Pen Carlson

Laura and John—fresh from a flight home to Chicago from Istanbul!—spent a day around the West Loop with Julia Franzosa Photography for their casual but hip engagement photos. Navy and green are crisp and vibrant in their images at The Publican and near Fulton Market; monochromatic outfits on abandoned railroad tracks give off an earthy, laid-back vibe. We especially love the cozy, homey feel of the couple sitting on their front steps. Laura and John look so comfortable in these photos, and we just adore their natural smiles and happy faces!

We love this fresh approach to vintage wedding decor, with design by Chicago Vintage Weddings and images from Justine Bursoni! The woodsy setting is the perfect backdrop for bold-colored florals from Flowers by Stem; the brides peach and cream makeup by Karen Marie Salon is a neutral base for her classic strapless gown with unexpected details like rosettes on the bust and a bow at the base of the skirt. Vintage rentals and gold accents provide a touch of sparkle on the dark wood table set amongst the trees. Besides the lovely bride, our favorite part of this shoot is an amazing dessert table topped with ruffled icing cakes by Luscious Layers Bakery. Delicious! Drool over all of the beautiful details in the gallery!

Ladies and gents, today we have the privilege of sharing Melissa Hayes’ sparkling new wedding website!  If you haven’t seen Melissa’s work before, you are in for quite a treat today because we can assure you it is positively lovely!  Her new website showcases her amazing photography perfectly with several collections that will make your jaw drop.  From cheery outdoor ceremonies to chic ballroom receptions to cultural weddings filled with color and warmth, Melissa has photographed it all beautifully!

We love the laid-back feel of Angela and Justin’s Chicago engagement session! Gerald Carvalho Photography followed cute couple Angela and Justin to their favorite local haunts and captured them drinking coffee and just having fun together. These two are gorgeous and we adore Justin’s tailored coat and Angela’s fabulous boots! These two look right at home together, whatever they’re doing. Such a beautiful couple!

Some of the most striking photographs we see at EAD don’t simply capture a beautiful bouquet or a stunning bride: they also frame memorable moments within the lovely architecture of a unique wedding venue.  It takes a distinctive type of photographer to be able to capture those oh-so-special moments: a graceful bride, a dome of windows bouncing light off a wedding dress, and pillars flanking happily oblivious newlyweds, and our newest Chicago vendor guide member, Artisan Events, knows just where to look.   Over their 15 years in business, the Artisan team, founded by award-winning photographer Amanda Sudimack, has photographed a variety of different Chicago venues.  Here are some of their favorites – perhaps one is the perfect choice for your wedding!

It’s already so hard to resist photo booths, but add in antique details, vintage LPs, and fabulous accessories like these from Love, Lulu Mae? Sign me up! This team behind this Inspired Creations Contest put together the Ultimate Photo Booth. Guests use props like vintage hats, mustaches on a stick, sequined and feathered headbands to create photos, buttons, and even videos to post on friends’ facebook walls! Certainly, this is not your ordinary photo booth. It’s super interactive and has so many different options to play with. Doesn’t it look like so much fun?

I am so excited to welcome Doug McGoldrick as EAD’s newest featured vendor today! A Chicago based photographer with an incredible photojournalistic style, Doug has a knack for capturing those often overlooked moments that become lasting memories. Documenting the little moments, stolen glances and unspoken words is where Doug shines. His work is emotional, personal and unique to every couple. I could literally get lost in his images, every one tells a story of love and celebration that goes beyond the wedding day and lasts for generations.

What better time to do a little love shoot than Valentine’s Day!  Leanne and Gordon are an absolutely precious couple, and this whimsical and quirky Valentine’s engagement session in snowy Chicago suits them to a T.  Their little table for two featured raspberry tarts, blooms in the palette of kisses, romantic ribbon and adorable cross stitch messages of love.  Thanks to my lovely friends Jessie from Simply Jessie Photography and Kelly from Fleur for sharing!

I adore every little thing about Robert and Susan’s Chicago engagement session! From the modern floral, to the rifle prop, it’s perfectly gorgeous and perfectly all-about-them. Robert is the co-owner of fabulous Chicago restaurant Longman and Eagle. Susan is a stylist and co-owns Sparrow Hair Salon. And my lovely friends Jessie of Simply Jessie Photography and Kelly of Fleur really rocked out the images and decor!

