a small share from this lovely session with one of the best couples ever. i love an easy going couple!

dont they have the best smiles?

I will share more when I return from my family break, very exciting things are coming!

my good friend paula has been talking about doing a recreation of her wedding day for a while now. she was not that thrilled with her pictures and thought it would be fun to include the boys. she called the rialto and asked them to put their names up and rented the rolls royce. they all got dressed up…let’s all take a moment to swoon over paula’s dress……

and we got to work. we had a very tight time constraint. i sort of felt i was playing a crazy game of minute to win it. but i am thrilled with the outcome.

paula, you are gorgeous! we sneaked on stage :0 l o v e the carnothing make b- man happier than being in a carmy favorite family shota firetruck pulled up for a call right in front of us. perfect timing to grab the boys attentionlove this serieswe snuck into the candy shop for a few photos at the end. g is becoming such a little man

Last Sunday I got to photograph Stacy and Mike’s sweet wedding at The Landing in Lockport. The day could not have been more perfect…70 degrees in November in Chicago is unheard of.

Stacy looked fabulous in her ankle length dress and lovely flowing hair. The details of this wedding were simple and sweet.

By the way Mike looks at Stacy, I would say he fell hard and just adores her.

can i just tell you how excited i am about shooting this wedding next july? their creative spirits and love for each other is amazing. the wedding will take place at a family home (which is where the wine cellar is…yay!). the details they are planning will be images worthy of a magazine and Pinterest.

for they engagement photos, we went to a local quart turned beach for the canoe shots. then we went to find the perfect oak tree in a field. i had to look it up, but the oak symbolizes: courage, happiness in marriage, health, prosperity, and strength.

congrats again, and i am so honored to be apart of your day!  so serious
so beautiful! maybe my favorite

my uncle got married the beginning of this month. it was the most perfect day. all their closest friends and family was there….
all the kids got a different color sand to pour into a jar. love that idea!ava and her papa sharing their favorite cocktail. my uncle keith and my beautiful cousinsmary and her beautiful childrenpre wedding coloring

love the way he is looking at her

my gram
lighting candles for those that have pastone for our grandfather some sort of inside joke they wrote their own vowsowen and his papa…

such a sweet momentmary and her best friends

another sweet moment. my cousin holding ava and our grandmaO W E  N!my gram and her grandkids and great grand kids. ava is thrilled

my brother and his lovely girl

Here is a quick sneak peek of an amazing wedding Maggie Cuprisin and I shot last month.

This wedding took place at the Aloft in Bolingbrook and Montefiori in Lemont. The amazing flowers and decor was by Sarah Davis of Elizabeth Wray Design.

mark and jackie are friends of tom and i. mark an old neighbor and jackie an old co-worker. one night a few years back, tom and i went out with some of my co workers and our neighbors. mark and jackie saw each other and the rest is history. jackie went to leave the bar and mark chased after her for her number…jackie jokes she has been chasing him ever since. but we know that isn’t completely true. you can tell just from these photos how much he adores jackie. and same with her.

jackie and mark are planning their wedding in mexico next june.

getting the jitters outthey have the most amazing cedar horse barn on their property.

i asked jackie if she had boots, and when she said yes, i asked her why they were not on her feet!

oh and meet bella. the most fabulous pup this side of i-80
thank god for tom. he added to the comedic relief during the session. while we were in the barn he started making horse noises as he walked around. when asked why the heck he did that…”i felt this place needed some horse sound effects”yep, tom made the horse noise againi told mark to give me “the look” he replied “I have been working on this look for ten years”jackie you are beautiful! t mark is a hunter. i knew it would make him happy to take a full family picthere was this amazing spot with tons of cotton. thanks to tom we got some of it to blow around downtown frankfort for some glam shots  heaven!we had such a great night and tom and i can not wait for their wedding! love you guys! 

you have seen pictures from our travels to ireland in past blog posts here and here.

but i know this is the post you have all been waiting for.

the wedding.

so grab yourself an irish coffee or a pint of Guinness and enjoy!

