Katherine and Jonathan were married at the historic and oh so gorgeous Pfister Hotel. The elegance and class of the hotel were a perfect accompaniment to this lovely couple on their big day. Their love for one another is abundant and overflowing – making their wedding an absolute joy to capture.

The amazing flowers were by Bobby of Marius Bell Floral.

Congratulations Katherine and Jon ~ your wedding day was absolutely gorgeous and made so by how in love you are. I wish you all the best in your new life together (and lots of babies )

♥,

tracy

previous post: janie & jack holiday portrait promotion

Carolyn and Kevin were married in an intimate ceremony at Flourish Studios in Chicago. It was truly an expression of them – casual, full of style, unique details and heartfelt emotions. It was an absolute pleasure to capture their beautiful ceremony.

Loved, loved, loved Carolyn’s whole look. Just wait until you see the rest of her dress!!

The kids in the bridal party. Yes, it was my idea to do the crazy faces but they were totally game!

They had a friend perform the ceremony – shot of Colin rehearsing just one last time before the ceremony.

Loved the grey and yellow color scheme and that the bridesmaids carried pinwheels!

Here she comes! They did not see one another prior to the ceremony so this was Kevin’s first glimpse of his bride.

As soon as the rings went on the fingers, Kevin moved in to kiss his bride, he just couldn’t wait!

Do you see the tears streaming down Carolyn’s cheek? These two are so in love and so happy!

After the ceremony, all the guests – including their dog Lola – headed to the reception just a few blocks away waving ribbon wands and a few pinwheels. A few guests of honor got to ride in style in pedicabs.

Congratulations Carolyn & Kevin – your ceremony was just as cool as you two are! Wishing you much love, joy and laughter in your life together.

♥,

tracy

previous post: stephanie & steve ~ wedding photography 

Every wedding is unique, but every now and then you get something really fun. I had an absolute blast shooting Steve and Stephanie’s wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago.  Again, major props go out to rockstar Deonna of Deonna Caruso Photography for having me as her second shooter. Love you, girl – thanks for having me part of Stephanie and Steve’s rockin’ wedding! The Hard Rock Hotel was such an amazing place to shoot in – loved it!

Steve – the groom. And the best man – Waterbed. I swear to god, that is his name. I refrained from asking how he got that name – but aren’t you dying to know?!

Steve’s dog Tucker is all decked out for the ceremony. I know, completely awesome!

The party favors were drumsticks and guitar picks…

No guestbooks here! Sentiments were left on record albums or the guitar.

previous post: jennifer & daniel ~ chicago wedding photography

I had the honor and pleasure of second shooting Jennifer and Daniel’s wedding for the f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s Deonna Caruso.

I am so lucky to have Deonna in my life! She gave me a chance to work with her when I was first starting off, and despite screwing up royally on my first job with her (damn flash!), she gave me another shot. And now thanks to her, I can rock it! She has taught me so much, her patience and willingness to share her knowledge with me has been such an important part of my growth as a photographer. Deonna is an amazing photographer – and an absolute honor to work with.

So this is the wedding day of Daniel and Jennifer, two of the nicest people you can ever know. It was such a joy to capture their beautiful day!

Quite possibly the CUTEST flower girl and ring bearer ever.

previous post: brendon ~ chicago newborn photography

Another fab wedding with the fab Deonna Caruso! Lucky me got to hang with the guys while they got ready at the Chicago Marriott Schaumburg- this was a fun group of guys! After all the ties were tied and the cuffs were linked, we captured  a few group shots before heading to the ceremony held at St James Parish in Arlington Heights.

Ted was a little nervous before the ceremony…

And Colleen became a tad emotional before the big walk down the aisle. 

Colleen had a little trouble getting Ted’s ring on!

Back to the Chicago Marriott Schaumburg for the beautiful reception…

Congratulations Colleen & Ted ~ wishing you a lifetime of love and happiness as a married couple!

Rebecca’s beautiful bouquet from A Stem Above

It was such an honor to capture Rebecca and Tim’s beautiful wedding ceremony held at the historic St. Benedict’s. I find it truly a privilege to witness and document such important days of peoples lives. I’m so passionate about what I do and so grateful for every opportunity to do it, so let me start with a big thank you to Rebecca and Tim for having me, and a huge shout out to Laura Hamilton for referring me!

And it was such a lovely wedding! Rebecca and Tim are such a great couple, so very much in love and both have such big hearts. They met while volunteering, I think it’s so cool that they found love while working for the greater good. Such good karma!

Rebecca and Tim decided to wait until the walk down the aisle to see each other for the first time that day. I think it adds a whole other level of anticipation and nervous energy when following that tradition. I arrived just as the ladies were getting dressed, which is one of my favorite parts of a wedding day because of all the emotions – nerves, anticipation, excitement, stress, joy…. Rebecca was so poised and seemed so calm but I know she was bursting with excitement!

