Sonya and Family [Family/maternity photos, Chicago, Roselle]
I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful family a while back, but I never blogged about it. These photos are too beautiful not to share 
I love you guys, hope to see you soon
month: May 2011
Paebaek Korean Ceremony at Salvatore’s [Chicago Wedding photography]
Elisabeth and Brian’s Wedding day two was a lot sunnier! So we started off with photos at Millennium Park.
Under the bean…I spy a Bride and a Groom
Carol and I were totally obsessed with Elisabeth’s dress, especially the back of it…it was almost as beautiful as she is.
We also took some photos on Northerly Island, where the rainy ceremony tool place the day before.
The view was incredible, this one’s one of my favorites!!
I love it when Brides wear their hair down, it’s so pretty and romantic.
Brian was so sweet and attentive to Elisabeth all day
The reception and the Paebaek ceremony was at Salvatore’s Restaurant in Chicago. Here’s a little info on the Korean tradition.
‘The marriage between a man and a woman represents the joining of two families, rather than the joining of two individuals. The couple will enter together dressed in ceremonial Korean wedding attire. Their parents, the honorees, will be seated in front of a table laden with various edibles and tea (or soju – rice wine). The couple will bow deeply to the honorees, then kneel as one pours tea/soju. Once each honoree drinks the tea/soju, they impart wisdom, advice or a wish for the couple’s future. Finally, the honorees will throw dates (symbolizing girls) and chestnuts (symbolizing boys) which the bride will try to catch in her skirt.’
The detail on the outfits were incredible.
Listening to words of wisdom.
Catching dates and chestnuts.
Eating a date, until it ends in a kiss.
At the end of the ceremony Brian carried Elizabeth around the room. This demonstrates that he is able to support her, and represents the journey to their new home.
Before dinner there were some beautiful speeches.
One of the more fun and unique ideas I’ve seen in a long time!!! They had a tower of Ben&Jerry’s ice cream instead of a cake, the guest loved it!!!
First dance.
Brian’s Grandpa was a huge hit on the dance floor.
Thank you to Laura from Toast & Jam Dj’s for keeping the dance floor full and rocking, if you hire her your wedding will be fun, guaranteed!!!
Some closing thoughts from the groom, thank you Brian for your generosity and your kind words.
1. You are my favorite of all the vendors we worked with. You aren’t just talented, you are intelligent and professional. We discussed the possible challenges that might arise during our wedding back in March. Sure enough, those very challenges presented themselves. You didn’t flinch. You performed exactly as you said you would when we talked about it a month beforehand.
2. Vogue Fashion did an awesome job organizing and facilitating the ceremony. They are a full service company. They set up the ceremony, facilitated it and packed it away. Elisabeth’s family and friend bought some items for us which we used instead of the rentals. (The ducks on the table were sent by friends in Korea. The traditional Korean clothing we wore under our red and blue robes was purchased from Korea as well. We are going to frame them in glass and hang them in our new home.)
3. The Ben and Jerry’s individual ice creams instead of cake was a big success.
4. Our guests enjoyed the photo booth.
4. Our guests enjoyed the photo booth.
As far as a great moment, I try not to think about things in a comparative way. I loved our entire wedding. I experienced each ceremony and the celebration that followed as genuine sharing of emotion and experience. It felt great to be present with the people we love through the whole weekend.
I think it speaks to our spirit as a couple, and a new family, that the phases of our wedding all shared the same joy, regardless of outside conditions.
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Amy and Dan, Illinois Engagement session
So I might as well jump right in and start with my favorite photo from Amy and Dan’s session. I’m a huge fan of color, but this photo just had to be Black and White. It’s so much more interesting and dramatic.
Another favorite!
But I like this one in color as well
These two little tots wouldn’t move so I included them in the photo, then later I noticed that their clothes matched Amy & Dave’s! HA!
Great choice on the clothes, you guys looked great!
