Tacy and Zach | Chicago Wedding Videography by Images to Adore

Tacy and Zach were married in a gorgeous downtown reception at the River East Arts Center. In eight years of videotaping weddings, I have NEVER been rained out of a post-ceremony photo/video shoot. NEVER. I actually boasted about this to brides who were worried about the forecast a few days before their wedding. "No worries, I never get rained out!" I must have gotten a little too cocky because I was eating my words at this wedding.

It was cloudy after their ceremony as we walked towards the beach, but then out of nowhere there was a torrential downpour to deal with. And I do mean torrential. We dove for cover at a hot dog stand, but the rain was so strong it was coming in sideways and even hid the camera under my shirt to protect it :) Then we ran to an underpass and waited out the rain until we could grab a cab and go back to the Arts Center for the reception. Luckily there was beautiful galleries that the curators opened up to us to catch some shots before dinner.

The weather cleared up shortly afterwards, and we ventured outside that evening to enjoy the downtown fireworks display.

All in all, a gorgeous wedding. And even though we didn't get the beach shots we were hoping for, it was still one of the most gorgeous and stylish weddings I've ever had the privilege to capture.

Congrats Zach and Tacy! And may the downpour on your wedding day be the worst that your marriage ever has to weather!

The Closet Boutique Fashion Show! | Bartlett, IL video and photo services

Martha from the Closet Boutique (located inside Banbury Fair by the Bartlett train station) is a Bartlett gem! For the past 5-ish years she has been hosting bi-annual fashion shows to bring local friends, businesses and artists together for a night of fun!

Her company description is: "Where fashion is fun again at any age and any size. Full service ladies shop with great accessories,tops, bottoms, belts, shoes, hats, and more." I'm personally in love with her scarves and headbands, but I do have several favorite dresses and outfits from the Closet Boutique as well!

I've been videotaping every fashion show since her first one, but this one was different. I manned my husband on video and I was the photographer for the first time! Oh what fun! :)

As if the fashion show wasn't enough, Martha organizes local dance troupes to perform in intervals as the models change clothing.

Here's a slideshow of the fashions and entertainment from the night. Hope to see you at Martha's Fall Fashion Show! Stay tuned for dates!

Terrific 2's! | Bartlett, IL Child and Family Photographer

There are a magical couple days every year in late April or early May when the crab apple trees blossom and produce gorgeous and fleeting photo opportunities. The day after these photos were taken, a storm washed all the blossoms off the trees.

I was so worried about this session; if the weather was going to be rainy our backup plan was to take backdrop photos at my messy, poorly lit house. SO Glad that Mother Nature cooperated, and, in fact, was pretty spectacular for this photo shoot! It actually resulted in one of my all-time favorite photos I've ever taken.

For two-year-olds especially, it's my opinion that giving them a session location with a wide open place to explore is the best way to capture their curiosity and keep them entertained. Cantigny is my favorite go-to place, and this is exactly why! Brandon was an adorable two-year old with lots of smiles and laughs. He also loved playing with the little path pebbles. A lot. :)

A more natural edit vs the vintage edit in the first photo. I can't decide which I like better!

Thanks for such a fun day to run around outside and enjoy the weather. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Baby S | Bartlett, IL newborn photography

I was excited to meet new clients for this session! Many thanks to Stephanie Zych for the referral (and stay tuned for our upcoming Referral Rewards Program!)

Here is Baby S. Isn't she sweet?! She was only four days old when I photographed her. My youngest newborn yet! I arrived at the session armed with lotsa fabric backdrops and some new props: cheesecloth wraps and newborn headbands! And wouldn't you know it, she wasn't too sleepy...she wanted to check out her new home, big brother and even her doggie siblings! We had to keep bribing her with milk to keep her drowsy for the classic sleepy newborn pictures :)

And her big brother was really excited to check out the photos on the camera! Here's my favorite photo of them together :)

Congrats on expanding your new family! It really is a blessing to have two young siblings growing up together; I'm so glad my girls are that close in age. My best advice is to sleep when they sleep! :)

Baby J | Bartlett, IL Newborn Photography

Meet Baby J! I've enjoyed photographing the family's daughter for the past two years, so I was so excited to hear that she was a big sister and had a sweet little brother to play with! And she takes her job very seriously! Look how sweet they are together!

Here is a quick slideshow video of some more of my favorite photos from the session!

Meet Preston | Bartlett, IL Newborn Photography

This little guy made an early appearance into the world, and I couldn't wait to capture his newborn photos! He's a lucky guy to be born into such a fabulous family. Look at how proud his big brother is!


Mom Stacy happens to be my BFF, and she mentioned she wanted to try some "celebrity style" photos of the family on the bed. That type of more informal session is called lifestyle photography, and I was excited to do something different! Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating, and it was an extremely dark day. I bounced my flash and tried to maintain a natural light look to the session. I think they turned out to have a nice and cozy feel to them :)

Here's a slideshow with a couple more of my favorite photos from the session!

Field Frolicking Fun! | Bartlett, IL Photography

I don't warn my children when I want to have a photo session with them anymore. They're kind of sick of seeing me with a camera all the time, so I just wait until they're in a good mood, pick out some clothes, bribe them heartily and go go go!

I'm always on the lookout for new locations, and I've been looking for one around my house that has an old public field with room to stand and walk around in easily. I finally found one, and it was a warm day, so 30 minutes later we were taking photos! Unfortunately, in that half hour, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees, and I had to work fast and hard to get Beth to smile. I wanted to get some big grins before her first baby tooth falls out. That tooth has been loose for a month, now. I don't think it wants to say goodbye just yet.

Anyhow, here are a few of my favorite photos from the very quick, very chilly session!

Beth is a very contemplative child. This really captures her personality.

I like to think she's "orchestrating the clouds" in this shot.

And here's a slideshow of several more of my favs!