People meet in all kinds of ways. Apps. Mutual friends. Workplace coincidences. But Chris and Mary Ellen met the old-fashioned way…at a gathering. A rooftop gathering, specifically, at their own apartment building in Lincoln Park.
The Eugenie Terrace on the Park is an “older” building on Clark Street, it kind of feels like it has been there for a while. But it has something more reflective of “newer” Chicago apartments: a multilevel rooftop with a pool, a lounge, and a grill. It’s a space where conversations can happen easily. Theirs did. And it turned into something more.
After that first conversation came more time together. Long walks through Lincoln Park with Chris’s dog, which Mary Ellen was more than happy to join. One thing led to another the way it does, and here we are. His dog was a perfect wingman.
How the Rooftop Became the Session
When we started talking locations for their engagement session, I casually asked if they knew of any rooftops, or if their building happened to have one. They said yes, and then they paused. That’s where we met!
They hadn’t even thought of it themselves. Once they said it out loud, there was no question. We had to shoot there.
Chris and Mary Ellen are getting married next year at Café Brauer in the Lincoln Park Zoo. Because we knew we’d be near the South Pond area on their wedding day, we made a conscious decision to save that stretch of the park. Instead we started their engagement session somewhere else: North Avenue Beach.
As their Chicago wedding photographer, it was helpful for them to learn how I flow through different poses and spots during their engagement session.
North Avenue Beach — September Light
September in Chicago can be unpredictable, but that afternoon gave us exactly what we needed. It had been raining in the morning. The sun had been hiding behind clouds for most of the day, and right as we arrived at North Avenue Beach, it broke through. The skyline lit up. The timing was perfect.
We started on the pier, which stretches out over the water and puts you right in front of one of the best Chicago skyline views anywhere in the city. At the end of the pier there’s a metal structure about forty feet tall with a red light on top. Part navigational marker, part accidental sculpture. It makes for a unique photo with the couple against the skyline, a detail most people walk past without noticing.
Then Chris and Mary Ellen took their shoes off. This was not part of the photo timeline. But it was stunning. They walked along the sand, right at the edge of the water, just the two of them. It was one of those unplanned moments that ends up being a favorite from the whole session.
The Rooftop at Sunset — The Eugenie Terrace
We made our way back to their apartment on Clark St with enough time to change outfits and get up to the roof before the sun dropped below the skyline. Chicago rooftop engagement photos live and die by timing, and we timed it perfectly.
The Eugenie Terrace’s rooftop looks west over Lincoln Park and the city. We shot as the sun crossed the horizon, the skyline going from gold to amber to something warmer. Then the sun went down and the sky turned pink. That short window of time after sunset when everything softens and the light turns the sky into a painting. It was romantic just to be there witnessing their moment of solitude.
There is something meaningful about photographing a couple on the exact spot where their story started. They both noticed it. I did too.
The Riverwalk at Night
We finished the session downtown on the Riverwalk after dark. The city at night is a completely different subject than the city in daylight. Moodier, more cinematic, and romantic in a way that’s hard to manufacture during the day.
We worked through some of the most recognizable architecture in Chicago: the Wrigley Building lit up white against the sky, the twin corn cob towers of Marina City reflected in the river, the classic lamp posts lining Wacker Drive. Each one is a little piece of the city’s personality.
We closed the night at the Chicago Theatre sign on State Street. There’s significant construction around it right now as they renovate the nearby Red Line stop, but we found the angle anyway. The sign is iconic enough that nothing can really take away from it.
Chris and Mary Ellen, you made this easy. From the pier to the rooftop to the river, it was a night that felt like Chicago at its best. I cannot wait for Café Brauer next year!
If you are planning a Chicago engagement session and want something that actually feels like your life in this city, not just the tourist locations, I would love to hear about it. Let’s connect.
