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Chicago Warehouse Wedding

Felize & Brad have been anticipating this moment for a while and the day finally arrived. All of their planning and hard work finally paid off to have the most amazing & stunning Chicago Warehouse Wedding

Getting Ready

We started off the day with Felize getting ready with her hair & makeup team. They got ready at their venue, the Zhou B Art Center, which was such a fun time. The area where Felize was getting ready had so much cool art & grungy walls which made for such fun portraits in the morning. While Felize was finishing up getting ready, Brad was getting ready and hanging out with his groomsmen downstairs at the juice bar. There they all hung out and just had a fun time while prepping for the big day. I absolutely loved the epic light in the space and it was so much fun to photograph. Give me any place with beautiful light or big windows and I AM THERE.

First Looks

Now when it comes to first looks, this day absolutely took the cake. Felize ended up doing a first look with both of her parents and her bridesmaids. Which can I just say that there reactions were just priceless. After doing her first look with her parents and bridesmaids, Felize met up with Brad in the park next door to their venue to do their own first look. Now I am all about doing what you want on your special day. So if that means doing first looks with all of your wedding party, your parents AND partner I say go for it.

Chicago Wedding Portraits at Tom Ping Park

We then hopped on a trolley and headed over to Tom Ping Park for some portraits! One of my favorite things about Ping Tom Park is of course the stunning greenery that photographs so beautifully. Ping Tom Park also has some of the most epic city views so of course we had to show off, I mean how could we not. We started off with taking some photos with their wedding party before finishing off taking some solo shots of just Felize and Brad. I love having these two in front of my camera because they are just so fun to be around. Their energy radiates and are absolutely naturals to being in front of the lens, so photographing them is essentially second nature at this point.

Chicago Warehouse Wedding

After finishing up with their portraits, it was about time we made it back for their ceremony! They had their ceremony at the Zhou B Foundation Life Garden and it was absolutely epic. I love being able to do outdoor ceremonies, especially in the city when it’s kind of a rarity to see. The spot was just beautiful and the sun was shining down on Felize & Brad so perfectly. It was essentially mother nature’s own personal spotlight for their special day. Fast forward through all of the crazy emotions, tears, laughs and smiles… Felize and Brad were officially married. It was a moment that they had been waiting for and the time finally arrived so it was just amazing to see it all come together for this one moment.

Once the ceremony was done, I felt like sneaking the newlyweds off to this plant shop right across the street from the venue. Before wedding day’s it’s typical of me to scout the location that I will be shooting at to see lighting, different portrait locations, etc. When previously scouting for Felize & Brad’s wedding, I saw this plant shop and just KNEW I needed to take some photos in there. Coincidentally these photos ended up being some of my favorite throughout the whole day. It really gave off those “walking in Downtown NYC” type vibes – you know what I mean? Anyone…?

When we arrived back at the venue, we made it back just in time for golden hour. You all know how much I love a good golden hour moment so of course, can we guess what we did? Took some golden hour portraits! The sun flares that came out were just perfect and were just *chefs kiss*.

First Dances, Speeches & Night Portraits

Felize & Brad then headed to cocktail hour before entering into their reception! There they celebrated with all of their close family & friends and ended the night with some unforgettable moments. First dances with their parents & speeches before breaking open the dance floor. It’s around this time I’ll usually ask my couples if they want to sneak away for a few minutes to get some epic night shots. Thankfully for me, Felize & Brad were so down. I have been loving cracking open my flash and playing around with night portraits lately and not to brag… but these turned out AMAZING.

I had such a fun time being their for Felize & Brad throughout this entire journey of theirs. From engagement sessions galore to the point that they said “I do”, they were an absolute dream to work with. I am honored to have been their photographer and more honored to have captured these special moments for them to cherish forever. Cheers!

If you loved this Chicago Warehouse Wedding, then you’re going to LOVE this Loft Wedding in Chicago!

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