Chicago Wedding Photographer | Elske Restaurant Wedding in the West Loop of Chicago | Kelly + Sam | Downtown Chicago Wedding Photographer
Chicago Wedding Photographer | Elske Restaurant Wedding in the West Loop of Chicago | Kelly + Sam | Downtown Chicago Wedding Photographer
I truly love photographing Wedding Days in Chicago. Kelly and Sam had the perfect blend of that downtown chicago and west loop wedding vibe for their wedding day. They started by getting ready separately at The Emily Hotel in The West Loop and then had a first look in a private room together on one of the top floors of the hotel. We then headed straight for the Chicago River for Bridal portraits, as it’s the center of all of the skyscrapers and beautiful architectural views within the city. On a side note, if you’ve never done a boat architecture tour in downtown chicago, I would highly recommend it whenever you’re in town. I’ve done it multiple times, and you see new things and hear new facts every single time. it’s such a beautiful way to see the city.
Also, a little love note to Kelly’s wedding dress, which I was absolutely in love with. her top was a bespoke corset designed by Ma Corsetière. And if you haven’t seen her custom work, I would highly encourage you to go and view her website. Not only are her corsets stunning, but she has options for ready to wear as well as being capable of designing your dream vision of a corset for your wedding day, rehearsal dinner or welcome party look.
So back to the wedding day, we strolled in and out of the streets and alleyways of downtown Chicago. And thankfully kelly and sam are so similar to me with appreciating light, textures and downtown architecture, so I was able to freely search for pockets of light to have them interact with each other in. Truly, whenever a couple has complete trust in you for portraits, the whole day is so relaxed and enjoyable for everyone. This day was exactly that, just so much joy in strolling and chatting with these two downtown before we headed off to Elske.
Now if you aren’t sure what Elske is, it’s one of the loveliest restaurants in the west loop neighborhood of Chicago. It not only is a one star michelin fine dining danish restuarant with lovely interiors, but it also has a stunning courtyard garden that is perfect for quaint ceremonies and a lovely private space upstairs for guests to relax in a lounge setting. If you’re planning an intimate wedding day in Chicago, I would highly recommend putting Elske on your list of venues to visit as an option for your ceremony and legitimately delicious full course menu for your wedding guests.
When we arrived to Elske, we took a few portraits upstairs and then in the courtyard garden before their family arrived for family portraits. And just before the ceremony, the couple hung out at the private lounge upstairs whilst the rest of the wedding guests arrived in the courtyard. They were greeted with champagne by the elske staff and the couple even had a toast with everyone in the middle of their wedding ceremony, which are the details I love on intimate wedding days. And of course, one of the best chicago wedding florist designers, Bottle and Branch, did a beautiful job of decorated the floral installation for the wedding ceremony backdrop, as well as kelly’s beautiful draping bouquet (which you can see in her bridal portraits we took in downtown Chicago below) and the mini floral designed arrangements on the reception tables.
And on a side note, just because your wedding day is intimate, doesn’t mean you want any less experiences. IT could be intimate literally for the size of wedding guests, which means that you go more “all out” on guest experiences with your closest loved ones around you that you choose to celebrate with. For this reason, it was so lovely to see everyone enjoy one of my favorite plated custom dishes from the Elske Menu while they all were able to enjoy dinner together.
There were sweet speeches, lots of film cameras passed around by loved ones, sweet chats between Kelly and her grandma, and of course lots of love filled this chicago wedding day. And as always, I’m always honored to be there to photograph naturally such meaningful and memorable moments from these once in a lifetime wedding days in Chicago. I adore you both, Kelly and sam, and cheers to a beautiful life spent together! x
“An intimate chicago Wedding day is always a favorite of mine to photograph. I love documenting weddings in the most
natural of ways for every couple.”
Chicago Wedding Venue - Elske Restaurant // Chicago West Loop hotel - The Emily hotel // Chicago Wedding photographer - Melody Joy CO. // Bespoke Bridal Corset - Ma Corsetière // Chicago Florist - Bottle and Branch //
The Renaissance Chicago Downtown Wedding | Nika + Vinnie | Assumption Catholic Church | Chicago Wedding Photographer | Destination Wedding Photographer
The Renaissance Chicago Hotel Downtown Wedding | Nika + Vinnie | Assumption Catholic Church | Chicago Wedding Photographer | Destination Wedding Photographer
Nika and Vinnie held their wedding day in the city they grew up in, the lovely city of Chicago. I absolutely love downtown Chicago, so truly loved that their wedding hotel, ceremony and reception were all in the heart of the city, located on the Chicago River. Nika and Vinnie got ready in suites at The Renaissance Hotel and then had their first look in a private courtyard in between two skyscrapers near the hotel. Then they strolled over the bridges and Chicago river walk to spend some time alone and get couple portraits before the rest of their bridal party joined them for bridal party photos. Downtown Chicago has so many lovely textures and backdrops for bridal portraits and the vibe is always a timeless one!
Then we all loaded on the party bus to head over to Assumption Catholic Church for their stunning wedding ceremony. The architecture in this church was so beautiful and has so many historic details. I will never tire of church weddings in historic buildings, specifically catholic churches tend to appreciate the architecture more so. After the ceremony we headed back to The Renaissance Hotel for their cocktail hour and wedding reception. The Cocktail hour was in a room overlooking the Chicago river. The best part about this cocktail hour was that there was a beer pong table set up at the window overlooking the city skyline and everyone was having a ball (pun intended) playing it! Even some of the elder family members gave it a try!
