Chicago Destination Wedding Photographer - Creative Artistic Photojournalism - Nakai Photography Blog

Chicago Destination Wedding Photographer - Creative Artistic Photojournalism - Nakai Photography Blog http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog Chicago Destination Wedding Photography Blog. Creative Artistic Photojournalism. Capturing real and authentic moments from your wedding day Wed, 16 May 2012 21:29:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 It’s that time of the year! Michele + Sushil’s eSession! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/chicago-indian-engagement-photos-michele-sushil/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/chicago-indian-engagement-photos-michele-sushil/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 21:29:45 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/?p=7666

It’s that time of the year Chicago! The weather is warming up…the sun is staying out later and later…tis the season for engagement photo sessions! Or ‘eSessions’ as we like to call them! Michele and Sushil are getting married next month and I am looking forward to taking photos of their multi day Indian wedding! So much goes into planning an Indian wedding, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store!

We started taking their engagement pictures where it all began. Their first date included a stop at the Chicago Trump Tower! So we made sure to take some photos next to the Trump!

I love how you can see the Chicago skyline in the reflection of the glass!

Hanging out near Chicago’s Wacker Drive

They wanted to take photos in lower Wacker…nothing says Chicago like Lower Wacker!

A fun photo!

Lower Wacker Drive!

The happy couple!!!

Michele also loves the Chicago bridges – so we made sure to spend sometime over the Chicago river!

One of my favorite photos from their engagement session!

We stopped by a local Starbucks for a quick break and a quick photoshoot! I really enjoy taking photos at night- it is such a different feeling!

The night photography add that aura of romance =)

Another urban engagement photo

And one more to finish off the blog post!

Thanks Michele and Sushil for a great time with during your engagement session! I can’t wait until your epic Indian wedding celebration coming up! See you both soon!

with love,

Kenny

]]> http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/chicago-indian-engagement-photos-michele-sushil/feed/ 0 Lions, Giraffes & Dolphins? It’s at a Zoo! Taz & Kamil! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/brookfield-zoo-wedding-photos-taz-kamil/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/brookfield-zoo-wedding-photos-taz-kamil/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 21:16:46 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/?p=7650

I’m always happy to meet people who follow my wedding photography blog and my wedding images. So much love goes into Nakai Photography and it’s great to talk with people who have joined me on this journey! SOooo…if you have been following my blog and imagery for awhile…and I don’t know you…please…leave a comment and say ‘hello!’

Taz was one of those people. She has followed my work ever since I had photographed the wedding of her friends Mark and Kerrie Ann back in 2009! And when it was her turn to have her wedding…she really wanted to have me take her wedding photos!

One thing about Taz and Kamil…they love animals! So much that they decided to have their intimate wedding at the Brookfield Zoo! The staff at the Brookfield Zoo were so very accommodating and allowed us to take so many photos with the zoo animals! Enjoy the photos! How often do you see a bride and a wedding dress next to lions and dolphins!

We started with the giraffes!

Said hello the to dolphins

This was my favorite wedding photo from the day~ even though there were no animals cooperating at this exhibit. =)

The lovely bride! She looks amazing!!!

Brookfield zoo is a great place to take wedding photos! I only wish we had more time with the animals!

And the Brookfield Zoo has peacocks walking around! It is rare to get a photo with them with their feathers open! We were lucky!

The happy couple!

Nothing says a wedding picture like a portrait with a lion!

We took a ride on the Brookfield Zoo ferris wheel!

So much fun at the Brookfield Zoo!

Love this last photo!

Thank you Taz and Kamil for having me as your wedding photographer! We had such a great time! From roaring lions to peacocks crowing! You were both so great to photograph and I am thankful to have been apart of your lives!

with love,

Kenny

]]> http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/brookfield-zoo-wedding-photos-taz-kamil/feed/ 1 Beautiful Red & Gold Colors for Madiha + Danish! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/pakistani-wedding-photos-intercontinental-ohare-chicago-madiha-danish/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/pakistani-wedding-photos-intercontinental-ohare-chicago-madiha-danish/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 17:52:09 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/?p=7617

Day 3 of Madiha + Danish’s Pakistani Wedding Extravaganza!

