Hannah and Eli

I met up with Hannah and Eli in Chicago at North Ave Beach for a few city skyline shots. North Ave is one of my favorite views of the city because you can get right up to the water and there’s nothing else in the way but skyscrapers. This was our second attempt to do photos here because the first time we tried we ran into a freak summer storm that was hovering only above Chicago! But the weather was perfect this time around and we were able to get a ton of photos done. Not only did we do North Ave but we walked over to the Nature Boardwalk for a completely different look to their portraits. Here’s a few favorites from Hannah and Eli’s engagement session! -Jake

Kara and Chris

Kara and Chris were the last couple I did a consult with in person before the world shut down back in March. Fortunately, with a few changes, they were able to keep their original date and still get married this year! They got married in a beautiful old chapel called St. John the Evangelist in St. John, Indiana with their close family and friends. We did portraits at the flower garden that is part of the St. John the Evangelist parish. The garden was created by one of the priests at the church and it was breathtaking. The location was picked out by Chris and it was refreshing to see the groom as into doing portraits as the bride! Actually, the whole bridal party was into it and we all had a ton of fun before heading to the reception. Backyard receptions are my jam and Kara and Chris had a tent set up at her mom’s house. Kara had a vision for her wedding and to see it come to life was amazing. The flowers were done by Monarch Flowers and the rustic table and chairs were from AAYS Rental. It was perfection! There were so many great moments during their wedding. A couple of my favorites were when the priest told them to kiss and they didn’t hear him (they shouldn’t feel bad about that cause I didn’t hear him either!) and when Chris’ niece and nephews gave an emotional toast at the reception. It was such a great day!! -Jake

Huge thanks to Rachel Langlois for helping me photograph. She's such a talented photographer and I am grateful for her help on this day!! You can check out her work here.

Vendors:

Catering: Ace Catering Company out of Dyer, Indiana

Rentals: AAYS Rental- farm tables, chairs and tent , whiskey barrels, dance floor- Mishawaka, Indiana. 

Flowers: Monarch Flowers St. John , IN 

Hair: Ora & Sara from the Scissori Salon

Make up: Crystal and Kylie from Merle Norman Studio

Dj: Dan Gin

Dress: Here Comes the Dress- Justin Alexander -Venice ...Chesterton, Indiana

Photo location: St. John the Evangelist flower garden!

Reception: Debra and Newton Sewells backyard!

Mike and Kate

Kate and Mike hired me to do portraits of the two of them with their gorgeous golden retrievers Madison and Monroe. I got lots of great shots of their pups but I think the dogs were more interested in sniffing around and chewing up sticks. Thank you Kate and Mike for having me do these photos for you!

Jamie and Michael

Jamie and Michael got married on a beautiful late summer day at St. Emily’s in Mount Prospect surrounded by their families. After their church ceremony we stopped at Ryerson Woods Forest Preserve which was conveniently along the way to the reception. Ryerson is a great option for portraits in the Lincolnshire/Wheeling area as it has lots of trails, prairie views, and natural beauty. Their reception was held at the lakeside pavilion at the Lincolnshire Marriott resort. I love this venue because the reception room is all floor to ceiling windows which lets in tons of natural light. Instead of doing their dancing indoors they had music and their first dances outside on the patio which was a great alternative to the traditional dance floor. I had an amazing time capturing Jamie and Michael’s wedding and wish them a heartfelt congratulations! -Jake

Hair and makeup by Hairs2thebride.

Flowers were from Whole Foods.

Nicki and Eric

The other week I did some engagement portraits for Nicki and Eric in Chicago. We started at their home so we could get some photos with their cute pup and their blind cat. Their dog sat and smiled for the camera but, unsurprisingly, their cat did not care so much to have her photo taken! After getting their animals in some shots we went down the street to Humboldt Park to get some outdoor scenery. It was a bit on the warm side but the lagoon offered some shade from the sun and some pretty wild flowers. Here’s a few of my favorites from their session! -Jake