Leslie and Ray made me the happiest photographer of all time earlier this month!  Not only did I get to visit one of my favorite cities in the world, but I got to spend the weekend with one of my favorite couples in the entire universe. Leslie and I have been great friends since college and I have never seen her as happy as she is with Ray.  If you think you’ve met the nicest guy in the world, then think again, because as far as nice guys go – Ray is tops. No joke. I am beyond thrilled that Leslie will be spending the rest of her life with him!

They met in Chicago, but when Leslie got relocated for work and Ray followed her out there, I knew it was serious. Just a few months ago, Ray proposed on the Sky Deck of the Willis (formerly Sears) tower when they came home to visit family. They will be tying the knot in their hometown of Chicago, but it was so important for them to document their engagement session here in New York where their relationship blossomed.

The main part of the session was  shot in Central Park.  Here they are taking a stroll…

Leslie is a dancer at heart, so here she is showing Ray a few moves…

A nice portrait of the two of them:

Leslie has always wanted a fall engagement session because the leaves are so beautiful this time of year…

I am SO in love with this shot! Notice the little heart shape made by the twigs on the right? <3

He adores her. Clearly.

After Central Park, we wandered around Manhattan for a bit – and these two got a bit goofy. They have WAY too much fun together, which made my job extremely easy:

This next set was taken a little earlier in the day. There soooo many good spots to shoot in NYC!

  We took these night shots in Jersey City, right down the street from where Leslie and Ray live. These were some of my favorite shots of the entire day. They look comfy here, but they are troopers! The temperature had dropped about 20 degrees and it was FREEZING out! Good thing they have their love to keep them warm

So in love…

Leslie and Ray, your love is an inspiration! Thank you for having me out there to document this time in your lives!

Late last month I had the great pleasure of photographing a gorgeous e-session of Grace and Anthony in downtown Chicago. We started off near the Drake hotel and found some beautiful light right across the street. Grace and Anthony have such a sophisticated style while still being so light-hearted and fun, and I felt that in each image I captured that day. Here are a few of my favorites:

 They are just so natural together: 

Mee-yowww!

I love how they laugh together!

We headed over to the Planetarium and took a little walk along the lake. Love the feeling of this one:

Classic sophistication:

And finally, we ended up at Navy Pier, where Anthony popped the question a few months ago. (Side note:  The story of their engagement was one of the best I’ve ever heard! Anthony rented out the IMAX at Navy Pier, pretended NOT to be in town while Grace’s sisters pretended to take her to the movies. Anthony had the theater employees play a slideshow of some of their favorite pictures together on the big screen while Grace was sitting in the middle of the theater, completely stunned. Then from behind the screen Anthony appeared, and walked up the stairs to her while holding the ring box. I cried hearing the story! Great job Anthony!)

My favorite, romantic image:

Grace and Anthony, I wish you sooo much love! Thank you for asking me to document such an important time in your lives!

I’ve been waiting anxiously to post this one for weeks and weeks, as I was asked to keep these engagement photos under wraps until after the wedding. Well, that wedding happened yesterday and now it’s time to unveil these gorgeous photos of one of my favorite couples: Cathy & Tine.

Cathy and I have been friends since I was three and she was four. We grew up a block away from each other and are practically family. And I couldn’t be happier with the man she’s chosen to spend the rest of her life with. Tine has been her rock through the years, and she has been the artistic force that balances Tine out when he’s taking himself too seriously. And when you hear them laugh together, you know God got something right in bringing them together. It was such an honor to be asked to photograph their wedding… and now without further ado, here are are Cathy and Tine’s engagement photos:

Cathy – do you realize how beautiful you are?

And, because I just can’t wait – here’s one from the wedding, more coming soon! Congratulations you two – Justin and I wish you the most wonderful life together!

I was reminded again last night how unbelievably lucky I am to be doing what I do. Renmar and Suzie’s wedding is in just a few days and they met me downtown for a quick e-session. We had such a great time!

 They were up for anything! Even at the very beginning of the shoot!

Suzie, you are beautiful. Did I mention that?