I love it when a couple incorporates something fun and/or meaningful in the session, Mr. Monkey was the perfect model 
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Elisabeth and Brian, Northerly Island Chicago -Wedding
For Elisabeth and Brian’s sunrise wedding day there was no sunrise, but there were smiles ….it was cold and miserable, but there was happiness….it was windy and raining, but there was joy. This couple’s wedding reminded me why I love my job and look forward to going to work. It was cold and miserable and (my assistant) Carol and I were so worried about the couple being unhappy about the weather. These two are so in love, and they were so happy about getting married that nothing got in their way of enjoying every second of their wedding day.
Dana’s Beauty Box, did a beautiful job with Elisabeth’s hair Intercontinental Hotel.
The Bride wore the pearls that her Father gave to her Mother.
The wind at the lake front was quite a shock.
This pretty much summed up the weather.
The way Brian looks at Elisabeth, just makes me melt.
Carol caught this great moment between the Bride and her Grandfather.
LOVE this photo, LOVELOVELOVE!!!
Thank you bridal party for your cooperation.
Back at the Intercontinental, we had a chance to warm up and finish the bridal party photos. Thank you to the sexy guy for participating ;)
Coming soon, day two/part two of Elisabeth and Brian’s Wedding.
From the Bride.
Wedding Dress: Bella Bianca (the wedding dress hadn’t come in when I was in Chicago in March, so my first fitting was the Tuesday before the wedding! Brenda, the seamstress, altered the dress in one shot, and I was able to pick it up on Thursday!)
Hair: Dana’s Beauty Box – Dana was more than accommodating for the 2 day schedule! I changed the schedule several times before finalizing in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Dana was super patient and responsive.
Make-up: Sonia Roselli - Jessica from SR was wonderful! I had my trial on the Tuesday before my wedding and felt calm and secure about how I would look.
Paebaek Ceremony: Vogue Fashion – they allowed us to practice on Thursday evening at their store and were very helpful during the actual ceremony
DJ: Toast and Jam - Laura Jellum kept everyone dancing the whole night, which was exactly what we wanted
Photo Booth: Chicago Photo Booth
Reception: Salvatore’s Ristorante was the perfect space – we wanted a venue where dinner was separate from the dance floor so everyone would have to get up and move to another room to dance. We had some issues with the event coordinator, as we started with one person (Suzi) and ended up with another (Amra). I found out later from someone that Amra showed another couple the venue during our Paebaek ceremony, which I think is a little inappropriate.
The (blue) bouquets were a surprise gift from my younger sister! I was not planning on having any flowers at the wedding. She surprised me with them the night before the sunrise ceremony!
The pearls were a gift from my father (who is deceased) to my mother. My mom let me borrow them for the wedding.
I loved every second of the wedding(s)! The sunrise ceremony, even though we couldn’t see the sun rise, was awesome. It was rainy and freezing cold, but it was so amazing to see our closest friends and family there with us in that moment with huge smiles on their faces. I wanted my 95 year old grandfather, who I grew up with, to walk me “down the aisle,” since my father could not. It was very meaningful to have him there, and he was so happy! I loved when he wanted to take a photo of just him and Brian’s grandparents.
The Paebaek ceremony was great, too, because we were able to get advice from each of our parents and grandparents. I will never forget what they said to us. It was also a lot of fun to see everyone getting loose on the dance floor.
Hilda, Brian and I are LOVING the photos you are posting. Thank you for being there to capture all of those special moments!
Bride and Groom, Dracula’s Castle Transylvania
My favorite photo from this series, full blog post coming soon. Yes, I did bring a read umbrella thousands of miles across the ocean
Totally worth it, no?
Business Portraits/Head-shots
I’m now offering business portraits/head-shots at my office/studio M-Th in the morning. 5 digital photos $100.00. Please e-mail me to schedule your appointment. [hilda@angeleyesphotography.com] Head-shots don’t have to be limited to business only…they can be for actors/models/social networking websites, or maybe even a gift for that special someone
Don’t forget to check out my new website http://www.hildaburke.com/ 
You can also find me on Facebook.