bakery. Dustin with Style Matters kept the place rocking all night! Thank you to my assistant Robyn for being amazing as always!
Congratulations to Emma and Michael and thank you again for allowing me to capture your wedding day!
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Meanwhile in the guys room…..
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Time to put the dress on!!!
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Time for the ceremony!
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And then it was back on the trolley to head to Chicago Board of trades
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Time for the reception at Hotel Allegro!
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During Cocktail hour guests were encouraged to leave their thumbprints and sign creating leaves on the tree and a wonderful piece of art!
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I’m declaring this guy the winner of the dance off…..
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And lastly me and newlyweds!
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Welcome to my first wedding of 2013!! The night before wedding season is like Christamas Eve to me. I can never sleep because I’m so excited. This year was no different. In fact it was a lot like waking up on Christmas morning because it was snowing !!! No joke – snowing in mid April…. not exactly the weather I was hoping for! Thankfully the snow stopped on my drive out to Rachel’s parents house, but it was still a chilly day.
I loved that Rachel chose to get ready at her parents house as it has so much more meaning. Rachel and Brian got married at the gorgeous Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Darien,IL. From there we made a stop at Lake Katherine for photos. Despite the never ending winter it was still a gorgeous setting. You would never know from these photos how cold everyone was. I need to give a big thank you to Rachel, Brian and the entire wedding party for toughing out the 40 degree weather for me!
From there it was off to the reception at The Odyssey Club in Tinley Park were we partied the night away! I’m a sucker for uplighting as I feel it changes the whole feel of the room and this one was no exception! Love all the pink!
Congratulations to Rachel and Brian! Here are some of my favorites from the day!
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Time to get the dress on! A big thanks to my amazing assistant Robyn for these next few images. I headed off to the church with the guys and she stayed with Rachel and girls:) Gotta love having 2 photographers!
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In the meantime I was shooting the guys….
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And the girls are on their way to the church!
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Rachel is a special ed teacher and one of her students had the pleasure of announcing her about to walk down the aisle!
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Time for the reception!!!
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Cupcakes!!!!
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Loved their table numbers. Each one had a different fun fact about their relationship!
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First Dance
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Partytime!!
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A big thanks to the gorgeous lady below for introducing me to Rachel and Brian! Thanks Meghan!
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And last, but not least me and the newlyweds!
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Ceremony Venue: Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Darien,IL
Reception Venue: The Odyssey Country Club in Tinley Park
Photographer : Becky Brown Photography
Hair and Makeup: Goddess Effect
Flowers: J and H Decor
Cupcakes: Molly’s Cupcakes
Dress: Galina Signature by David’s Bridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: Vera Wang by David’s Bridal
Meet Barb – one of the most amazing ladies I’ve had the pleasure of knowing in my life. We played volleyball together back at IU and I can’t tell you how lucky Ali is to have found her …. and how he found her is an interesting story in itself haha! Let’s just say it involved Barb having just moved to Cincy and not remembering how to get to her apartment, some allegedly missing shoes, and a nice guy driving a cab who drove her home that just happened to be Ali. (You’ll have to check in with them for the full story) She can always, always make me laugh and has such a big heart. I consider myself very lucky to be her friend 🙂 And I must say that I loved getting to know Ali a little better this weekend as well and he is such a wonderful guy. I’m so happy these two found each other!
So naturally I was thrilled when she called me about shooting her upcoming August wedding. Although they live in Cincinnati they decided to take a little weekend getaway to Chicago for their engagement session. When we planned this for mid April I wasn’t anticipating the winter that wouldn’t end. I have to give them credit for toughing out the cold and the rain (even though the forecast said 0% chance) for this session. And not only toughing it out, but laughing and having a good time as well! I’m sure the trip to Starbucks to warm us up and fill our need for caffiene didn’t hurt!
Congratulations to Barb and Ali! I can’t wait for you wedding in August!
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One of my favorites below:)
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It was drizzling during most of this session, but this is when the rain really kicked it up a notch…..
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We stopped in Starbucks for a quick warm up and then back to the hotel for a few to dry out!
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And then it was off to Millenium Park!
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And off to the bean!
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Getting crazy inside the bean!
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What’s a good rain session without a puddle reflection shot?
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