In cased you missed Day 2 at the Swissotel Chicago, be sure to see the photos at their Swissotel Chicago wedding blog post! Oliveaire Artisan Events & Meetings brought the ambiance – you just have to check it out for yourself! Day 1 was held at the Renaissance North Shore – where Pink + Blue were the colors for the night!

We start their wedding blog post with my favorite image from Day 3 of their wedding extravaganza!

Day 3 was held at the Intercontinental Ohare Chicago. I love the modern look and vibe of the Intercontinental Ohare – and Oliveaire Events once again completely transformed the room! Love the uplighting!

Red linens!

Wedding cake photo at the Intercontinental Ohare!

Madiha was getting ready in the Intercontinental bridal suite and after her hair and makeup were done- I had to grab these portraits of the beautiful bride!

Simply stunning!

Downstairs in the Intercontinental ballroom – the Pakistani ceremony was beginning!

The stage was something out of a movie set!

The bride and groom looked so amazing that we HAD to walk around the Intercontinental Ohare and take some creative portraits!

Love their smiles and laughs!

Photos out of a magazine!

And at the end of the night- there was the ‘goodbye’ ceremony – You can see the emotions on her face in this photo-

The last hug w/her dad and you can see the family and friends pulling them apart-

Sisters…

And the getaway car- a classic Bentley! Danish has good taste in his cars! =)

What an intense wedding weekend! Madiha and Danish definitely bought it all for their Pakistani wedding celebration! Family and friends traveled from near and far to celebrate with them and I don’t think they were disappointed! I hope these wedding photos helped tell their story and capture the ambiance of their wedding day!

Enjoy these Pakistani wedding photos? Feel free to leave a comment for the bride and groom below!

]]> http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/pakistani-wedding-photos-intercontinental-ohare-chicago-madiha-danish/feed/ 0 Pakistani Wedding at the Swissotel! – Madiha + Danish! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/pakistani-chicago-swissotel-wedding-photos-madiha-danish/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/pakistani-chicago-swissotel-wedding-photos-madiha-danish/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 20:36:43 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/?p=7538

Chicago Pakistani Wedding Day 2: Swissotel Chicago

Madiha and Danish continued their four day wedding celebration with Day 2 at the downtown hotel: Swissotel Chicago! In case you don’t know…the Swissotel Chicago is located right next to the Chicago River by Lake Michigan! Gorgeous views of Navy Pier and the Wrigley building! And that’s where day 2 started. In the penthouse suite of the Swissotel Chicago!

In case you missed their Mendhi wedding photos from Day 1, click here to see photos and to read about their Mendhi party!

All the floral decor and wedding coordination was handled by coordinator: Zeena from Olivaire Artisan Events! They did a fabulous job!

A photo of Madiha’s beautiful bouquet

Her wedding dress hanging with Chicago’s Navy Pier in the background

Wedding shoes photo!

Her necklace

The groom getting ready – Love Chicago in the background!

A portrait of Danish before the wedding!

MY FAVORITE PHOTO of Danish – Wish I was in this photo!

My favorite photo of Madiha! Love her smile!

A portrait of the bride! Jillian from Perfect Hair Anywhere did a great job on her hair!

Creative Portraits in the Swissotel Chicago penthouse suite!

What an amazing dress!

The Nikkah (Nikah) ceremony is a Muslim marriage ceremony. But before the Nikkah started, I grabbed this photo of her grandfather – he’s so photogenic! =)

The Nikkah prayer time

I love this photo between father and daughter. They had just finished an emotional embrace when Madiha put her hands on her father’s face-

The room was filled with emotions after the Nikkah

Downstairs by the Swissotel Chicago ballroom…Oliveiare was busy putting together all the final touches for the wedding ceremony! A photo of the table card decoration-

Wedding cake!

Oliveaire totally transformed the Chicago Swissotel ballroom!

The groom walked his parents down first-

The bride being escorted by her brother- I love the trees decorating the aisle!

There’s a new wedding band on her hand!

Just like her Mendhi party, Madiha’s brother sang a song

A photo of newly weds!

Some creative portraits around the Swissotel Chicago

Wedding favors-

That’s it for now! I will be posting Day 3 & 4 next week on the blog! So be sure to come back for more!

