Here are a couple photos we took a week before their wedding when we hung out to talk about the two of them and the last minute wedding details.

***more than 70+ photos can be found on my facebook page. Including the prayer ceremonies at the B&G’s houses before the wedding ceremony. Feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see all the photos there***

Church
Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel
190 S Prospect Ave
Elmhurst, IL 60126

Reception
The Meadows Club
2950 W Golf Rd
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008

On the wedding day, we started in Des Plaines…I love Shaina’s laugh as her friend and hairstylist, Gigi, helps put the finishing touches on the veil. Not to mention that her twin sister (maid of honor) seems to almost have the same laugh…like a mirrored reflection-

A photo of the wedding bouquet-

I loved the dress and veil-

A great makeup job was done by Lillian from Starlight Chicago.

Once at the church I grabbed these two portraits of Abin.

I love this photo of Abin…like…I wish I had my picture taken there too! =)

As she began to walk down the aisle…his eyes began to well up…ever so slightly-

The bride is escorted by her two brothers down the aisle-

I love this moment Shaina has with her father just before he presents her to Abin-

Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel was a beautiful church with wonderful natural light coming through. It is located in Elmhurst College…Shaina’s alma mater.

In an Indian Christian wedding…the priest (achin) blesses the rings at the very beginning.

He surprised his bride by singing a song for her-

The ever so important manthrakodi – as he places the sari around his bride. If you want to see photos of the necklace tying (minnu/thali) you can see those in the facebook album.

A group photo in front of Hammerschmidt Chapel-

We didn’t have too much time for creative portraits, but I did manage to get this photo after climbing onto the roof- =) In my mind, it looks like a flower-

I love this photo…Abin & Shaina were so great to work with- their connection was just so obvious to me and it made my job as their photographer so easy!

What a moment- I LOVE this-

Love this photo too! =)

He picked her up with ease!

The wedding cake with matching tiffany/baby blue colors.

The ever so important milk drinking ceremony- One of the few couples that actually drank all of it! =)

Thank you Abin & Shaina for having me as your wedding photographer! And thank you for being willing to walk all over for those creative portraits! I’m so glad we took the time for those! As you were faithful to your convictions regarding your relationship before marriage…I can only imagine the wonderful things that lie in store now that you are one- God bless you guys!

with love,

Kenny

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I did a little something unique at the beginning with the audio. It is the first time I have ever done this- and even though it’s just a little something, I think it adds so much! Enjoy the HD wedding slideshow!

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Mike & Sue went to the same college, and the same church…but they really didn’t know each other at that time. Flash forward a couple years…up in Chicago…a few sparks fly and the rest is history. =)

Heading out to Michigan City was a bit of a day trip. Round trip we probably spent over 3 hours in the car together…but talking to these two was like talking two lifelong friends. Fueled by McDonald’s sweet tea (easy on the ice) we had an awesome time shooting these creative photos in a new location.

***more photos are on my facebook page! feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see the photos!***

Before getting into the photo set, I want to share with you my favorite photo from the session. While on our photoshoot, we could see the clouds rolling in and the rain began to drizzle as we were finishing up our photos at the beach. The clouds really helped to create this awesome photo! It’s a little more on the ‘creative’ side…and I absolutely love it!

When we first arrived, the sun was shining and offering all kinds of gorgeous light!

I feel like singing the theme song from the TV show “California Dreams” when I look at this photo- it definitely doesn’t feel like Lake Michigan.

A little bit of fun-

Gotta love their smiles!

It was awesome to see them smiling and having fun in our photoshoot!

I don’t know…maybe it’s just me, but I love this lighthouse! Maybe from the fact that we really don’t have any in Chicago…

And after the sun set…we grabbed this photo next to a street lamp.

Sue & Mike: I can’t wait until your wedding!

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Wedding Ceremony & Reception: Waterford Banquets
933 B South Riverside Drive
Elmhurst, IL 60126

Decor: Shaadi Creations

***more photos are on my facebook page – check there tomorrow for more than 70+ pictures!***

A photo of Sheetal’s earrings and her Christian Louboutin shoes- Check out the detail in the silver on the shoes

Another shot of the Louboutin- =)

She wore her sari for the morning Indian ceremonies before changing into an evening gown for the reception-

Sheetal’s make up was done by Jane, a beauty specialist from Saks Fifth Avenue-

Waterford looked great as the Indian ceremony was held outside-

A fantastic set up by Shaadi Creations-

In the background…you can see Sheetal’s mom being overwhelmed with emotions

The only moment where she let her emotions in -the part of the ceremony where she says good bye to her family in Chicago.

After the ceremonies were over, she changed into an gorgeous silver evening gown – And while we didn’t have a lot of time, we were able to grab some great photos of the newlyweds!

She got her Christian Louboutin shoes…and he got to rent a Lamborghini – Pretty good deal for both sides!

Being a little creative with Dhaval’s two loves for the day…his woman and the car-

Another creative photo-

Off to the side of the waterford reception hall, there was a sweet lounge set up…I loved the decorative lighting set up.

A photo of the wedding cake

The first dance

Sheetal & Dhaval: when it was all said and done…what an awesome day! Enjoy the photos!

with love,

Kenny

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One of my first wedding couples, Natasha & Shomari, were helping out with the end of the year celebration and they asked if I would come out to join them. It was a great time to let loose after another school year…a fair complete with games, tickets and snow cones!

***More photos can be found on my facebook page. Feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see all 20+ images there***

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And so it began with a text message. And then some gmail/facebook chatting. More text messages. But still Damaris would not agree to meet in person. Only after much persistence did she finally agree and the rest was history! It was an Asian-Latino wedding: Indian & Puerto Rican families coming together in marriage. I love the diversity the body of Christ can bring together.

