90% of my clients who step in front of my lens…are nervous!

Anastasia and Patrick are no exception. This couple is so full of life…they love to travel and participate in all kinds of activities! In fact…while were talking about their engagement session, I was taking notes on all the different activities or places I haven’t done or visited yet (especially in Chicago)! And while they are great friends and love to spend time with one another…they were nervous about the photoshoot! And as I assure all my clients…this is normal. =) But it is my job…to make you feel comfortable during the engagement photo session. This is one of the reasons I strongly encourage couples to book an engagement photo shoot with their wedding photographer. They need to know that they can ‘be themselves’ with their wedding photographer! I hope through these engagement photos, you can really see but more importantly…feel…the love and emotions shared between Anastasia + Patrick!

When looking through my engagement photography portfolio, A + P were drawn to my Chicago urban industrial photography. So we decided to head to the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago for their photos!

Great smiles in this photo!

A gorgeous yellow background in the West Loop~

A larger, wider, creative photo…almost like landscape photography – really highlighting the urban industrial vibe of Chicago

A more creative crop- such strong graphical elements in the photo, but yet I love the moment shared between the two-

This building in the West Loop represents the economical climate in Chicago and our nation during this period of time. And yet while there are so many incomplete projects and many are in difficult financial situations…love remains. And the future is always brighter when you are on a journey with your best friend.

Her face is glowing. =)

We headed indoors to one of their more favorite chill spots in Chicago.

It was great to see Patrick smile and laugh throughout the afternoon –

One of my favorite photos from the engagement session

What a great couple-

I definitely try to maintain a clean and modern look to my photography. This photo is an example of that…And as before, I love their emotions!

Nothing says Chicago like the Willis *ahem* Sears *ahem* tower.

So many great elements to this photo! And being in the west loop, there is an urban industrial vibe in the decor!

Something new for this year…photos in my photography studio! (located in Lincoln Park, Chicago) This is a new option for my wedding couples! A+P are the first couple to take advantage of this new type of engagement photography! Check out the gorgeous soon-to-be bride!

Patrick makes her smile. =)

A studio photo of the happy couple!

Favorite photo of Patrick- almost belongs in GQ or the W magazine!

Not to be out done…This photo of Anastasia..blows me away. I had to ask her if she has done any modeling before. Um…Vanity Fair anyone?

And one last photo of the beautiful couple!

Thanks so much Anastasia + Patrick for a great afternoon! You guys were soooo great to work with, and I hope I was able to put you both at ease throughout the photo session! Your relationship and emotions really shine in the photos…and I am privileged to have been apart of it!

Looking forward to the wedding! =)

with love,

Kenny

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New Chicago Studio in Lincoln Park: 855 W. Blackhawk Chicago, IL 60642 *by appointment only*

College put some distance between them. Like 48 states in between. Thus…out of sight out of mind? Almost. I’m sure there are chapters in between, but let’s fast forward to the end of the story…where years later sparks are rekindled and…bata boom bata bing…they are now married!

We had a great time at their engagement session photoshoot…it was good for them to be in front of the camera…so on their wedding day, they didn’t have to worry about feeling uncomfortable having their pictures taken. You can see their engagement photos here.

Since their families live so close to one another in the northshore suburbs of Chicago, it only seems fitting to have their wedding ceremony there as well. The Kenilworth Union Church, with it’s wonderful architecture and beautiful courtyard, was a perfect fit. After the ceremony, we headed down Lake Shore Drive, through downtown Chicago, to the W Hotel Chicago City Center. A reception venue with a great vintage and modern vibe.

Ceremony
Kenilworth Union Church
211 Kenilworth Ave
Kenilworth, IL 60043

Reception
The W Hotel Chicago City Center
172 West Adams St
Chicago, IL 60603

Elizabeth’s wedding dress looked at home in her parent’s living room.

Her wedding shoes by J.Crew

The younger sisters helping to put the finishing touches on her wedding dress-

When the other two bridesmaid’s walked in…they were a little overwhelmed-

A couple photos of the gorgeous bride!

I suppose I should post a couple photos of the groom as well- =)

A photo of the guys-

Some photos in the courtyard of the Kenilworth Union Church

Taking advantage of the stonework surrounding the church

I love their expressions in this photo-

Wedding photography was a high priority for Elizabeth & Dan. They appreciate the way I incorporate architecture into my wedding photography, and I really wanted to make sure I did a good job for them-

I love the way he is looking at her in this photo-

Leaving Kenilworth, we headed downtown…and on the way we stopped at a bridge where we could capture “Chicago” with various architectural details.

