There was sun, rain, two glowing faces, a gorgeous dress… and a whole lot of sand. My great, great friends Lisa and Jay finally tied the knot a little over a week ago and I did this post-wedding shoot for them a couple of days later. We were battling with the weather, and by the time we hit the beach we were soaked – but it added such a romantic element to it, I wouldn’t have wished it any other way! This was absolutely the dirtiest I ever got on a shoot, rolling around in wet sand – but it was worth it! Their chemistry is so amazing, I loved every minute!

Lisa and Jay – it was an honor standing up in your wedding. Love you guys so much and wish you only the best out of life!

They are both so ridiculously good-looking, it’s just not fair.

This shot defines them so well. They are a riot together!

Hotness!

This is my favorite:

Laughter helps.  You can tell by the way she looks at him slyly then scrunches her nose up and erupts in laughter that there is no one else on this earth that would be the perfect match for her than RJ. If you closed your eyes and just listened to their banter you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling if you tried!

There is a reason this session meant so much to me. RJ is basically my little brother. He and Rowena have been together since we were all in college at DePaul and I had just met Justin.  RJ even spent a summer crashing at my parents place while we were all still in school and spent a ton of time hanging with the other love of my life, Rolo   It has been wonderful watching RJ grow up (even though he is truly a kid at heart!).

From the moment they came by our place last Saturday until they left after dinner, I could feel how much RJ loves her and it made me so happy. He and Rowena have a light-heartedness to their relationship that I’ve always admired and I know that they will be there for each other through the good and the bad.

I was honored that they asked me to take their engagement photos and Justin and I are even more honored that we’ve been asked to play a role in their wedding next July. To sum it up, they are fabulous, and make me realize even more why I love what I do. RJ and Rowena, we love you and are soooo very happy for you! Congratulations!

RJ, in case you didn’t know. The beach is THAT way.

Rowena is just so pretty!

The classic RJ look:

Love this one:

Like I said, he’s my kid brother, which is why I get to post this. Seriously RJ, I am amazed. Did she really agree to marry you??

Yep. I guess she did.

When I met up with Glenn, Ivy, and their baby Gianna I knew we’d have a pretty sweet location to shoot in – but I had NO idea how fantastic these spots would be. Today I found some of my favorite places ever and I can’t wait to go back there to shoot again! All of the images below were taken outside the Nature Museum in Lincoln Park, the Lily Pond by the Lincoln Park Zoo and outside the Lincoln Park Conservatory. The fabulous location, and the fact that I’ve been fiending for a cute baby to photograph lately really got me excited!

Gianna is 10 months old and a total ham for the camera.  (Glenn’s a pretty great photographer himself, so she has had some time to get comfortable!) She was ready to go as soon as I met her!

Here are a few of my favorites:

The miracle shot – I had this vision of Gianna in a field of flowers and didn’t think we’d be able to pull it off and get Gianna to cooperate… The last 5 minutes of the session it miraculously worked out. I love this one!

Everywhere I looked there were so many amazing images to be made, it was a dream!

Seriously, I thought I was in heaven!

Gianna’s just starting to pull herself up to and I think she’ll be walking in no time!

Gianna is so incredibly loved…

A couple of just Ivy and Glenn:

Isn’t she gorgeous?