Callie and Jared were married at Twin Orchard Country Club, with a ceremony entrance by helicopter, a quiet tribute to Callie’s late sister, and a fire dancer who kept the reception going.
Callie and Jared met because his parents insisted. Jared’s mom and stepdad struck up a conversation with Callie at a business networking event and walked away certain she was the one for their son. There is usually a polite amount of doubt built into that kind of parental prediction. This time, they were exactly right.
Family, from the very start
Callie is aunt to five kids, and she wanted them close to her throughout the wedding. When I got married, I had seven nieces and nephews standing in as my ring bearers and flower girls, so I knew exactly what that felt like from the other side of the camera. It was fun to watch her nieces and nephews move through her wedding day the same way, proud of their jobs and a little wide eyed about the whole thing.
Cars, cowboy hats, and the things they love
Jared and Callie built pieces of the day around what they actually love. Cars, for one. They set up a small showcase of vintage and modern sports cars in two rows, so guests walked between them on the way to the ceremony and again on the way back for cocktail hour. We made sure to get a few photos with them.
They love horses too. Jared, his groomsmen, and both fathers wore custom cowboy hats, with the wedding date seared into Jared’s.
Then there was the helicopter
Jared’s dad and stepmom are both pilots, and between the two of them, they had a helicopter. There was really only one way to put that to use: fly Callie in for her own ceremony. It wasn’t just a circus trick…it was a meaningful moment of the two families coming together.
Chalk cannons helped accentuate their ceremony exit!
Wedding Details:
Planner and Coordinator: Events by Shaun Rajah
Photographers: NAKAI Photography
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Twin Orchard Country Club
Florals and Decor: Juliet Tan Floral Design
MUA and Hair: The Bridal Beauty Team
Band: Sway Chicago
Transportation: Midwest Transitsystems
Gown: Bella Bianca Bridal
Content Creation: La Novia Creations
A day with this many moving parts doesn’t come together on its own. Callie and Jared got ready at separate locations across Chicago, guests were shuttled from downtown out to Long Grove, and somewhere in between all of that was a helicopter and a fire dancer. Shaun and his team, along with staff at Twin Orchard Country Club, kept every piece of it running smoothly.
Getting Ready Photos in Chicago
Carrying Erica with her
Callie carried her late sister Erica with her all day. Her veil was monogrammed with a private message, and she signed the ketubah with a multicolored pen that had belonged to Erica since they were kids. Her sister, Chelsea, also honored her presence during her reception toast and an emotionally moving slideshow.
A first look near North Avenue Beach
Family shaped the wedding party too. Callie and Jared brought their siblings into it, put their nieces and nephews to work as ring bearers and flower girls, and kept both sets of parents, including Callie’s stepmom, close for photos all day.
For the first look, we went to North Avenue Beach. On paper, it’s an unexpected choice for a couple getting married thirty miles north in Long Grove. But it wasn’t random to Callie. She and her siblings used to spend time there with their late grandmother, right outside her home, and those memories mattered enough to bring along on her wedding day.
The most meaningful locations on a wedding day aren’t always the most photogenic ones on paper. They’re the ones that mean something.
The Helicopter Entrance
Landing a helicopter on a golf course takes more coordination than people assume. After the ketubah signing, Callie, her parents, and I were shuttled to a regional airport where the helicopter was waiting. Jared’s dad walked us through every safety check before we were escorted out to the tarmac.
I had never been in a helicopter before this. Twenty years into this job, it’s still one of my top five moments as a wedding photographer. Listening to the pilots talk to each other through their headphones, watching the ground drop away beneath us. I wish I’d thought to record the radio chatter.
The flight from the airport to the golf course only took two to five minutes. Conditions were about as good as we could have asked for, clouds out in the distance but clear skies right where we needed them. We made such good time that the pilots circled the ceremony a couple of times while guests pulled out their phones to film from the ground. Then came the landing, the hugs, and Callie taking her place to walk down the aisle.
The most powerful moment was a surprise to the bride and groom. During her sister’s toast, an old video played, one from Callie’s bat mitzvah, of Erica talking about Callie’s future wedding. She couldn’t have known what she was describing back then. Hearing it, years later, in the middle of Callie’s actual wedding, felt like something out of a movie, the kind where a character watches a moment from the past connect directly to where they’re standing now.
A voice from the past, at the exact right moment.
Chelsea tracked down the video and made sure Erica had a place at the reception. It gave Callie’s late sister a presence in the room she would have wanted, and it’s a moment Callie’s family will hold onto long after the wedding day itself.
Chelsea…wow…what a moment.
A reception with room to spare
A golf course reception means space, and Twin Orchard Country Club made good use of it. One of Jared’s closest friends, Ian, put on a fire dance for the whole reception, working sticks, poles, and whips trailing flame across the open lawn.
At one point, Ian swallowed a fireball, then invited Chelsea to try it herself. Not something most people get to say they’ve done.
There are things in life you can say you did. Chelsea can now say she swallowed fire, at a wedding.
Congratulations, Callie and Jared – what an unforgettable day, for all the right reasons.
Planning a Wedding at Twin Orchard Country Club?
Let’s talk about your day.
I’m Kenny Nakai, a Chicago wedding photographer who has photographed weddings at Twin Orchard Country Club and across the North Shore since 2007. I would love to hear what you are envisioning, helicopter optional. Let’s start a conversation!