Such a gorgeous couple!

They have so much fun together!

Can’t wait for your wedding this weekend!! And thanks to my special assistant (and sister of the groom!) Renelle

Liezl and Joe have been together ever since I could remember them in high school. Yes, it’s been that long! They’ve been good friends of ours for awhile now and I’m so happy to see them finally tying the knot. We had a fun downtown shoot with lots of beautiful light and these two were simply radiant together. 

 Congratulations you two love birds! Justin and I wish you all the best life has to offer!

I had a major problem picking my favorites. I’m not kidding. There are LOTS of photos to look at so sit back and enjoy Without further ado… here they are.

Joe told me he was “smizing” – as in smiling with your eyes. As in – he watches Tyra Banks and picks up her lingo

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.

Jaime and Dan met up with me today for an engagement session in University Village. The lighting today was nothing short of perfect, and they were having such a great time together! Can you feel the love, people? Here are some of my favorites:

Recently, people have been asking me when and how I got started with photography, and for advice as to how they can do the same. Truth is, I find it shocking that people have asked me. I am a newbie. In every sense of the word. I balance my full time day job, MBA school at night, and photography all at the same time. I have managed to get by because I absolutely and truly love each of these 3 things.

Just over a year ago, I had my very first paid session at the Cuneo Museum in Vernon Hills. I connected to Ira through Facebook – she was an old high school friend of mine and I found out she was engaged… Well, we got to talking and Ira and Mike were willing to give me a chance. To this day, I honestly don’t know the reason why! I had never shot any engagement portraits before, so I’m not sure what gave me the courage to say that I could do this, other than the fact that I loved photography and people. Nevertheless, they took a leap of faith in me, paid for the permit to shoot on the property, and were ready to work with me!

I was a ball of nervous energy the night before, trying to envision the types of poses we could try, praying that the lighting wouldn’t be too harsh, even googling “engagement photos” for ideas! I wonder sometimes how Justin puts up with me, because I am SURE I was asking him what he thought of this and that, and talking through any possible situations I might encounter. (Um, can you say, ANNOYING?) Anything that I could use to put my mind at ease. Well, the next day came, and I drove up to the property about an hour early to scope out the scene. I was a woman on a mission. I marched up and down that property, remembering the spots that I thought were the most colorful and had enough shade to make a flattering picture when the sun was out. I found 4 or 5 spots I wanted to try with them, and when they pulled up, I was ready.

As soon as we started, all the nervousness went away, and I just turned into a kid at a candy store, giddy with all the gorgeous scenery we had to work with, not to mention the unbelievable chemistry these two shared. I loved every moment of it.

So, here are my two cents, even though I am just a beginner. If you love what you do, I mean really love it, you will find yourself surrounded by the opportunities to succeed in it. Whatever you truly focus on is what you will succeed in. Sonia Choquette, a famous author and vibrational healer recently tweeted “What we think matters far less than what we love.” I couldn’t have said it any better than this.

And now, for the photos. Thank you Ira and Mike for believing in me!

What does a workaholic like me do in the middle of the night? Experiment with photos, apparently. As Justin has been sound asleep for the past hour and I have no one to reprimand me for staying up so late, I’m letting my addiction get the better of me. Did I mention these two are gorgeous?

I keep updating this post. It’s like an illness, really! But how stinkin’ cute are they?

I had a fabulous evening with Scott and Anna, who are getting married later this summer. I am so blown away by how in love these two truly are, and how ridiculously good looking they are to boot. It was a perfect downtown summer day and though I’m used to getting lots of Chicago shots with buildings and pavement – we were also able to head to the beach, where it suddenly seemed like we were in a tropical paradise. All in all it was a great evening for shooting, especially with this stunning pair! They were so easy going and obviously head over heels for each other. Congrats, you two! I can’t wait for the big day!!

Um, can you say drop dead gorgeous?

Anna used to model, can you tell?

Scott kept telling me that he looked bad next to Anna and that I should focus on her face most of the time… but I think he’s being too modest. I don’t know if I’m imagining things but is anyone else reminded of Daniel Craig on this next one?