Professional Pictures!

Today, Kara posted a sneak peak of our wedding photos. Can't wait to see more!

First kiss!


Umm...Bec, where's your smile? (And Nic, you look a bit like Mary Poppins!)


LOVE this one! What silly boys we had!



Okay, so this was our big surprise! As we got married on the hottest day Chicago has seen this summer, we had an ice cream truck arrive and serve our guests! How awesome is that?!?!

FAVORITE.

Love it.

Meh. Stupid heat made my dress cling to me, hence producing wrinkles where I didn't have them before. Oh well.

Sweet.

We were giggling through this entire shot, because I was so nervous his hands would be sweaty from the heat and drop me!

Like it.

Wedding blogs, if not filled with pictures, are simply just musings. This blog, without its occasional spattering of pictures, would just be terribly boring. I love photography, I love fine art photographs, I love pictures of the quirky details -- I love it all.

But now, as I face the task of making a list of "must-have" pictures, I find myself struggling.

How detailed do I get? Where is the line between being a control freak and demanding "pictures of guests laughing" versus letting our photographer do what she does best?

I have complete faith that our photos will be gorgeous -- I just don't want any of my "details" to be overlooked.

So, below is a random assortment of pictures I love. Maybe they'll provide me with the perfect amount of inspiration when compiling my list.

Oh, and I welcome (most) suggestions. Please don't suggest any family/group type photographs, because that's simply not what I'm interested in. We'll take those, don't worry, but right now, I'm looking for helpful suggestions on what photographs speak to you (or what photographs you wished you would have gotten at your wedding).


The quintessential ring shot. Already on my list.

Simple, yet perfect.

Sweet. And I love the blue shoes peeking out.

Perfect timing.

I love it. Who knew you could capture so much personality without seeing any faces??

Location, Location, Location.

So I've resumed talks with our lovely photographer, Kara, of Karatography. We're currently trying to find a date and location for our engagement photos. Here's the dilemma:

I want photos that are artsy, but reflect our personalities. I asked Kara for some location recs, but since she doesn't know us that well, she's not sure where would be best.

So dear readers, please sit with me while I try to figure this out. (And enjoy all her lovely photographs...)

Living in/near one of the grandest architectural cities in the world, should we head downtown for some lovely Chicago photographs?


The Bean!

The lakefront...

Lincoln Park, I believe...

Or, should we stick close to home at the Naperville Riverwalk (a site of many a Saturday night date for us!):

Or, should we head over to Cantigny for a range of photos?

Artsy, architectural...

Outdoorsy, garden shots...

Should we incorporate our interests, like sports?

Also taken at the Riverwalk.

Le sigh. Any help would be much appreciated.

PS - Just to reiterate, all photographs courtesy of Karatography...

Wait, What?

Everyone who reads this on a semi-regular basis probably has picked up on my love of photography, specifically of the fine-art category. I love photos that tell a story, rather than just capturing a moment. Like this, for example:


(via StyleMePretty)

or this:

(via A Practical Wedding)

And because I love this style of photography, I never even hesitated when booking our photographer. Until now. (Cue the terror music: Dum dum dummmm).

Until yesterday, it had never really occurred to me that all eyes would be on us. All of 'em. And a few dozen cameras. And a really expensive camera. A really expensive camera that is going to focus on us ALL day and take pictures for posterity. Pictures that our posterity will gawk at and coax remarks like "I can't believe you wore THAT!"from them. Lots of pictures. Pictures of us standing. Pictures of us hugging. Pictures of us kissing (eww. Please don't take any of those pictures).

It's not that I'm shy (because God knows I outgrew that years ago). It just skeeves me out that we'll have 200 people staring at us. It's almost panic attack-inducing. Okay, it is panic attack-inducing (which is probably why my boss is giving me the side-eye right now!).

I know this sounds completely irrational, and let me assure you, I know it is. And I'm sure it's nothing that a good ol' cocktail the morning of the wedding can't fix. I don't think I even want to start thinking about our engagement photographs...

A Must-Have Picture...

Even though it's pretty corny, I can't help but to love pictures like this! I definitely hope we can get some fantastic ring shots!

Save the Date! (No, Really, Save It!)

So I'm happy to report that our crazy date saga has come to a resolution! We are pleased and sooo excited to announce that our wedding will be taking place on Sunday, August 9th, 2009.

Our lovely photographer, Kara, who has been with us since the beginning, has saved us the date. I will be meeting with our prospective florist, Kristen with Kio Kreations, on Monday to discuss options and sign the contract. Our ceremony will be held at a lovely park/garden/conservatory in Elmhurst, IL, called Wilder Park. We will be hosting a brunch reception to follow at the always delicious and sophisticated Maggiano's.

We are also extremely excited to announce that one of Tom's good friends from school has agreed to marry us! We have the utmost faith in him to write and officiate a fabulous ceremony that will be tailored to us.

