Nathaniel & Sarah | Wedding

Well, well, here's an overdue post. :-) Nothing like a freezing cold day in January to post pictures from one of the hottest days of the year! Nathaniel & Sarah's wedding day was in the 90's, but everyone was a trooper and it was such a lovely wedding. 2016 was a very light wedding year for me, but I'm glad this was one of the few that I did shoot. :-)

So many thanks to Wendy for second shooting with me and keeping me hydrated!

Engagement Session Contest!

Happy 2017, everyone! Many of you are probably heading into the new year with a shiny new ring on your finger, so I'm kicking the year off with a little contest - your engagement pictures just might be on me!

How to enter:

Create a short (5 minutes or less!) video to introduce yourselves and tell me something about your love story (how you met, how he proposed, your favorite things about each other - it's up to you!). It doesn't have to be fancy; a phone video works just fine. Send it to me through messaging my Facebook page, or you can upload it to YouTube or any video sharing site and email me the link. Along with the video, please provide me with your names, email address, wedding date, and location.

Winner receives a 1 hour engagement session, AND if they go on to book their wedding with me, will be gifted a 16x24 canvas and $200 toward their deposit!

You've got till January 31 to enter, and be sure to send along to anyone you know who is getting married!

Dave & Kerry | Chicago Sunrise Engagement

All righty! Here we go... so many pictures to post from the last few months, it was hard to choose what to share first!

I'll probably mix up older stuff with more recent shoots, so this one is from the summer. My cousin Kerry got engaged this year, and we were able to meet up for sunrise engagement pictures in the city.

I really like it when people are crazy enough to do this. :-)

Introducing The Script Market

Hello, friends. It's been a while. If you're still here, thanks for hanging with me. :-) I promise I have a bunch of photos piled up from the summer and fall to share with you all!

Today, though, I want to tell you about my newest venture: The Script Market.

I have always had a love for typography and calligraphy. When I was younger I attended a large scale tea party and we all had the loveliest scripted place cards. That's when I remember realizing that someone had written them by hand - that the style of calligraphy (pointed pen) could actually be achieved by hand. I'm not sure why it hadn't occurred to me before then, but there you have it. :-) Since then it was a dream in the back of my mind to learn to do it.

Fast forward many years and I met Kim from The Constant Scribe. Though she doesn't teach lessons anymore, I loved it so much that she made an exception and agreed to teach me. I had found my art. I have done drawing and painting over the years and enjoyed them, but this was love.

I have used it in a purely personal capacity, but I have finally decided to branch out a bit and started a little shop. I have cards, digital wallpapers for your phone, personalized gift tags (just in time for all that gift giving!), and other pretty items. My simple goal is to make the little things more beautiful. A friend of mine once saved a ziploc baggie that I'd labeled and kept washing it and reusing it - so I thought about selling calligraphed plastic bags but I haven't gone quite that far yet. ;-)

I would love if you would check out my shop, add it to your favorites if you're on Etsy, and follow along on Instagram (updated most regularly) and Facebook!

And stay tuned for some pictures coming your way... really. ;-)