Olivia Leigh Photographie Blog :: Photos and Experiences from a Chicago Wedding Photographer » chicago wedding photography

Chicago engagement connection session :: Nate + Sandra

Olivia — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:49:21 +0000

Sandra and Nate win the award of being my first Chicago wedding of the year. They are getting married in two weeks at Prairie Productions, one of my favourite venues to shoot at. Sandra and Nate enjoy photography as a hobby, and shared with me some of their photos from a little photo walk they did around more industrial neighborhoods in the area. We decided to take a cue from those images, and shot in areas similar to what had inspired them.

Modern Wing Wedding Photos [Art Institute] :: Sudhir + Chrissy

Olivia — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:15:17 +0000

Chrissy and Sudhir were married at the end of December in what was a typical winter Chicago day — gray, slushy and cold! But despite the weather, they had one of my favourite weddings of the year, an elegant but relaxed celebration at the brand new Modern Wing at the Art Institute. This space is such a stunner, and made a gorgeous showcase of Chicago for their incredibly sweet friends and family who came from around the world to celebrate their wedding. I am photographing another wedding there in September and can’t wait to see how different the space will be in the warmer months, with guests taking advantage of the gorgeous terrace and bridge (where we took a few portraits below).

Regarding the portraits below, I think we wedding photographers talk a lot about getting our clients to trust us. It is so critical to getting great portraits — having that connection and trust. But I think we — or I, at least — forget that sometimes we also have to trust our clients! Chrissy and Sudhir gave me little direction about where to do the portraits of them, telling me they trusted me, and saying they liked the industrial photos they’d seen in my portfolio before. Couples occassionally tell me to “do whatever I want,” but I think it can be really hard to trust that they really mean “whatever!” and not “whatever…by which we mean photos on Michigan Avenue.” Since it was my last wedding of the year, I decided to just go with it, to try to push it a little, and I could not be more happy with the results. These are my favourite type of pictures to take, and I hope it shows.

Thanks to all the vendors who were all just great! Hair and Makeup: Krystyn & Samara of Bridal Beauty Chicago // Flowergirl, ring bearer accessories (so cute!): my oh-so-talented past client, Julie Booma // Bridal jewelry: also by Julie, through Poesi jewelry// //Venue: Modern Wing/Terzo Piano at the Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago Wedding Photographer :: Meagan + Nick

Olivia — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:31:40 +0000

Meagan and Nick, who now live in Colorado, came back to the city where they met to celebrate their wedding at the beginning of October. My clients are reliably incredibly laid-back couples, but Meag and Nick always struck me as particularly down-to-earth. It rained and rained all day on the wedding (my first rainy day of the year), and while that would faze many brides, it didn’t seem to bother Meag and Nick in the least and they happily took some photos outside before it was pouring unbearably. Meag got ready at her mother’s beautiful home in the northwest suburbs, and they were married in a beautiful ceremony at the stunning St. Mary Catholic Church. Meag and Nick also get the award for hosting the first wedding that I’ve full-out cried at. It was such a special, fun and emotional day, and I was so happy to share in it all.

Sara + Pat’s Lovely Wedding : Chicago Wedding Photographer

Olivia — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:20:45 +0000

Sara and Pat were married about two weeks ago in the Chicago suburbs. They were referred to me by the wonderful Adam and Emily, who had a wonderful celebration at A New Leaf and were one of my favourite and sweetest couples from 2008 (Part I, Part II). I thought that any friend of theirs would be enjoyable to shoot, and I was so happy to be right on the money with the assessment.

I really love shooting the big, “fabulous” city weddings that we are so fortunate to get here in Chicago, but I also love to have my calendar filled with a few intimate, relaxed, and down-to-earth weddings, which was exactly what Pat and Sara’s was. These are the sort of weddings that are honestly the most humbling for me to be a part of–they help to remind me why I love what I do, and what a gift it is to be included in such intimate celebrations. Pat and Sara were so calm and laid-back the entire day, and it really was a relaxed celebration of their relationship, friends and family.

Sara’s lovely dress was by the always fabulous Dame Couture, who also made my favourite dress of last year, that of the lovely Sam. Sara’s was based on the design of her grandmother’s wedding dress, and it was lovely.

One of my favourites of the year thus far.

We jumped outside quickly for a few photos at sunset.

The DJ and I had a bet on whether the crowd would dance. I won.