Leslie and Doug were married earlier this month in a beautiful ceremony and reception at The Germania Place. Leslie, Doug, and their families planned a gorgeous event with thoughtful details and a touching ceremony officiated by a very eloquent speaker.When Leslie and her sister were children, her Dad read them the story of the Velveteen Rabbit. Leslie’s own Velveteen Rabbit was there for the wedding day, tattered, and worn, but still near her bedside. Her Dad read a portion of the story once more, sharing the idea of the rabbit becoming “real” because of his owner’s love no matter how long he had him, despite his aging figure or worn down appearance. Just as the rocking horse told the rabbit, the same message is meant for Leslie and Doug, “once you are real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”
Here’s to Leslie and Doug! I wish you both many years of happiness.
Big thanks to City Wide Super Slow Fitness for bringing me in to photograph a handful of their members, who get their workout for the week in 20 minutes!
Xiyun and Ben have a remarkable story that spans continents and years. I feel like I’m more exotic and interesting just by photographing their wedding. Xiyun and I first started a correspondence back in March, when she e-mail me about her wedding from China. They were living in Beijing at the time, so meeting in person was impossible. I still hoped to get to know them a little more, so I asked Xiyun if she’d share more about their relationship with me. She wrote:
“Okay, and now the story of how we met. This is kind of a crazy story, which I’m sure you’ll hear many times over at the wedding. My fiance’s name is Ben Foster. He’s english (tiny little town near manchester), we met in beijing (where I was born and where I grew up until the age of seven) in the summer of 2004 while I was taking a year off from college. Within a week of meeting him, I had these crazy plans to move to Tunisia (another totally long story, which can be boiled down to: I more or less threw a dart at a map). After knowing each other for about two weeks, (I pushed back my original flight a week) he bought a flight to Tunisia to visit me. We had this insane on again off again transpacific relationship between Beijing and Tunis and then Beijing and Rhode Island while I was still in school at Brown. We split up a for two years because the thought of keeping up a relationship while I still had two years left at school was too daunting. But then i graduated, did some traveling around more random parts of the world and moved back to beijing about 3 years ago, and we’ve never looked back. And that’s the short version.” 🙂
So we now live in Beijing, where Ben runs a motion graphics studio (http://www.39degreesnorth.tv/) and I’m a translator/researcher/occasional writer for the New York Times. After the wedding, we’re moving to new york together, where I’ll be starting law school in the fall.
We generally spend our time arguing over books and movies and tv shows (he claims that I refuse to like anything great that he discovered first). I cook a lot and sometimes write about it, so he eats a lot, and we high five each other even more often for being lucky enough to eat so much. We have both traveled a lot separately in the past, but we’ve not been to enough places together, something we’re hoping to remedy in the future. He plays in a band, so I sometimes go to his gigs in an attempt to compensate for my super asian nerdy teenage years.”
That’s the short version. From the stories guests shared at their wedding and speeches from family and friends, the long version includes travel, adventure, and more chemistry than a high school science class. I feel so lucky to have photographed such an expressive, interesting, and inspiring couple. Here’s to both of you! I hope you have many many years of fun adventure together!
The first time Kathlyn and I talked on the phone back in the winter it felt like we were old friends. She is a fellow Missouri Journalism school graduate, so we immediately commiserated over shared stories of the J-slums (dilapidated apartments filled with over caffeinated aspiring reporters and broadcast students) and tail gating. We also shared a love for travel, which lead to the story of her and David. The two met on the streets of Italy one evening. David was actually on a date with a local, when Kathlyn came on the scene. While the Italian woman was native to the country, Kaitlyn had something that stole David’s attention away-she too was from Illinois originally.
Now the two live in California, but not for long. but maybe not for long. After David completes a three-year intensive graduate program in Middle Eastern studies, they may be on the road again. Who knows where they’ll head next!
Wow! Did I mention how nice they are too? Their family and friends were extremely welcoming me, making me feel right at home through the entire day. Thanks so much Kat and David.
Kate comes up my front steps carrying a bag full of clothes on one arm and a bag of shoes on the other. “I brought options.”
“Wonderful!” I said. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I’ve known Kate for a few years now. She is tall, striking, and fun. Her fiance TJ is laid back and with all-American features and a Midwestern easygoing nature.
