Lots of pretties arrived into the Artistrie office this week so obviously I had to share…

As I am getting ready for a busy wedding season, I’m flashing back to my last weddings of 2017 with Megan and Marty. Their Salvage One wedding last December was the perfect wedding to end the year. After a rainy and gloomy fall, we had the most beautiful December day filled with sunshine and warm weather and could not have asked for better.

Yep. There’s snow on the ground. Again. In mid April. A few weeks ago I shared a few of my favorite Chicago engagement session locations with you guys. Given the crummy weather, I thought I’d share a few favorite indoor Chicago engagement locations for when the weather just won’t cooperate. A majority of these can also work for your wedding day, so take note! These are just a few recent favorites of mine. I’d love to hear more of your ideas, so be sure to share in the comments below.

After a busy end to 2017, it’s been SO great having some R&R time these last 3 months. I thought I’d check in on the personal homefront and share what I’ve been up to!

I shared a sneak peek from the second half of Connie and Bill’s engagement session earlier this week. Now, it’s time for part one taken at Garfield Park Conservatory! Some of you may have noticed the cold and snow earlier this week (but in true Chicago fashion, it’s going to be in the 70’s tomorrow). Lucky for us, Connie and Bill planned for an indoor engagement session from the get go. It was such a relief to not worry about the weather! Garfield Park Conservatory was the perfect oasis on a wintry Chicago day…

A few years ago, we were celebrating my grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary and I sat down with my grandma and looked through her wedding album. Their album only has 20 pictures, but each photo brought back a memory to my grandma and she began telling me a story. Listening to her, I learned that she had the measles that day and had to get the doctor’s permission before going to the church to get married. She carried a bouquet of her favorite flower, daisies. I saw how handsome my grandpa looked while wearing his light gray tux. When you picture yourself sharing your wedding photos, do you see yourself huddled around a phone or computer, clicking through each photo one-by-one? Or do you picture sitting side by side, turning the pages of beautiful album filled with all of your favorite memories? As a wedding photographer, I hope your answer is the latter!

I can hardly contain my excitement from this weekend’s engagement session, so I’m unveiling the first set of previews taken at the Art Institute of Chicago. Thank you to Connie and Bill for letting me share my happy place with you! Photographing at the Art Institute was a dream come true. And I have a feeling it won’t be my last time (crossing my fingers to finally shoot a wedding here this year or next!!). The Art Institute of Chicago has been one of my favorite places period since I was a little kid…

Another day, another wedding album! Kristi and Tyler were married last fall, and I’m thrilled to be sending these babies off to them later this week. For those wondering, they have a trio of albums including a 12×12 Bride & Groom album and 2 smaller 6×6 replica albums for their parents. Kristi and Tyler fell in love with the navy blue leather for the cover and I loved how they turned out!

Now that it’s spring, it’s time to start planning those Chicago engagement photo sessions! I love planning these sessions with you guys and wanted to share a few of my favorite spots around the city with you. I hope this helps give you some ideas! If one of your favorite spots isn’t on here, leave a comment and share. I’m always looking for new and exciting locations around Chicago.

Formal and fun. That’s the vision Jackie and Steve had for their winter Cafe Brauer wedding, and that mission was accomplished. We had a blast working with these two! Who knew February would end up being one of our favorite months of wedding season?! The morning began…