Church: Faith Alliance Bible Church (FABC)
382 S Mount Prospect Rd
Des Plaines, IL 60016

***there are 30 pictures posted here, you can see 50+ on my facebook page. Feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see them!***

I loved the lime green wall in Damaris’ room- I had to incorporate that into her wedding dress photo!

A photo of mom helping her daughter one last time before the ceremony

A portrait of the beautiful bride-

I love the natural light inside Faith Alliance Bible Church- makes for an awesome entry photo!

One of those moments that only a few people saw…I love my job as a wedding photographer!

He couldn’t take his eyes off of her…

First time I ever really got a photo of the important ring passing moment-

We headed out to Chicago, near O’hare for our creative photosession. Dennis is an amateur photographer himself and so I used a technique that I knew he would appreciate for this photo-

It took some time to get to this location, but we definitely made the most of it!

The ladies wore Tiffany blue dresses-

And I really liked how the Tiffany blue worked with the dark grey suit/tuxedo.

And then there was this photo. I’ve never been so happy after a photo before. I was as giddy as a junior high kid on Mountain Dew. So much effort pre-wedding went into this moment and to see it work was an amazing feeling. Chicago O’hare International airport…lots of airplanes flying around…the location of choice for this photo.

Add to the stress level: the intermittent thunder storms throughout the day which threatened to cancel this photo opportunity or move the airplane flight patterns.

literally…5 minutes after we took this photo…the skies opened up and the thunderstorms rolled in! It was pouring rain by the time we got to the reception just 10 minutes later.

And finally a photo of the rings on their wedding color- Tiffany Blue!

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For each wedding, I am always challenging myself to be creative and come up with a new shot or pose. It’s not always easy, but when it works out, I get a rush like no other. Bobby & Theresa let me decide where we would shoot their creative photos and they built in a lot of time into their schedule. More time = more photos!

Ceremony: St Paul Chong Hasang Catholic Church
675 Dursey Ln
Des Plaines, IL 60016

Reception: Meridian Banquets
1701 Algonquin Rd
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008

***more photos from this wedding can be found on my facebook page- feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see them***

I thought this was a fun photo of Theresa’s wedding veil being put on-

Her purple & silver wedding shoes!

Wedding dress details

A photo of the gorgeous bride!

Since we took photos before the ceremony, we had a ‘first look’ between Bobby & Theresa before we started the photo session. You gotta love the purple/lavender dresses and flowers!

Some photos in Elk Grove, near Theresa’s home

Real smiles, real laughs in this photo! Such a fun group!

A great bridal party image

Look at their smiles! It just makes you want to smile too!

As I mentioned before, Bobby & Theresa gave me a lot of time and so I was able to come up with some creative photos like the ones below

I absolutely love this photo of Theresa-

A photo of the guys-

Bobby is a huge comic book and Kung-Fu fan, and so we decided to be a little creative and have some fun with their photos- This was just too much fun to create!

The men-

One of the best shots of the day! Bobby brought one of his most coveted possessions, and we HAD to take a photo with it!

Purple/lavender flowers at St Paul’s

This was a first for me in all my years of wedding photography-

I think this photos sums up their relationship- =)

Wedding cake!

This photo could be titled: Retribution!

Thanks again for a wonderful time Bobby & Theresa! You guys are an amazing couple and thank you for your hard work in the schools and giving so much to your students!

with love,

Kenny

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Elyse and I have been friends for a long time now, and it was a blessing to see her with David as they shared a little bit of their love story with me. You can see it in their eyes when they talk, laugh and poke each other…that there is some obvious chemistry there- =)

I hope these photos capture that connection – enjoy!

It tends to be a little crowded at Millennium Park on the weekends, so we found a more secluded area where they could be more comfortable-

I love their expressions and the energy in the moment.

Millennium Park has a wonderful garden showcasing various flowers in bloom-

And as usual, we went a couple blocks from Millennium Park to an alley and had some fun taking some photos away from the touristy scenes…

Millennium Park also has a really cool water fountain right on Michigan Avenue-

Capturing a reflection in the photo-

Thanks you guys for really opening up! And to think…you were worried about how the photos would turn out! =) Can’t wait til the wedding!

with love,

Kenny

Nakai Photography

One thing I keep in mind when taking photos of families, is the personalities of the kids- I love the interaction they have with their parents and with each other. Kids grow up so fast and their faces, smiles and ‘looks’ change all the time! These more casual family photo sessions are a great way to ‘stop time’ and remember your kids at this moment in their lives-

Fun times in front of an old horse drawn carriage.

There were two cousins that joined in for a couple photos!

This was my favorite photo from the portrait session. It makes me smile every time I look at it!

She loved her umbrella – I loved how Julie selected great outfits and accessories for the kids-

What a smile!

I think these guys are looking for a future career in modeling! And I loved the red ties!

He was trying to out run my camera! =)

Thanks Frank & Julie for another awesome family photo session! You guys were great!

with love,

Kenny

I love Justine’s flower in her hair- It’s the attention to the little details that I love!

I loved this classic pose as we pay homage to the photographers from the past. But man…we had a ton of laughs trying to keep a straight face! =)

Jordan & Justine are visual people and are really into illustrations that tell a story- So for a couple images, I took a little more liberty in my post-process to create a more illustrative photo.

Justine looked amazing and Jordan just couldn’t keep his eyes off of her!

The Chicago Botanic Gardens has a couple of Japanese islands that have this really cool bridge. Jordan was fascinated by this bridge as a child, so we made sure to include it in some photos.

Thank you Jordan & Justine for having me as your wedding photographer! It was great getting to know you both and hearing your stories and your love for one another- I wish you the best, and here’s to another photoshoot in New Zealand! =)