Contact – Portfolio – Facebook – Twitter
Chicago Studio in Lincoln Park: 855 W. Blackhawk #104 Chicago, IL 60642 *by appointment only*

]]> http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/pakistani-chicago-swissotel-wedding-photos-madiha-danish/feed/ 2 Pink + Blue Chicago Mendhi Party! Madiha + Danish! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/chicago-pakistan-mendhi-photos-madiha-danish/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/chicago-pakistan-mendhi-photos-madiha-danish/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 20:17:12 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/?p=7500

I love Pakistani Weddings!

One of the great things about Chicago is the diversity of its population. I have photographed Vietnamese, Mexican, Polish, Lithuanian, Irish, African American, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, etc wedding…all here in Chicago! And that’s just the cultures off the top of my head! And while each culture has their own wedding traditions…nothing quite takes the cake like a Pakistani wedding!

Madiha and Danish commissioned me to be apart of their four day Pakistani Wedding celebration! I will be posting wedding photos from each day here on the blog! So make sure you come back for more in the coming days! If you wanted to see photos from their engagement photography session, you can see their engagement blog post here!

Today I am sharing photos from their Mendhi party! There is so much meaning to what is happening here…and I cannot do it proper justice. And I am not ‘exactly’ sure either. =)

We started the afternoon in Northbrook at Madiha’s parent’s house. It was my first time meeting Jillian from Perfect Hair Anywhere. And after seeing what Jillian did with Madiha’s hair each day…let me tell you…she did a phenomenal job! By the end of four days together…I kinda missed hanging out with Jillian and Madiha. =)

Wedding Coordinating: Oliveaire Artisan Events

The Mendhi celebration was also coordinated by the wonderful team over at Oliveaire Artisan Events & Meetings. Their team of professionals made sure everything was running smoothly and all the little details were taken care of! And with this four day Pakistani wedding, there were a LOT of details to manage! Great job Zeena over at Oliveaire!

Wedding Venue: Renaissance Chicago North Shore

And feel free to leave a comment for the bride and groom to read at the bottom of the post! You can also share and like this blog post (with the buttons at the top of the blog post) – Thanks!

I thought to take a photo of the flower jewelry in a creative way. Here I put her flower earring in a display case. Apparently Madiha’s mom loves to collect these little pieces…so I thought to incorporate that into her flower jewelry photo!

The last time this ring is going to be without the wedding bands! =) I loved the colors of her dress and the henna on her hand!

The flower jewelry that Jillian from Perfect Hair Anywhere was incorporating into the bride’s hair.

Love the flower jewelry and her ring!

The beautiful bride before heading out to the Renaissance Chicago North Shore!

I love this picture of the bride before the Mendhi ceremony started

Introducing Danish…the groom

Zeena from Oliveaire Artisan Events did a great job with the decor! They really transformed the Renaissance Chicago North Shore ballroom into a dreamy location!

Another Renaissance ballroom picture

White leather lounge areas for the wedding guests

And the Mendhi Celebration begins!

The groom being escorted by his boys in blue-

The bride is lead by her brother and a bunch of other guys wearing pink! I love how the pink and the blue came together! They look great in the photos!

The bride being carried into the room!

Together!

And from here- there are a bunch of Mendhi traditions! The whole family is involved during and Pakistani wedding celebration!

After the ceremonies were over, the bride’s brother came up to sing a few songs

And if you’ve ever been to a Pakistani wedding before…you’ve probably seen a performance like this one!

Thanks so much for reading and enjoying these photos! Stay tuned as I post the rest of their wedding photos in the coming days!!! There are so many MORE amazing photos to share!

]]> http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/05/chicago-pakistan-mendhi-photos-madiha-danish/feed/ 0 Janice + Peter’s Wedding Slideshow! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/04/janice-peter-chicago-wedding-slideshow/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/04/janice-peter-chicago-wedding-slideshow/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:00:35 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/04/janice-peter-chicago-wedding-slideshow/

So things here at Nakai Photography have been a bit busy these past few months! I got married! This Chicago wedding photographer had a wonderful celebration with his beautiful bride…surrounded by so many friends and family! I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things here at the studio…

I’ve been wanting to share Janice + Peter’s wedding photography slideshow! We had such a great time at the Intercontinental Ohare! You can see more wedding photos and read more about their wedding at their wedding blog post! But for now, enjoy their wedding slideshow!

