Along with their great energy and attitudes, they also managed to have one of the prettiest weddings of the year. They were married at the peak of fall at Meagan’s home church in Western Springs, where her dad directs their wonderful music program. After that we returned to the city for a reception at Cafe Brauer, and with its location in the heart of Lincoln Park., it was a gorgeous setting for this autumn day We were rushing to get back to the city in rush hour, and as the light was quickly dwindling, I became nervous that we’d run out of sunlight, but the fates intervened and we were instead met with one of the most beautiful sunsets of the year. I also haven’t been sharing many bouquets this year but had to post some from this wedding, designed by Stems—just so gorgeous!

This past year brought with it so many incredible weddings—preparing this post I almost can’t believe some of these events took place this year! I would be remiss not to thank everyone who allowed me to be a part of their lives this year—Annie & Brian, Amy & David, Lindsey & Mike, Resmi & Samir, Hadley & Matt, Whitney & John, Dan & Keila, Sundeep & Megan, Kat & Joff, Diana & Mike, Laura & Elliot, Nick & Rebecca, Matt & Mindy, Nick & Maggie, Danielle & Eric, Rachel & Daniel, Vin & Reena, Cassidy & Adam, Abby & Michael, Katy & Alex, Arun & Lauren, Meagan & Drew, Kat & John, Erica & Tom, Mary Kay & John Mark, as well as Christina & Mike, Umberto & Emily, Morgan & Stefan, Jerry & Perla, Suzanne & Matt, Lori, Meghan & Brian, and all of the incredible 2012 clients I’ve already had a pleasure to work with. Thank you thank you for all being so open, trusting, kind and an absolute pleasure to spend my weekends with. :) And, as always, an enormous thanks to all the other incredible photographers and vendors I’ve had the pleasure to work with this year, as well as friends and loved ones who put up with my kooky schedule and have always been there for support and levity during the thickest of seasons.

Cheers and Happy New Year—May this one be the best!

I had many things I wanted or needed to post about, so here is a big monstrous info and update post!

2012 Dates
I am almost completely booked for the year. I am accepting *possibly* three more weddings max. If you are interested in a date, please feel free to get in touch.

Travel
Last year was unusually low on travel for me compared to years past, but it looks like this year is back to my usual array of locales. In the upcoming months, I’ll be in New York, San Francisco, London, and possibly Savannah. I’ll also be down in Saint Louis in the summer, most likely western Europe once or twice more this summer, and DC in the fall. If you would like a session or shoot in any of these locations, please feel free to contact me as that can usually be arranged with little or no travel fees.

Studio Coordinator Position
In the coming six weeks or so, I am looking to hire a studio coordinator. This is a non-shooting, non-photographer position. Duties include handling emails, helping to arrange my schedule, assisting clients in the planning of their wedding day schedules, assisting with album production process, managing press inquiries, packaging and shipping prints and albums, invoicing, and just generally being a great guide for my clients and assistant for me. If you have graphic design experience, there are other duties you can take on; this is a very customizable position. This individual should have fantastic writing skills, great phone demeanor, the ability to anticipate what people need, and be *extremely* detail-oriented. Part time, starting around 10 hours and moving up to about 15-20 from May-November. Remote position but needs to be Chicago based as you’ll need to be in studio to ship prints every once in a while. I’ll be doing a more dedicated search but wanted to post it here, as one never knows. If you’re interested and think you’re a great fit, please shoot me an email.

A City Wedding
A new project I’ve been working on with a colleague the past few months is launching on Monday. We are so very excited about this and hope you’ll check it out if you, like us, have grown weary of only seeing weddings in outdoor fields and on romantic hilltops and also believe great weddings happen indoors, in cities. Check it out here.

Boudoir Weekend
I’m most likely doing a boudoir weekend in March. If you’re a client of mine, I will send you an email, but if you’re a non-client and interested, please shoot me an email and I will send you details when the time comes!

(Fairly) Recent Press
I haven’t updated press in *so* very long, but if you’re curious to see some past weddings, check out these great features from the past while.

Lindsey + Mike on Snippet and Ink

Dan & Keila on Style Me Pretty

Maggie & Nick on Elizabeth Anne Designs

Katy & Alex on Style Me Pretty Illinois

Laura & Elliot on Style Me Pretty Illinois

Resmi + Samir were also in The Knot (national) Winter 2011

And Nick & Rebecca’s engagement photo won an Honorable Mention in Junebug Weddings’ Best of the Best Photo Contest

Thanks to everyone for these great features (and for having such beautiful weddings!).

Hope everyone has a great start to the year! Look forward to hopefully many posts over the coming weeks!

I had never been to Peoria before and really had no idea what to expect, unsure if our portrait locations would present some challenges or make for lovely images. I was blown away by the natural beauty—I am a city girl through and through I think, but on the way down to the wedding I kept shouting out to my assistant Casey about how gorgeous all the fields were and how it was almost all just too much! It was so so gorgeous. Following the wedding, we took some photos at the ice cream shop that Michael’s dad owns, visited a road that Teddy Roosevelt called the most beautiful drive in America, and then on the way to the reception, I asked Abby and Michael if they wouldn’t mind jumping into a field of soybeans for a few shots. They were so wonderfully game and we created some of my favourite images of the year.

All in all, such a lovely day with truly the sweetest of couples and the nicest of families. Thank you again, you two!

Neither Kat nor Joff were from Chicago but decided to hold a sort of destination wedding over the holiday weekend in Chicago, a central city for out of towners. When walking around the city looking for venues they happened upon the cultural center and were instantly taken by its beauty. Kat is Persian, so some Persian wedding traditions were incorporated into a blended ceremony. This was my first time photographing a Persian wedding and I found it to be so lovely, with such great symbolism. The first part of the day was a little hectic, but I found the ceremony to really bring everything back into focus—these two are one of the most kind and thoughtful couples I have met, and you could really feel how connected they were throughout the day and with how much intention they said their vows. Following the ceremony a beautiful reception followed, with tons and tons of dancing! Joff and his groomsmen were hilarious throughout the day and four of them had rehearased a special dance to an *NSYNC song for later in the reception, just before mini milkshakes and creme brulees were served.  Just such a beautiful day!

The great team at Kehoe did a wonderful job styling this stunning, stunning event; Blue Plate provided many courses of stunning dishes; and Lindsay Stein at Designer Event Chicago pulled the day together with ease. Many thanks to Tasha Schalk for her assistance!