carolyn and i met working at the salon. we became friends almost instantly. while i was on maternity leave with ava, she would call and tell me about this guy she was seeing. “he is such a sparkle face” she would tell me. which is the highest form of flattery in carolyn language. when i met pat, i knew he was perfect for carolyn and truly adored her.

and here we are three years later, in ireland, celebrating their perfect match.

i had to watermark these with tom as well. he really rocked this wedding and i was amazed at the shots he got. (i guess he had a good teacher ) either way, i think it might be time to get this man a camera of his own!

their story

in their own words

Carolyn: I was at the South Side Irish parade and heard cheering. I was thinking, oh the mayor must be coming. But no, it was Pat MacKenzie. I knew him from high school and have not seen him in years. I knew I had to spend time with this guy who had such a presence.

She says every day with Pat is a surprise, he has the biggest heart, and makes her a better person.

Pat: I fell in love with carolyn because she is a genuine, free spirit. We have so much fun together, and enjoy getting the most out of our lives with one another. She accepts me for who I am, and makes me a better man. She is my best friend and soul mate. I am truly blessed to have Carolyn Marie in my life.

The Engagement: it was a fall day and Carolyn was exhausted from work. She rushed home and got ready to go out to dinner in the city with Pat. Pat was dressed up a little more than usual so Carolyn ran inside to add a little more “sparkle”. After dinner Pat told Carolyn they were going to an outdoor concert. Before Carolyn knew it, she was standing in front of Buckingham Fountain, in the rain, and Pat was on one knee asking if she would be his best friend for the rest of her life.

The first dance: Stand By Me. They chose this song because two weeks after they started dating, Carolyn’s brother was learning to play the song on his guitar. Pat and Carolyn started dancing in her garage. From that moment on Stand By me was their song

black tulips were all over. tom and i picked one the day before the wedding and the ends started to curl up like this! i can not get over how perfect these roses were for carolyn love her ringcarolyn searched for months before the wedding for vintage broaches for each of the bridesmaids perfectionfeathers are huge in europefabulous shoescarolyn, you are stunningcarolyn rented these umbrellas from a cleaners in killarney! these two are so cute The St. Mary’s Cathedral i told tom, he had to get one shot….one shot out of the whole day

pat’s face when he saw carolyn for the first time my favorites mob!and tom really proved himself with these two images. (i have to give him credit, when he told carolyn to throw up her veil….i rolled my eyes)yes i talk to myself…. i always feel this huge relief when ceremonies are over. to me he ceremony is the most nerve racking part. so i must either be taking a deep breath or saying “okay, next is….”
after the ceremony we headed to Ross Castle for those of us that know tom and i, we can’t pass up a good liquor shot…..

Then took a jaunting car ride back to the reception

love this one…(and it’s tom’s!) the happiest man in the worldwe had to try itwe all want to live in this sweet little cottagewe had to take a little “hike” after the horse and carriages.

these are tom’s reception!

majlpfog!it really is….showing off the ringcarolyn stained and stamped all of these sweet little gift boxesthe planet color family besties

yes i am shortwe think we are cool (and no we did not both plan on wearing purple)uncle “shut the front door” jackthis is carolyn showing off how cute this little bell waspat’s mom and dad’s song started playing during dinnerfirst dance, choreographed our cameras were hijakedcrazy irish shot
waitstophammer timeooo oooo oooohoff the clock!  thank you everyone for taking the time to view these images. and thank you to pat and carolyn for giving us this opportunity. we love you so much!

and there are wood ships, the ships that sail the sea.

But the best ships are friendships, and may they always be.

here are the rest of the images from our trip to ireland. i am just finishing up the wedding photos and will post them soon!

i had had the pleasure of getting to shoot one of my oldest friend’s engagement photos. everything about this session was perfect. they got engaged at the library and it was only fitting to do their session there. we got in a little trouble for sitting on the floor…lol! they are an amazing couple and their love just glows. congrats j and a, many blessings to you!

oh and they re created an image of a’s grandparents below…how cool is that???