Kate shows me her options and we select a black dress with a slight cowl-neck paired with jeweled flip-flops for her first outfit. For the second, she chooses a grey-blue dress with ruffles that reminds me of the soft tones of dusk and the waves on Lake Michigan.
It’s the part of the summer when nearly every evening ends in warm-golden light. During Kate and Tj’s session, the sun is low in the sky–it cuts through the steel beams of the El and wraps around their figures. It carves out the texture in the bricks and brings out the amber in her eyes. Then later, it softens into pinks, blues, and purples.
They walk together on the beach, Tj’s arm draped over Kate’s shoulder. They move toward the shoreline, where Kate, barefoot, walks carefree through the waves and Tj pulls at his pant legs to keep them from getting wet.
When the sun is nearly set, they sit together in a position of comfort. Kate leans into Tj and their limbs tangle together.
It was a beautiful evening. Thank you Kate and Tj for letting me document it.
Becky and Darnell were married 30 minutes outside of Chicago in Arlington Heights, IL. I was able to spend sometime with the couple a little before their wedding during their engagement session. They’re fun, funny, and kind people. I love Becky’s easy going laugh and Darnell’s quiet sense of humor.
Their day was full of family-including three lovely flower girls who wooed myself and second shooter Tom Root. They were Becky’s little helpers dressed like mini-me’s in layered white fabric. One of my favorite moments was when Becky captured their attention, and like magic, had them all sitting patiently as she spun them a fairytale-patiently for two minutes, but hey, that’s a lot for a day full of hustle and bustle!
Big thanks to Tom Root who seconded with me on this one!
Andrew and Stefanie are a blue-eyed duo who share a love of travel (currently pinballing their way through Europe) and business (both recently finished University of Chicago-Booth’s graduate program). Stefanie looked radiant in her royal blue dress and Andrew made me smile and chuckle a bit when referencing poses from other e-sessions on my blog. I’m excited to hear tales from their most recent travels…and a little green with envy. I hope they took lots of pictures!
Over a year ago Molly visited her fiance’s (now husband) hometown, Avoca, Nebraska. During her stay she had a vision of a country wedding in the middle of the town park.
There are not many Nebraskans who know where Avoca is. If they do, it’s probably because they visited for the Annual Quack-Off duck races. Yep, it’s true, this town hosts such an event each year drawing big city folk from Lincoln and Omaha to come place bets on the oh so exciting, never a dull moment, nailing biting competition.
Outside of Nebraska you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who’s familiar with the town. Here’s what came up when I googled “Avoca, Nebraska”:
Population in July 2009: 262. Population change since 2000: -3.0%.
Molly saw something very special though on her trip and she wanted to share Nick’s old stomping grounds with the rest of their family and friends.
She imagined an event with diy details-Wine bottles with lace trim, a clothesline adorned with photos from throughout the years, mason jars with lemonade, classic coca cola, popcorn and caramelized pecans. She pictured carpenters lights strung above picnic tables, a buffet of comfort food, homemade pie along with an assortment of desserts. With her family, friends, and a U-hual truck full of supplies driven eight hours from Chicago, she arranged a true backyard wedding.
I’m completely blown away by the attention to detail, patience, and creativity given to this wedding. Molly, Nick, friends and family, you all did an amazing job and I am so grateful to have photographed the occasion, and been able to be a guest at the end of the night.
Bikram Yoga Instructor Portraits for Chicago studio Bikram in the City
Below is a collection of images from my recent portrait shoot with Bikram in the City staff. The studio maintains an urban feel and brand, so we decided to use the Chicago city as the background for these images. The shoot was held over three days in four different locations: Millenium Park, The Chicago El (until CTA kicked us out, waa waaa), The Observatory, and Montrose Harbor. There were logistical challenges we were to overcome-rain and more rain, a stringent policy on permits by the city, and timing (thank you Starbucks for opening so early). I had a great team working with me, Manase Latu did an amazing job on the makeup, my dear friends Agustina Agustina Diez Sierra and Laurie Peacock were along to assist for some of it, and the staff were amazing!
I started “practicing” bikram this January during the worst of Chicago winter. Like most, I thought I was going to die during my first session, but I’ve since grown to really love this type of yoga. I don’t pretend to be on a level even close to these instructors, but my appreciate for the form grew deeply after hearing of their rigorous training and complete dedication.