For a city lover, this is the perfect engagement session. Danielle’s pink dress pops against the backdrop of Lincoln Park in Chicago, and JT’s fedora is the perfect funky accessory. Photography is by Maloman Photographers.

Summer in Chicago has faded away, which makes me enjoy this beautiful day-after session at the Chicago Botanic Garden even more. Alexis and Matt are an adorable couple, and YazyJo Photographers captured their love in such a simple, pure way – I love these images!

Cutting our rainy photo shoot short was a wise decision, because we made it to cocktail hour at our reception venue, the Ravenswood Billboard Factory, right before Skinny Williams, the Chicago saxophonist we hired to greet people at the door, was finishing up his last set.  In addition to Skinny, our ushers and waiters greeted guests at the door with wine and champagne and escorted them to the “placecard” table, about a 3 minute walk from the front door of the building. Guests may have been perplexed as to why they were being lead through several brick-exposed hallways, but as they got closer to our escort card table, no one could deny there was a great party around somewhere, due to the deep sound of beating drums from above.

As I mentioned before, there were scattered showers on the day of our wedding.  Miraculously, there were NONE after our ceremony as we were exiting the church.  The Polish folk band was playing, the guests were dancing, and the joy and happiness was evident on everyone’s faces as the sun (and angels) shone upon us.

Bryce and Coady’s engagement session is special to me for a few reasons. First, I know the groom-to-be Bryce. He is such a smart and fun guy and these photos express his personality so well. Second, Amy from Angela Anderson Photography is just SO talented. And lastly, I just adore how my city is shown off in the places that Bryce and Coady chose for their session.

Within a week of getting engaged, I told my fiance that there was no way we were skimping on the photographer.  I made it clear that this was one of the top 3 priorities I had and would work night shifts as a waitress to make sure I got who I wanted.  I grew up with old photographs of my parents and grandparents in our home and know how pictures and the stories they tell transcend generations.

I’m so excited to share my friend Jessica’s adorable engagement session with Olivia Leigh! Jessica and Jeff are very much a Chicago couple, taking advantage of all the things the city has to offer. Living on the North Side, they spend many afternoons at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Although it was a bit of a gray Chicago day, these images really show off the love that they have for each other! They are such a wonderful couple, and I cannot wait to share images from their beautiful wedding in Minnesota.

So sorry I have been MIA for the past two weeks. I have been out of town a bunch and have not had enough blogging time. However, I am thrilled to share a sampling of my recent engagement session photos with you. My fiance and I had a blast and are so happy with the way they turned out. After two bad weather days Mother Nature finally smiled down on us with blue skies and light breezes. Here are just a few. Some good, some goofy.

You may remember my giddiness at [intlink id=”376″ type=”post”]*these fabulous photos*[/intlink] that Jessica Claire snapped of us in California in December.  Well, she’s done it again!  She happened to be passing through Chicago on Sunday night so we had the opportunity to steal some of her time to take a walk through one of Chicago’s most fabulous neighborhoods, Bucktown, with our most-adorable-puppy-in-the-world, Charlie.

Any way you spin the color green in a wedding palette, it is quite the versatile shade. From soft pastels like mint or sage to deep hues like the beautiful emerald or hunter green, you can easily use this earthy color at any wedding during any time of the year if you fancy it. It’s so timeless and we’re glad that wedding extraordinaires like Olive Fine Weddings & Events and Alexandra Lee ran on the same wavelength as us. This styled shoot has a hefty helping of green all over it, and if you take out the seemingly wintry elements to this inspo, you can readily use it all throughout the year. The luxe blooms by Willrett Flower Co. (check out the installation framing the sweetheart table!) may need some tweaking when it comes to what’s in season and what’s in your area, but no matter if you’re a spring or summer bride-to-be eyeing this shade of green, you’ll certainly get the same gorgeous effect that Alexandra snapped for us.

What do you get when you combine two gorgeous brides, an adorable puppy, spectacular flowers, and the styling of Chicago Vintage Weddings? Perfection! This spring wedding inspiration shoot features the most lovely blooms from Thistle + Plume adorning the ballroom in the Virgin Hotel Chicago, accented by decor (how much do you love those disco balls?) from Atmosphere Events Group. Our brides Jackie and Nina donned chic Varca Bridal attire from Honey Bridal and we are pretty much obsessed with their bridal looks by Debra Petrielli. Every detail from the hand-drawn stationery by Emily Rose Ink to the beautiful images by True Grace Photography is complete perfection!