Cassal di Caelkriss

January 12, 2010

This wedding was special, and very unique on so many different levels. The fact that the bride was the second of twins was only the beginning of it.

The planner, Theresa, sent my brother a Facebook message asking if I’d be available to shoot a wedding the following week.  On a Tuesday.  While not completely unheard of, Tuesday weddings are not very common.  Since the day was open, I gave her a call to let her know I’d sit down and meet with her.

We met on the Thursday before the wedding at a Caribou Coffee, and she told me about the whole scheme.  And a scheme it was.  In fact, this was a “surprise” wedding for the bride.  Well, the bride knew she was getting married, but she didn’t know that it wasn’t going to be in the circuit court like she thought.

Theresa was literally planning this entire event in a single week.  She booked a private dining room at a Holiday Inn where the ceremony and reception would take place, she made the catering arrangements, found an officiant on Rent-a-Rev (who had apparently officiated the bride’s twin sister’s wedding), invited all of the guests to the location, and decorated a cake for the bride.

The result was one extremely surprised and happy bride, and a one-of-a-kind wedding opportunity.

Shooting in the small space had it’s challenges, and lighting was extremely scarce.  But, overall, we were all happy with the results of the photography, and Michelle had a real wedding at a real location, officiated by a real reverend, with a real reception and a real cake, and it was all captured by a real photographer.

November 21, 2009

I knew Jane from a few years back, and had met Joe at a recent sushi party.  I heard that they were getting married when she contacted me and told me that a mother-of-the-bride at a recent wedding I had done had recommended me.

Jane is an incredibly outgoing and wonderful person, and Joe is the her perfect match.  It was a real treat to be at this wedding shooting along with my brother, Matt.  The kids (Joe’s nieces and nephews) were a real blast to photograph, and the entire atmosphere of the wedding was exuberant and joyous.  I had a great time with this one.

The ceremony was at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Deerfield, and the reception was at the European Chrystal banquet halls in Arlington Heights.

Hey, just a quick update on a recent wedding.

In September, I did a wedding for another close friend.  It was really amazing to see.  The colors were just wonderful, and the entire atmosphere was different from other weddings I’d been to.

After the ceremony, we had an incident (non-life threatening) that called for the fire department’s help.  The father of the bride, being a retired fireman, was able to call them to the rescue, complete with a fire engine.  So, we had some great shots there that we never could have planned.

The bride’s mother had organized all of the decorating for the reception, and made most of the desserts.  I was amazed.  Here are some shots.

More can be seen on my portfolio site here.