In my opinion, marriage proposals need just a few key elements… romance, originality, surprise, thoughtfulness. Nate’s proposal to Hillary had all those, and more. I was already impressed that Nate thought to have the proposal photographed, but that is just one of many details Nate thoughtfully considered and planned.

Nate chose the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool as the site of the proposal because of their love for the outdoors and the beauty of nature, a perfect spot that reflected them as a couple. And bonus points for it being an absolutely stunning background for our images. He schemed for weeks, setting up a fake dinner with his boss as the reason for their outing. He chose an incredibly gorgeous engagement ring. He had Hillary’s mom take her for a manicure earlier in the week (I told you he was good!) He hired cello and violin musicians to play their song, Ray LaMontagne’s “You Are The Best Thing” during the proposal.

The musicians and I took our places and waited for Nate and Hillary to arrive. I was in my “undercover” outfit of Lululemon workout gear so as not to stand out as a photographer. Who me? I’m just a girl out for a walk, taking pictures of flowers – nothing suspicious going on here!

They arrived and the music started…

And she said yes!

The looks on Hillary’s face are just awesome, right? Complete surprise, madly in love, totally giddy – and everything all at once. I am a photographer because I love to capture, convey and preserve real emotions. And this event was overflowing with them, I was in heaven…

After our time together, they were headed to dinner at Girl and The Goat and the following morning Hillary was whisked away to Vail, Colorado for a long weekend of celebrating.

Yep, pretty perfect. Well done Nate, so very well done.

So here they are, the newly engaged Hillary and Nate… Won’t they will be such a beautiful bride and groom?

Nate and Hillary, it was such a joy and honor to not only witness but be a part of your marriage proposal. A great big congratulations on your upcoming marriage!!

Nida and Nate wanted the beautiful Museum Campus for their engagement photo session backdrop , an area that offers some awesome views of the city and other lovely spots to shoot. They will be getting married this December in Joilet – I love that their engagement photos will have a totally different feel than their wedding images.

Nida is quick to let out a giggle and she has that infectious type of laugh that makes those around her join in. Add to that the fact that Nate couldn’t keep his hands off of her and we had ourselves one fabulous engagement session! Thanks guys – looking forward to capturing your wedding day!

previous post: we’re famous!

Remember Colleen and Andy’s engagement session? I’m proud to say that one of our images from that session was published in Destination Weddings national magazine. I’m feeling all famous – woohooo! But really it’s Andy and his awesome proposal that got us in the magazine – way to go my friend!

previous post: lauren & korey chicago lakefront marriage proposal

next post: nida & nate ~ chicago engagement photography

Korey called me the beginning of January to have me capture his marriage proposal to his girlfriend Lauren. I was so impressed with his foresight and advance planning – I mean a GUY that was making plan three months in advance – impressive, right? And not only was he booking a photographer three months in advance, he already thought out many of the details and decided where he wanted to propose – along the lakefront by the Adler Planetarium so the beautiful Chicago skyline could serve as the backdrop for this momentous occasion. Now I really liked this guy! I was a bit concerned in January that the weather may interfere with his grand plans for an outdoor proposal. Who knew that Chicago was actually going to have a spring this year, let alone the amazing one we’ve experienced so far. April in Chicago is usually filled with grey skies, rain and quite often a snowstorm or two. Not remotely close to a reliable time to plan on outdoor shoot.

We tried to come up with an indoor location that could serve as our weather-induced back up plan. And then we experienced beautiful weather for the majority of March, the weather no longer seemed like it would be an issue – it was going to be gorgeous that day just as it had been for the weeks leading up to it. But as the big day got closer – wouldn’t you know it – gray skies, cooler weather and heavy rain showed up in the forecast. Really? Korey came up with Union Station as our Plan B, and while I’m sure it could have worked just fine, I have to admit that I wasn’t that excited about it. It was just going to be so much better along the lakefront!

As the afternoon of the big day went on, the weather really looked like it was going to effect our plans. The skies were dark and rain squalls were showing on the radar. Korey decided we’d risk it and forge ahead with the Adler location, hoping to get in at least the proposal before the rain started. I arrived about 30 minutes before Korey and Lauren to set up the table with a white table cloth with a ribbon tied around the base, several pillar candles with bows tied on them by Korey (so cute that he even thought of all the little details!), a bouquet of roses and a Mickey & Minnie Mouse bride and groom statue (Lauren is a huge fan of Mickey & Minnie). About five minutes before they were to arrive, the sky brightened up!

I waited for them with my cameras out of sight. Korey walked Lauren along the bend of the lakefront  in front of the Planetarium and Lauren didn’t even notice the table until they came right up on it. Korey got down on one knee and Lauren seemed so confused, and then it hit her…  She let out several “OMG”s and giggles as she realized what was happening. IT WAS SO AWESOME! Such a beautiful thing to witness and be a part of.

After she said yes, we did some portraits to capture some of the glow – these two were radiating love and excitement…

A big congratulations to you Lauren & Korey!! Thanks for having me be a part of your big life event – I absolutely loved it!!

previous post: janie & jack northbrook ~ chicago children photography

This year’s mild winter in Chicago is fantastic for my mental state but I’ve been really wanting to do a photo session in the snow. Finally got my chance last week with the lovely and recently engaged Audra and Dan. These two will have a winter wedding next year and love the season so they were up for braving the cold. We had a gorgeous, sunny day with beautiful blue skies but the temps were in the 20s. Just made it all the easier to get them snuggled up to one another! Not like we really needed too much extra help to keep them close. Audra and Dan didn’t require much prompting get the kissing shots, it seemed like they couldn’t go more than five minutes without sneaking a kiss in.

We decide to do our shoot in the Union Pier, Michigan area, a place of much significance to them as Audra’s family spends a lot of time there each summer. We started our shoot at the Round Barn Winery, one of their favorite wineries along the Lake Michigan shore wine tasting trail. From there we continued to the historic Lakeside Inn and then had a little fun on the beach of Lake Michigan in front of Audra’s family’s summer getaway house. We had a great time (right guys?!) and got some fantastic shots. I am so looking forward to capturing their wedding day next January. Enjoy some of my favorite images…

previous post: katherine & jonathan ~ milwaukee pfister hotel wedding