Everyone then went to a larger ballroom upstairs in the hotel for a seated dinner while sweet speeches were being made. There was a DJ, cake cutting and a whole lot of dancing! I love when dance trains break out because it feels like everyone is one big unit and picking up people who are sitting down! It’s a lot of fun to watch! Nika and Vinnie had a buffet of McDonals’s burgers and chicken nuggets for all of their guests and ended their night by feeding each other Mickie Dee’s! What a solid way to end such a beautiful wedding day! x
Bridal Suite Hotel - The Renaissance Chicago Downtown | Wedding Ceremony Venue - Assumption Catholic Church | Downtown Chicago Wedding Reception Venue - The Renaissance Chicago Downtown | Wedding Florist - Belmonte's Florist | Make-up + Hair Artist - Konstantine Mironychev (booked through Bianca Sansosti Artistry) | Wedding Hair Stylist - Rhona Kane Hair | Wedding Dress - Adore by Justin Alexander (purchased on Still White) | Wedding Shoes - Dolce Vita | Groom Tux + Shoes - Gentlemen’s Quarters | Bride + Groom Rings - Arezzo Jewelers | Wedding Cake - Alliance Bakery Wedding Cakes | Chicago Wedding DJ - Chris Nergaard (booked through Style Matters DJ’s) | Wedding Filmmaker - Mike Mendoza | Late night food - McDonald’s
Modern Micro Wedding | Destination Wedding Photographer | Celeste Chicago Wedding | Modern Rooftop Restaurant
Modern Rooftop Restaurant Bar Venue | Celeste Chicago Wedding | Destination Wedding Photographer | Best Downtown Chicago Micro Wedding Venue
Alyeesha and Joe started their wedding day getting ready in a beautiful suite overlooking Millennium Park at the Chicago Athletic Hotel on Michigan Avenue. I absolutely love the details and vendors they chose for their wedding day. By starting at a historic hotel in the center of downtown, they were able to do their first look with the backdrop of the bustling city streets behind them. We then strolled around downtown Chicago for bridal portraits all along La Salle to the Board of Trade. After wrapping up the portraits of the two of them we headed in car over to the venue, where they had their intimate ceremony and reception at the enclosed rooftop of Celeste.
The Florist for the wedding day was Asrai Garden. I’ve done quite a few weddings with them now, and their floristry always amazes me. They not only choose unique and beautiful combination of flowers, but are so good at creating a beautiful space for your personal vision. Alyeesha curated all of the pieces for her long bridal dining table and the florals fit into the table scape perfectly. Her candle and vase options she collected were just lovely together. As for the food, the lovely team at Celeste could not have done a better job. I mean, I’m already a huge fan of fried chicken, but especially when you put it in a beautiful plating and stunning setting… bon appétit!
Between their ceremony and reception, they went down to the second story to have canapés and a champagne tower with their loved ones. While they were all catching up with each other and congratulating the bride and groom, the team over at Chicago Vintage Weddings was busy flipping the space upstairs into a stunning room to dine. When everyone came back upstairs the whole space was transformed into a dinner by twilight, candles and string lights above them. The rest of the evening of was full of laughter and joy as speeches were made, desserts were eaten and endless shots taken. All in all, this micro wedding was filled with all of the love that one would wish to be surrounded by on your wedding day. So incredibly grateful to be a part of this memorable day. x
Wedding Venue - Celeste / Wedding Photographer Melody Joy Co. / Hotel Bridal Suite - Chicago Athletic Hotel / Wedding Dress - Galvan London / Bridal Hair Stylist - Hannah Aubrey Hair / Wedding Makeup Artist - Shannon O’brien Weddings / Henna Tattoo Artist - Henna Tattoo Chicago / Wedding Planner - Chicago Vintage Weddings / Custom Wedding Florist - Asrai Garden / Venue Restaurant Group - Bonhomme Group
Romantic Micro Wedding in Chicago | Amina & Vinnie | Chicago Elopement Photographer | Melody Joy Co.
Romantic Micro Wedding in Chicago | Amina & Vinnie | Chicago Elopement Photographer | Melody Joy Co.
Amina and Vinnie revived my love for intimate micro weddings! This wedding day started with Amina and Vinnie getting ready together in their downtown high rise flat. We then walked around downtown Chicago to take portraits in some of their favorite pieces of architecture. The first stop was The Chicago Theatre, next was The Board of Trade building on La Salle, then there was The Art Institute of Chicago on Michigan Avenue. We must have walked a couple of miles downtown, but we had so much fun together strolling around and Amina was extra impressive with how good she was at walking long lengths in heels! She said her Thunder Heel Pumps from Prada were plenty comfy!
After we took their portraits we walked up Michigan Avenue to the ceremony and reception venue, The Skyline Club. The Skyline Club is the Penthouse of a high rise overlooking the Chicago River. If you are looking for a stunning rooftop view surrounded by skyscrapers as your outdoor rooftop wedding ceremony backdrop, then The Skyline Club would be the perfect fit for you! You can also have indoor or outdoor seating for your cocktail hour or reception!
The night resumed with endless family time, a thank you speech, their cake cutting, a delicious meal and a table of homemade desserts! All in all, I would say having a micro wedding with just twenty of your closest family and friends is the way to go to be able to enjoy these season, specifically with the laws in different countries, or if you simply want to provide a higher quality of celebration for your loved ones. The less people you have attend your micro wedding as well, the more time you have to have full conversations with all of them too! Overall, it’s a sweet way to have a celebration while still making it feel intimate and just about you both. If you ever need any advice on elopements or a micro wedding, I would be happy to share my thoughts on venues, styles, details and timelines that will work well for a beautiful micro wedding day! x
Wedding Dress - Emilia Wickstead Bridal // Wedding Shoes - Prada // Wedding Head Piece - Jennifer Behr // Wedding Portraits - Board of Trade Building and Art Institute of Chicago // Wedding Florals - Design de Flores // Chicago Wedding Venue for outdoor Ceremony and indoor Reception - The Skyline Club //