Intimate Wedding at St. Mary's on the Lake [Uptown - Chicago, IL}

I don’t photograph many weddings anymore but when I do, I only take on intimate weddings & I fall in love all over again with them. Scott & Erika had a beautiful wedding in Uptown at St. Mary’s on the Lake, one of the most gorgeous churches I’ve been to in Chicago. The inside is stunning with golden ceilings, marble columns and awe-inspiring vastness, and the outside has more wonderful columns and arches and amazing places for portraits! Their wedding was the first I’ve photographed since before the pandemic began and while I was nervous, it was summer, numbers were low, I was masked and their wedding was the smallest I’ve ever photographed. It was a dream. Their sweet pup Ripley was even able to join us for some photos outside the church gardens in the beautiful sunlit afternoon. Congratulations to Scott & Erika, and thanks for having me along to document your lovely day.

12 Years Ago I Photographed My First Wedding!

May 17th is a date that will always be incredibly special to me. May 17th, 2008, 12 years ago today, I (begrudgingly!) photographed my very first wedding and started my journey into portrait photography.

Begrudgingly?

Yes! I was on a photographic journey that involved things that didn’t speak; flowers, sunsets, nature, etc. But then a coworker hounded me for MONTHS to photograph his wedding and I turned him down for months. Fast forward to a few weeks before the wedding and he’s still hounding me with no other photographer lined up. I reluctantly agreed. I had no experience, I had no desire to photograph weddings. I took photos of plants, nature and landscapes, for goodness sake! For fun. That was all! People were too complicated, especially high-pressure weddings. I wanted no part! At least that’s what I told myself. I mentioned all of this to him. He still persisted. I caved because I couldn’t bear them not having any photos of their day. I showed up to photograph that wedding, sweating the whole day because I had NO idea what I was doing. Seriously, no idea. Zilch. Zero. Nada. But something happened that magical day. I fell in love. With portrait photography. With weddings. With documenting people, and the big moments in their lives. That day kicked off my career and brought me to where I’m at today.

Shane knew that I had wanted to be a photographer for years, and I think he knew that I needed to be pushed in order to take a chance on myself.

While my journey into documenting people’s lives may not have started in a conventional way and I pushed the idea away for years, I know now that it was purely my fear (of both failing and succeeding) that kept me from pursuing my dream. But he and Victoria saw something that I was too scared to see, and took a chance on me. Yes, I made mistakes that day and I cringe when looking back at my work from the beginning. And yes, I have made many more mistakes along the way but I’ve come a long way, baby! I’ll keep making mistakes. We all do. You can’t grow without making and learning from your mistakes, and it’s all part of the journey.

Happy Anniversary Shane & Victoria!

See my first wedding and my last wedding (2019) below.

I’ve always been all about the details!

For the first time in my career, I’m extremely relieved that I did not have any weddings booked for 2020. My heart goes out to all couples, as well as my fellow photographer friends and all vendors, trying to navigate this stormy season of life right now in what was supposed to be the happiest times of your lives. I’m thinking of you - we’ll all get through this stronger, together.

Dominican Republic Destination Wedding - Jellyfish Restaurant Punta Cana

Is it weird to start a blog post with an apology?! I would like to start by saying I apologize for the sheer volume of photos in this post. I tried SO hard to narrow down Emma & Tito’s sneak peek but this is the best I could do. I’m in love with this wedding and if I could marry Emma & Tito myself, I would! This day was P-E-R-F-E-C-T and I am obsessed. I LOVE how radiant Emma is and I LOVE how Tito looks at her. It makes my heart melt into a giant puddle of goo. Just from the venue and the details alone, I knew this was going to be one of my favorite weddings of all time, but I did not expect it to make me tear up the most I’ve ever done while editing these. (Is it weird that I get teary-eyed while editing my own photos?!) Their first dance/performance was one for the books and the love and support from every single family member and friend was so heartfelt.

Jellyfish Restaurant in Punta Cana was incredible in all ways possible and the food was the best I’ve ever had at any wedding. And I’ve photographed a lot of weddings! If you’re getting married in Punta Cana, you absolutely must add it to your list of places to check out.

Thank you Emma & Tito for having me document your special day and for making me feel like part of your family! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek. Much love, friends!