Giving Back: A Little Announcement

When Jake and I got married, we knew we wanted our little family to be generous of heart, and involved in giving back to our community.  We didn't quite know exactly what that would look like, but soon found a calling in animal welfare and rescue.  We brought home our first foster dog not too long after our wedding, and have been actively fostering homeless animals ever since. To date, we have fostered 93 homeless pets, including 52 dogs, 39 cats and 2 rabbits.  There's a good chance that we'll be throwing ourselves a little party when we hit 100 lives saved!

We are very excited to announce that, going forward, every time a couple books us for their wedding day, Two Birds Photography will be making a donation in their name to one of our favorite rescue organizations: Second City Canine Rescue!  Second City is an incredible organization, one that we are continually impressed with, and proud to be a part of.  We know that these donations will be used to help homeless dogs reach full health, and find amazing forever families.

That feels good.

And you can feel good too, by spreading the word and telling your friends about us!

It is our dream that one day every dog will have a home, and that if someone is looking to add a pet to their family, that they will choose adoption.

Thank you for supporting us on our journey, and thank you for being here to share the news with!

And now, please feast your eyes on a few of the incredible dogs we have fostered and found homes for through Second City Canine Rescue:

xoxo

Jake + Jennifer

2014 Weddings in Review

This post is a few weeks over-due, but we wanted to share it with you anyway. 2014 was a great year for us.  We had the privilege of working with the most incredible clients at some of the most amazing venues and locations.  We are continually amazed at the meaningful connections we make with each of our bride and grooms, and are floored by the moments they let us witness.

This past year, our work was featured by several different wedding blogs, and each time we saw our work online, we were overcome with excitement and pride.  We want to extend a sincere thank you to each of our couples that bragged about us and let their wedding day be shared with such large audiences.

Here are a few weddings that were featured this year: Karis and Dirk's Heritage Prairie Farm Wedding featured on Style Me Pretty

Allison and Kyle's Chicago Wedding featured on Style Unveled

Lisa and Arturo's Honky Tonk BBQ Wedding featured on Style Me Pretty

Katie and Dan's Sophisticated Black and White Wedding featured on Elizabeth Anne Designs

Michelle and Nick's Traditional Meets Ballroom Wedding featured on Style Me Pretty

Julie and Jerome's Vintage Inspired Chicago Wedding featured on Style Me Pretty

Julie and Jerome's Vintage inspired Post-Wedding Portraits featured on Style Me Pretty

Brittany and Frank's Wedding at Hotel Palomar featured on Style Unveiled

Elizabeth and Matt's Romantic Chic City Wedding featured on Le Magnifique

Sinda and Jerry's Paris Themed Wedding featured on Style Unveiled

and last but not least, Lauren and Brian's Elegant Summer Wedding at the Armour House featured on Style Me Pretty

As we look ahead to 2015, we know there are big things in store for us, and we can't wait to share it all with you!

Please take a peek at these love-soaked images from 2014.

2015, we are ready for you!

xoxo

Jake and Jennifer

Gwen and Patrick's Wedding

It's been a while since our last post, but we have a good excuse!  Meet Milo Joel, our perfect and beautiful third-born son.  He was born on December 12th, weighing 8lbs and measuring 21.5" long.  We are completely over the moon for him and have been enjoying our time getting to know this precious little man.

We are now ready to get back into the swing of things, and bring you more wedding prettiness!

So, without further adieu, take a peek at Gwendalyn and Patrick's wedding that was chock full of gorgeous inspiration!

Gwen and Patrick had a sweet, heartfelt ceremony filled with love and laughter.  We had so much fun doing their outdoor portraits, despite the wind!  They and their bridal party were so much fun to work with!

Their pretty reception at Blumen Gardens was overflowing with all the things we love, including twinkle lights and macaroons!

Take a look at a few of our favorite images from their sweet day:

-Jake and Jennifer

The Animals We've Fostered

As many of you know, we usually have a foster animal or two hanging around the office. Fostering is a wonderful and super rewarding way to make a HUGE difference in the lives of homeless animals.  We began fostering in 2007, but took a break when we started having kids.  In 2012, however, we got back into it and in the past year and a half alone we have found homes for 24 kittens, 1 rabbit and 4, going on 5...WAIT, no make that 10+ dogs, because our current pup is expecting puppies!!

These are a few photos of some of the animals we have helped to find homes for -- starting with Millie, our current foster dog:

As it is the beginning of a New Year and many of us have resolved to do something positive with our lives, I would encourage you to think about fostering!  Make a difference!  Save a life!!

Above all, if you're thinking of adding a new pet to your family, please make adoption the only option.

xoxo

-Jennifer

Recap of our 2011

Hello, 2012! This past year has been an absolute whirlwind for us - both personally and professionally.

We moved our home and business from Kankakee, IL to Westmont, IL to be closer to the majority of our clients and to our family.  And although we are still swearing we will never move again, we couldn't be happier with where we are at!

This summer we welcomed our new baby, Bear Lewis, into the family! He is such a joy to be around.  At only 5 months old, he is absolutely full of laughs and smiles!  He is an amazing little guy, and has already proven himself to be so strong after undergoing cranial surgery last month to correct a birth defect in his skull.

Graysen turned two this year.  He is so sweet, gentle and inquisitive. But, to this day, he remains the single hardest little person we have ever tried to photograph.  As a child of two photographers, one would think he would just give in and resign himself to a life of shutters snapping at him, but he resists it as best he can!

Two Birds Photography has had an epic year filled with incredible weddings and wonderful people.

We can't thank our friends, or our past and present clients enough for all the amazing people that you have referred to us.  We do very little advertising and rely almost solely on word of mouth.  Thank you, thank you.  It's because of you that we had such an incredible year!

We are hoping to do more blog posts on some of these weddings over the quite winter months, but we want to share with you images from each of our weddings this year.  Each of these weddings were beautiful and unique in it their own ways and we are so blessed to have been able to share in so many bride's and groom's special days.

Happy, 2012!

♥ Jake and Jennifer