Contact – Portfolio – Facebook – Twitter
Chicago Studio in Lincoln Park: 855 W. Blackhawk #104 Chicago, IL 60642 *by appointment only*

]]> http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/04/janice-peter-chicago-wedding-slideshow/feed/ 0 Roseanne + Joshua’s Wedding Slideshow! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/03/roseanne-joshuas-wedding-slideshow/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/03/roseanne-joshuas-wedding-slideshow/#comments Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:14:47 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/02/roseanne-joshuas-wedding-slideshow/

What a wonderful Chicago wedding! You HAVE to read more about this wedding at their wedding blog post! But for now…enjoy the slideshow! And if you have a good internet connection…you can watch it in full HD glory!

Contact – Portfolio – Facebook – Twitter
Chicago Studio in Lincoln Park: 855 W. Blackhawk #104 Chicago, IL 60642 *by appointment only*

]]> http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/03/roseanne-joshuas-wedding-slideshow/feed/ 0 Carina + Jeff’s Wedding Slideshow! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/03/morton-arboretum-wedding-photography-slideshow-carina-jeff/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/03/morton-arboretum-wedding-photography-slideshow-carina-jeff/#comments Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:23:09 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/?p=7482

Carina and Jeff’s Wedding Photography Slideshow! To read more about their wedding and to see my favorite photos from their wedding day, be sure to check out their wedding blog post!

We has so much fun taking creative photos at the Morton Arboretum! Congrats again to Carina and Jeff!

Contact – Portfolio – Facebook – Twitter
Chicago Studio in Lincoln Park: 855 W. Blackhawk Chicago, IL 60642 *by appointment only*

]]> http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/03/morton-arboretum-wedding-photography-slideshow-carina-jeff/feed/ 0 A Union League Club of Chicago Engagement Party! Maureen + Chris! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/03/union-league-club-chicago-engagement-party-photos-maureen-chris/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/03/union-league-club-chicago-engagement-party-photos-maureen-chris/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:06:16 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/?p=7461

The Union League Club of Chicago is a great place for a celebration, wedding or in this case…an engagement party! The Union League Club of Chicago was ranked #1 by America’s City Club Leader’s Forum in 2009!

Maureen and Chris will be getting married later this summer – and they celebrated their engagement with a party at the Union League Club of Chicago! I had a great time with the two of them during their engagement session last fall – and I can’t wait til their wedding!

The Union League Club of Chicago have many different rooms and floors available for functions.

A photo of the Bride-to-be and Groom-to-be: Maureen & Chris!

Their engagement cake photo!

A gorgeous floral arrangement-

Table pieces-

Chris and Maureen ordered professional photo enlargement from me to share for everyone! If you want to see more photos from their engagement session, click here!

Great party Maureen + Chris! Looking forward to see you all again very soon!

with love,

Kenny

Contact – Portfolio – Facebook – Twitter
Chicago Studio in Lincoln Park: 855 W. Blackhawk #104 Chicago, IL 60642 *by appointment only*

]]> http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/03/union-league-club-chicago-engagement-party-photos-maureen-chris/feed/ 0 Grace + Joe’s Wedding Photography Slideshow! http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/02/grace-joe-wedding-photography-slideshow/ http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/02/grace-joe-wedding-photography-slideshow/#comments Sun, 26 Feb 2012 04:14:52 +0000 admin http://www.nakaiphotography.com/blog/2012/02/grace-joe-wedding-photography-slideshow/

Grace + Joe’s Wedding Photography Slideshow from this past year! We were able to grab some creative photos throughout Chicago! We started on the west side and finished up north! And while we are waiting for winter to finish up here in Chicago…Joe + Grace are enjoying life in Georgia! You can read more about their wedding at their wedding blog post!

Contact – Portfolio – Facebook – Twitter
Chicago Studio in Lincoln Park: 855 W. Blackhawk Chicago, IL 60642 *by appointment only*

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