So while we have the big things out of the way, we still have a few more things to check off the list, including:

• Purchase wedding rings (I've been eyeing a few, just haven't jumped yet!)
• Finalize brunch menu
• Choose ceremony music and figure out logistics
• Choose and create reception playlist
• Choose & book rehearsal dinner location (we're leaning towards a good old-fashioned BBQ at our apartment, or possibly a fab "crosstown classic" themed dinner @ Harry Caray's)
• Register!!
• Take engagement photos
• Reserve convertible for the wedding day (one of Tom's friends works at a rental place, so he was more than eager to take this task on!)
• Decide on favors. (Do we bother?)
• Design invitations, programs and menus.
• Print invitations, programs and menus.
• Assemble invitations, programs and menus. (I think you get the picture!)
• Research and book honeymoon! (We're deciding between a Mediterranean cruise or a land excursion of Scotland, London & maybe Paris!)
• Apply for marriage license
• Buy ties & pocket squares for the groom, groomsmen and fathers
• Assemble the bases for the flowergirl flower wands (PS - Congrats to Becca and fam -- we're officially adding little Charlotte Joanne to our wedding party in May!)
• Create seating chart and have it printed at Kinko

I can't really seem to think of anything more, though I'm sure there's plenty I'm forgetting! Anybody else have any suggestions about what I've forgotten so far?

Our Photographer! (A Re-Post!)

I posted this previously, but because I wrote a draft, saved it and came back later, Blogger posted this when I began the draft (aka posted it about 7 posts back from when I wanted it). So basically this was overlooked, and I decided that Kara's work was much too amazing to just gloss over. So I'm re-posting all of it:

Please meet the amazing work of the lovely Kara Schultz, owner of Karatography:

(All images from Karatography)

I think it's pretty easy to see why once we saw her work, we just had to book!! And, it's also fairly evident what a sucker I am for photojournalism and fine art photography!

She has a great eye for style, she's unbelievably responsive and flexible, and we have the utmost trust that she'll capture everything we want for the day.

We'll be doing an engagement shoot sometime in late May/early June, so I'll have the opportunity to post more of her fantastic work!

Our Photographer!

Well, we received word recently that our contract/deposit has been received, so I can officially announce our photographer!

Please meet the amazing work of the lovely Kara Schultz, owner of Karatography:

(All images from Karatography)

I think it's pretty easy to see why once we saw her work, we just had to book!! And, it's also fairly evident what a sucker I am for photojournalism and fine art photography!

Photographer - Check!

Yesterday we met with 2 photographers who had made our "short list." It was great to meet them both, especially within a shortened amount of time, so we could make easier comparisons on work, price, personality, etc. Plus, we got to see some albums in person, which was nice. I guess I wasn't expecting them to be as great as they were, and now I want one :(

Anyway, we decided on the photographer about 2 minutes after getting into the car, and are in the process of sending in the contract and deposit. Exciting stuff :)

Once everything's completely "official," I'll definitely post a few of her pics and link up to her website or blog so you all can enjoy the goodness!

So besides her being friendly and helpful as well as the quality of her work, we were impressed by everything offered in her package. For a great price (well within budget), this is what we're getting:

• 2 engagement sessions (in case 1 doesn't turn out well or we wanted to do them at different times of the year)
• Unlimited photography the day of the wedding (great since we'll be there in the morning and are potentially having an after-party)
• A post-session (in case we don't have time for all the "artistic" type photos that I want the day of the wedding --- allowing us more flexibility to spend more time with the guests...
• Printing rights to ALL of our pictures, sent to us on DVD within 6 weeks of the wedding, once they've been edited and retouched

I really loved the option of having the printing rights, because I thought that not only would we have ALL of our pictures in a great medium for sharing (via blog, email, website, etc.), we can also purchase our prints when it's financially convenient --- there's no rush to spend hundreds of dollars on prints weeks after the wedding. Plus, as we move into new and different houses, we can always conveniently order more to fit the new spaces...

The option also allows us to extend the printing rights to family and friends. Prints can either be distributed and ordered through us, or they can be ordered through her. What Tom and I were really impressed with was that she doesn't price the additional prints to make profit, so those are really affordable as well.

All in all, we're pretty happy, and looking forward to the engagement sessions next year :)

Picture Time :)

Photography, as one of the few lasting artifacts of a wedding (alongside the marriage and misc. apparel), has become a rather important priority to us. And while Tom cares more about the substance and I the style (story of my life), finding a photographer to capture both is quite a task.

As such, here is the short list of qualities that we need:

- Must be able to work within budget. MUST.
- Shoots digitally, and will give us the rights to all photos thereafter.
- Photojournalistic style, with fine art emphasis.
- 2 photographers would be ideal.
- Personality is HUGE. Must be patient, creative & flexible. :-)

Tall order, no??

The good news is that I think I've found someone. The bad news is, well, there is no bad news! For now. Hoorah!

We were originally scheduled to meet with her this weekend, but as we don't have an official contract with the venue, meaning our date is subject to change, I thought it would be best to wait until everything was confirmed.

I'll post some of her photos once the contract is signed and whatnot...

'Til then, here's a quick peek at some candid photos from other photographers who specialize in this style...

(All courtesy of Snippet & Ink)