yes, that is a shipwreck in the background ... YARRR!

yes, our little ellie is correct, we are on the road again ...

first, we are heading over to Chicago so I can celebrate 3 fabulous years with my beautiful bride ... and then we fly out of Chicago on the 1st for a wedding down in the Dominican Republic ... we will have limited internet access for the next week and a half so we apologize in advance for any slow communication!

we hope you had a very Merry Christmas and we wish you a Happy New Year!

and no, those eyes are not retouched ... this is straight out of the camera!

We had so much fun working with Simon and Chau as well as their friends (trash the dress sessions coming soon) and we wish you all the best!

p.s. we LOVE working with Canadians so any referrals would be greatly appreciated (wink) ...

look at this tie ironing technique ... must be a Canadian thing .. haha!

had to include this candid I got of the little flower girl ... quite possibly the cutest little munchkin we have ever seen!

the little divas feelin' the music

labels : playa del carmen destination wedding, destination wedding in mexico

here's a live performance they did on a paris subway train (so you can see how talented they are even without microphones) ... then if you are interested there are about ten other videos you can watch ...

its a handmade jewelry company called Mayfly Designs and it is the brainchild of one of our bff's Holly ... you should definitely check it out at www.mayflydesigns.com!

she makes wedding jewelry as well as everyday wear and she has got an awesome sense of style ... just to give you a little sneek peek to get the taste buds watering ... here are some of our favorite designs (as we did the photography for the site):

a few from the wedding collection

the rachel necklace

the elayna necklace

and the amanda necklace

and then a few from the everday collection:

the danielle necklace

the shayla necklace

the andrea necklace

and the jessica necklace

Anyways, the saturday after Thanksgiving we photographed Andrew and Andrea's wedding and reception at the always amazing Amway Grand Hotel. We couldn't have asked for a better November day and Andrew and Andrea were so great to work with! Andrea was all smiles the whole day (despite having to be at the salon at 6:30 am) and everyone was so relaxed, what more could a photographer want :) ... thanks for having us be a part of your day!

and now for the fabulous Thuy + Danny

and after that the also fabulous Alexandra + Andrew

stay tuned for more!!

Anyways, thanks so much to Jonathan for having me second shoot with you and thanks to Roger and Laura for being so nice and accomodating ... we wish you all the best!

to start, a few pics of the scenery/snazzaliscious resort

the ladies seeing laura for the first time ... priceles ... I wish you could see jackie in the bathroom having a meltdown (even more priceless:)

it started to rain right at the end of the ceremony (fortunately for only a few minutes) and I snagged a shot of the cocktail bartender all smiles while shielding himself from the rain ... I was absolutely floored at how nice the people in mexico were (not just because they flashed great peace signs, either)

the cuban cigar roller at the reception ... this guy had mad skills yo ... I was in awe, not gonna lie

and grandma dancing to some rap song that she obviously had no idea what they were saying ... haha

After the ceremony we went down to Shedd Aquarium for some shots of the bride and groom with the fabulous Chicago skyline ... and with about 15 minutes of daylight (gotta love daylight savings time for people who aren't farmers) and bitter winds (yes, the windy city lived up to its nickname) Larry and Erica were amazingly patient with us as we got some great shots (well worth braving the weather, eh).

Then we headed to the Sears Tower to have the reception in the swankaliscious Metropolitan Club on the 66th floor with amazing views of the city. This venue is amazing (for those interested) ... great food, amazing service, a security check:), and did I mention the view? Anyways, thank you Larry + Erica for having us be a part of your day and we wish you the best!

erica preparing to hop out of the limo and walk down the aisle:)

the kids enjoying the emotional first dance :)

the pic on the right is the amazing view I kept raving about

labels: Chicago Weddings, Chicago Wedding Photography

some of the details from the day:

jewelry : tiffany and co

custom veil and headpiece : Sara Gabriel

the shoes: l'autre chose

custom hand-painted cake stand : pleasing pantry (featured on Style Me Pretty)

and now for the pics ...

labels : chicago photographers, chicago lifestyle session