Liz & Sean are Married! Chicago: South Shore Cultural Center Wedding

A few weekends ago I had the honor of photographing my friend Liz as she married her guy Sean. Their ceremony and celebration was at the South Shore Cultural Center on the south shore of Chicago and I was blown away at how beautiful it was. The whole day was perfect! It down poured while I was on my way to meet Liz & the girls and I was a little worried we wouldn't be able to do outdoor portraits. But it stopped as soon as I got to Liz's house and didn't rain the rest of the evening! I'll let the photos show my favorite highlights from their beautiful day. 

Sean gave Liz's daughter a ring also, when he asked Liz to marry him. *Heart exploding*

Liz's friend (also a Courtney!) did the flowers for their big day and they were incredibly beautiful. Every detail was perfect!

STUNNER!!!

Married!

Liz surprised Sean with a taco truck at the end of the night for him and all of their guests. It was a huge hit! 

Congratulations, Liz, Sean and Kate - I loved photographing your day and getting to witness something so special!

Surprise Chicago Proposal & Engagment Session!

Yikes, it's been so quiet over here on the blog! I've had the busiest month of my career and have been so swamped with shooting and editing that the blog has been a bit neglected. Oops! Let me take you back to last month, though, with the sweetest proposal I've ever photographed! It happened at Buckingham Fountain here in Chicago. Winter was still hanging on at this point, and it was drab, except for some blue flowers surrounding the fountain. Longest winter ever. Period. In fact, as I write this on May 22nd, it's still practically winter. My heat has been turned back on and I was freezing at an engagement session tonight. Come on, spring, get it together! 

Anyway, last month the stars aligned and Adam proposed to beautiful Karen at Buckingham Fountain on a grey day here in Chicago. The moment she said yes, though, the sun immediately came out shining in full force! It was beautiful! He was a bit sneaky with his proposal, and pulled out a puzzle piece when they first got to the fountain. This threw her off as he gave her a sweet speech about her being the missing piece to his puzzle and then he got down on one knee. She was SO surprised! One of my favorite moments was when she first saw the ring! Another favorite moment happened right after she saw me! She was so surprised, and caught off-guard, and then the reality of what just happened hit her and her eyes welled up. Adam pulled her in and I was *possibly* crying behind the camera! SO sweet! Their dog Gambini was also along for the ride but he was SO over photos.

Favorite! That backlight...

Congratulations Adam & Karen! Nice job on the surprise, Adam :)

Another Trip Around the Sun

Last Thursday was my birthday and I have spent a lot of time since then reflecting. On the past year, the future and my life in general up to this point. I am so incredibly lucky that I get to do what I do and meet so many incredible people on my journey. I want to thank you for following along and supporting me. For sharing your experiences with me, for trusting me to be in your face in such important moments in your life. I take a lot of things in this life for granted, but not how appreciative I am of your love and support and how wonderful it is to be able to tell your stories. Keep your email eyes peeled this month for a fun contest I'll be doing in honor of another trip around the sun! Much love to you!