Rebecca was not only becoming a wife that day, she also becoming step mom to Megan. She put Megan in charge of picking out the bridesmaid dresses, a huge responsibility, right?? Awesome job, Megan – loved the purple!  I’m quite certain it wasn’t just the bride who felt like a princess.

Rebecca’s dress was so pretty, silk covered buttons down the back and a band of subtle lace and beading at the bust – loved it!

Rebecca’s passion is music and she works for the Chicago Symphony. Perfect combo for amazing ceremony music –  it was gorgeous.

Here comes Megan!

Tim awaits his bride…

Here she comes – stunning!

Awwww, I love all the emotion captured here.

St. Benedict’s is a gorgeous church!

Rebecca and her grandmother – love this shot. It makes me miss my own grandmother.

Exchanging rings…

The kiss!

Mr. and Mrs. McFadden!! Look how happy they are!

The bridal party –  pretty bridesmaid dresses!

Might be my favorite image…

After the ceremony we did a quick portrait session at Montrose Beach…

No, wait a minute – this is my favorite. Just look at how Rebecca is just radiating so much joy – love it!

Rebecca and Tim – I wish you all the best, and just know that your lives together will be filled with so much love and joy. Thank you for an amazing day.

♥,

tracy

previous post: hamiltons ~ chicago family portraits

I met Gina in August of 1988 as we lined up alphabetically for the first day of sorority rush. I looked at her name tag in disbelief – she was a Petersen just like me, the first time I had met a S-E-N Petersen that wasn’t a relative. We pledged the same house, became sorority sisters and lifelong friends. We’re “Petey sisters”. There are few people in the world who can make me laugh as hard as Gina can or whom I admire more for her amazing strength and grace.

Gina and Jesse were married in an intimate, outdoor ceremony on the golf course at the Lakewood Country Club in Lakewood, CO surrounded by friends and family. To capture their touching, beautiful and “one helluva party” wedding was so much fun!!!

Check out this cool little slideshow that tells the story of their day….

Some of my favorites…

Gina’s three boys served as the best men. How cool are their Bronco jerseys that say Best Man and then spell out the wedding date “6-18-11″ between the three of them – so cute!

Jesse and his posse – a great group of guys. I got to into the forbidden men’s “no women allowed” lounge/locker room/bar to get these shots. I felt all sneaky.

As the ceremony start time got closer, Gina started to get a bit nervous as she went through her vows again once last time. Her sweet son Noah came up just to stand by her, be near her. And I could see how his presence helped to calm her down. It was really sweet moment.

Jesse going through the rules once last time with the best men, ring bearer and ushers before the night begins. The last rule was to have fun!

Such a beautiful place to have a ceremony!

The officiant was a friend of Jesse’s who earned his credentials online to perform the ceremony. He did a stellar job.

The ceremony was very reflective of their personalities, so of course there was laughter.

I don’t think there was a dry eye out there when Gina and Jesse read their personalized vows to each other, it was of course an emotional moment for her (super awesome) Mom.

the kiss!!

what a gorgeous wedding party, huh?!

All who know her will agree -this image is SOOO Gina!!

Jesse ~ welcome to the XO circle of love, we are so glad to have you!

I love you Gina and I am so happy for you! Your wedding absolutely rocked!!

♥,

petey #2

Yay, another sign that spring is finally here – wedding season is beginning!

I had the honor and pleasure to shoot my first wedding of 2011 with the fabulous Laura of Laura Meyer Photography. I have met so many truly talented photographers, wonderful people and great friends through my photography and Laura is someone who is all three. Her work is amazing, and she is so generous in sharing her photography and business knowledge with me – I’m really lucky to know her.  Thank you for having me as your second shooter Laura, love you!

Jenna and Iain’s lovely, intimate affair was held in the awesome 39th floor penthouse ballroom of  Hotel 71. Ah-mazing panoramic views of the city… down the Chicago River, Lake Michigan and some of Chicago’s most beautiful architecture. It’s a gorgeous up there. They had a super fast, but very emotional ceremony. They kept things simple, and made their wedding all about the love. It was so up my alley, and a joy to capture and witness. Here are a few of my favorites…

Groom in a kilt – thumbs up. Check out those bad boots!

We have rings (absolutely LOVE Jenna’s ring), vows, champagne and an authentic bag piper – the groom’s father from Scotland. Let’s get the ceremony started!

The groom’s nephew Oliver sneaking into the candy bar before the ceremony… His mom and I both saw him at the same time and started heading towards him from opposite sides of the room – me to snap pics and she to reprimand him. I talked her into letting him go for it so I could get a few pics and I’m so glad she let me because I think they’re really adorable shots, if I may say so myself!

Just moments away from walking down the aisle…

I absolutely love the range of emotions captured in these – fear, strength, calm…

Look at them looking at each other – L.O.V.E.

As the Bishop of London said, every wedding is a royal wedding and it’s so true when it’s all about the love.