The pink flowers just pop in the color palette of this photo-

You can just see it in his eyes….just how happy she makes him feel-

I saw this moment about to happen and I ran across the street to grab this photo. I didn’t prompt them or anything…this was how they were walking…I’m sure some of them didn’t even know I was taking this photo.

Wonderful floral arrangements-

The main ballroom at the W Hotel Chicago City Center-

The wedding cake with pink accents

Pink floral centerpiece-

Cocktail hour at the W Hotel-

Look at her smile as they dance their first dance as newly weds. I can only begin to imagine some of her feelings at this moment-

Wedding ring surrounded by pink orchids-

And to finish the night…a surprise from Dan’s brother…a midnight carriage ride through Chicago.

Elizabeth and Dan…though you guys have known each other for years…it is so very obvious in these photos and others…just how much you guys love each other. You are loved by so many…thank you for having me as your wedding photographer. I wish you both the best!

with love,

Kenny

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***more than 40+ photos available on my facebook page later this week. Feel free to ‘friend’ me if you want to see those!***

Jonathan wanted a more urban – industrial feel for his wedding photos, after seeing what I have done on other photoshoots. But they were getting married in Wheeling, IL. And if you are not from the Chicagoland area, Wheeling is in the center of the northwest suburbs of Chicago…nice towns and homes…hardly a place one would think to find an urban – industrial location.

But knowing that Becky & Jonathan wanted great wedding photos, I had another creative idea for them, something I have played around with for years and have been wanting to implement at a wedding: “painting with light”.

“Painting with light” is not an easy thing to do as it is…let alone on a wedding day. Yet with all time pressures we managed to pull off four (I’m only sharing three here for now) photos that I haven’t seen done in wedding photography before. Many thanks to the B&G and the bridal party…as this took a lot of work from them!

Here is a “painting with light” photo of the bride with her bridesmaids- The black dresses with pink flowers and ribbons really stand out-

The groom and groomsmen get their own photo…

And then we did a whole bridal party photograph. 22 people! Photographing 22 people can be challenging…and here we are trying to “paint with light”! This was a conceptual photo…I was lying in bed one night the week before their wedding when I thought of this idea for the two of them…I even went out and bought the rope! =)

Working title: “Who Tied the Knot?”

Becky’s wedding shoes were a nice muted color…hot pink =)

Her beautiful mermaid style wedding dress

I absolutely love this photo of Becky …so classic & elegant!

Before our photoshoot, the bride and groom had a first moment together…I love the look on Becky’s face as she contemplates seeing her soon-to-be husband standing before her….

A tear rolled down..it’s tough to see in this small photo-

And in Wheeling, IL (suburb of Chicago) – we found our urban – industrial look!

Fun times! Gotta show off the shoes! =)

The groom putting on the ring…with a very attentive Pastor Min looking on to make sure everything goes right!

One of my favorite moments from Asian weddings…the bride hugging her parents…and her sister is in the background of the photo getting emotional too-

Thanks Becky & Jonathan for having me! Thank you for giving me the time to be creative with your wedding portraits! I hope you are enjoying being in the same ‘home’ let alone the same city! =)

with love,

Kenny

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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I can’t wait to shoot her wedding this upcoming weekend, but until then, here are some shots from our downtown Evanston engagement session!

The light was fading fast, so we had to take advantage of it while it was still around-

We took a break from shooting at had another awesome meal at Joy Yee’s Restaurant before heading out to the streets for some night shots! (my favorite dish there is the sesame chicken) The streets of Evanston had enough light for us to capture some cool shots.

Some good times with Red Mango yogurt. I love all the different berries you can mix into your fro-yo – it not only tastes good, but looks so pretty, you almost don’t want to eat it!

Can you believe this urban Chicago? Feels more like rural Illinois. =)

I love her smile-

They are having so much fun in this industrial area!

The West loop is full of galleries and cool restaurants-

Dance with me- Jon’s got the moves!

Every industrial area has their set of railroad tracks

They had an outfit change and donned a more formal look-

One of my favorite moments of the day with the two of them-

Thanks being willing to travel down to the West Loop! I’m glad you like my ideas for an urban industrial type engagement photoshoot!

Your wedding photo are up next!

Kenny

View my Portfolio l Email: info at nakaiphotography dot com