Jeff and Laura are married! | Sycamore, IL wedding photography

It was a beautiful September day for Jeff and Laura's wedding. It's always nice to take a trip down memory lane, and I had quite a bit of nostalgia during their gorgeous wedding! They were married at Sycamore's Federated Church. A place I used to be a roving Madrigal musician around the holidays. The bride was in my graduating high school class, and I ran into several school mates I hadn't seen in ages. And their reception was at St. Mary's Church, where I had my ceremony 9 years ago! So lots of stars were in alignment for me to capture this wedding, but the brightest stars shone in Jeff and Laura's eyes when they gazed at one another! Congrats, and thank you for having me capture your beautiful day!

Laura wore a stunning dress, purchased from Crystal Bride in Geneva, IL.

First post-ceremony stop was to the Elwood House in DeKalb, IL.

Second stop was to Blumen Gardens in Sycamore, IL. I LOVE this location. Still thinking about having a 10-year anniversary party there next October.

And on to St. Mary's of Sycamore for a fun-filled reception!

Congrats, Laura and Jeff! Wishing you all the best!

Images to Adore FTW!

I'm sorry, I know I am mega-behind in new posts. I've been shooting people pretty nonstop since fall began, and now I am up to my ears in editing, but my new website and blog will be up very soon!

I am posting for an entirely selfish reason right now. I want to win. I want to win REAAAAAL bad! See there's this awesome lady, Laura Winslow. And she's giving away $10,000 worth of photography props, templates and other goodies that make me drool all over my keyboard! That makes her my favorite person in the world right about now. Here is the link to her fabulous giveaway. You don't have to do anything to help me win, I'm just posting about HOW MUCH I really want to win. I really do. Especially for the M4H actions and Oh Snap Boutique templates. There I go again...I'm drooling.

http://laurawinslowphotography.com/blog/2011/11/21/10000-holiday-bloggie-bash-laura-winslow-photography/

CarLeigh and William Engaged! | Bartlett, IL Engagement Photography

I have known CarLeigh's family for several years through videotaping community theater performances that they've either directed or starred in (or both), and last year I also videotaped CarLeigh's big brother's beach wedding. I was thrilled when her mom contacted me again to say there would be another wedding coming up soon! I mentioned that we recently expanded into wedding photography as well, so Images to Adore will be both photographing AND videotaping their wedding next month!

We met at Cantigny park in Wheaton on a hot sunny day in July, and kept cool by taking photos in the shade and exploring the park's beautiful grounds! William is a sweet guy and totally in love with his fiance. It's so fun to watch young love; it reminds me of way back in the day when Mike and I couldn't take our eyes off each other.

Here are a couple of my favorite photos from their e-session. Congratulations, CarLeigh and Will; we'll see you next month! :)

Baby Everett | Bartlett, IL Newborn Photography

One of my high school BFF's recently gave birth to her second son, and I did a mini session while visiting the latest addition to our growing playgroup.

Meet Everett. He's beautiful, tiny and strong all at the same time! He wanted to be wide awake the entire session, so no scrunched up newborn shots for this guy! Well...except for this one. The pose lasted about 30 seconds...

(PS: how do you like the Very Hungry Caterpillar cocoon my mother-in-law made?

We did, however, capture him finding and sucking his thumb for the first time....

...And his resulting surprised reaction. Too cute!

Brotherly love :)

And a little candid of the proud big brother!

Freelance Videography

Please note: The following video Copyright belongs to Modern Image Studios. All editing also done by by MIS staff, not myself.

Aaron + Andria's Wedding Day from Modern Image Studios on Vimeo.

This was a wedding I videotaped for Modern Image Studios. I've been shooting for them for 4 years now, to fill in dates that I haven't already booked for my own company. They are a great studio, and I really enjoy working with the staff photographers and getting to videotape some larger events than I normally would capture with my own company.

This was just such a fabulous wedding that I had to share it with everyone. My 4-year-old daughter is EXTREMELY jealous that this bride got married next to Sue the Dinosaur. To be honest, I was too! It was just a beautiful beautiful event from start to finish. I haven't had the honor to capture too many Jewish ceremonies before, and it was just so heartfelt that I had tears in my eyes by the end! And the epic sweeping music from Jurassic Park that played right before the processional was a great nod to the location they chose: The Field Museum in downtown Chicago.

All primary cinematography was by me, except for a couple rear ceremony shots. ALL EDITING was done by Modern Image Studios. Again, MIS owns the copyright. I just wanted to share my videography skills. :)

Toddler J | 18-month photo Session

I love the inquisitive nature of toddlers, and my favorite part of photographing the 1-2 year-old crowd is to try to capture the wonder and excitement in their eyes. I think J has some of the most gorgeous, expressive and soulful eyes, don't you think?

Peek-a-boo!

And a huge thank you to J's parents! We've already booked both a fall and winter photo session for later this year, and they are earning print credits by telling their friends and family about our services. Want to earn free prints also? Find out more about our Referral Rewards when you book a session with us!