Photo of the week Kara [Maggiano's downtown Chicago]
What can I say, the girl can sure rock those Christian Louboutins. Red sole shoes + red bouquet + sexy bride = one happy photographer. Kara, you’re welcome! ;)
month: September 2011
Photo of the week, Christopher and Nicole
I love this photo for so many reasons….the way the lines lead up to the Bride and the Groom, the way he looks at her and the over all artistic feel of the photo. One of my many favorites from this wedding 
Nicole and Ricky, Chicago urban engagement (portrait) session
One location, so many options. I met up with Nicole and Ricky in the City, we parked and decided just to walk around and see what cool locations we’d come across. These type of sessions are so fun, no crowds to fight or parking to worry about, and of course having cute photogenic couple to play with never hurts 
We started here, and the rest of the locations are just within a few blocks.
Yes, I know…they are this cute in real life too.
Nicole *worked* those heels!
The next three are my favorites!
I will stop at nothing to get a laugh, I have NO shame…zero, zilch, nada…and I’m OK with that
I will find reflections….
…and red doors, everywhere I go.
Rusty bridges are awesome too.
But nothing beats LOVE!
Please click L*I*K*E
Shannon and John, Victoria in the Park Mount Prospect Wedding
This gorgeous dress below was in several pieces the night before the wedding. Shannon has nerves of steel, that’s for sure. I was watching her Facebook updates and watching the drama unfold….but in the end it all worked out
Reddington Bridal in Park Ridge, Illinois
Hello sexy bling!
Of course you need 3 pairs of shoes! One to get married in, one for photos and one for dancing. Now you know
It was amazing to see Shannon with her Mom, there is so much love in this family.
Shannon’s Dad looking handsome.
Flowers by Lauren Cornille (flowergirl5583@aol.com)
Meanwhile the boys watch baseball and get ready. Photos by Carolyn M.
Ta-da! Stunning Bride.
A quick stop at her parents home to get photos with her dog :)
The Ceremony took place at St. Paul of the Cross Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. I love ceremonies where you can see the happy couple’s face, it makes for much better photos
While I’m shooting this…
….my talented assistant Carolyn M. is getting the Groom’s parents reactions…. priceless!
Great job Carolyn!
Father Britto Berchmans was excellent, he injected so much fun and personality into the service.
Peek-a-boo
Married!
Favorite!!! [see how great those shoes are for the photos? ]
The reception took place at Victoria in the Park, in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. It’s such a great place for weddings, the men get their own room, where they can watch TV and relax.
The dinner entertainment was fantastic!
First dance.
Party time! Music by The Keith Christopher Entertainment Group.
From Shannon…
All of the bridesmaids and I had our hair done at Do or Dye Hair Salon in Norwood Park, Illinois. Judy did my hair and I loved it. I changed my dress the night before from strapless to have straps and a back, so I wanted to change my hair style the day of the wedding and she understood what I wanted and did an amazing job.
Our make up was done by Dana Sampilla . She works for Bobby Brown out of Old Orchard and also for MAC. She was fun and great to work with. My friend Peggy Godly also helped out with the make-up for my flower girl and my sister. She always does a great job!!!
All of the dresses for the wedding were purchased from Reddington Bridal in Park Ridge, Illinois (426 W. Touhy, Park Ridge, IL 60068). Suzanne and Karen were two of the nicest ladies to work with. I ordered my dress with out straps and realized the day before it was not going to work. After fittings with my alterations lady I contacted them and they sent me to their seamstress, Fifi in Elmhurst. She started cutting and making changes to the dress at 6:30pm the night before my wedding. Suzanne and Kathy (from Reddington) came out to Elmhurst with an extra dress and belts. With the help of my bridesmaids and everyone working together the dress turned out perfect. It went from a strapless dress to a dress with straps and a back.
John order a custom suit from Tom James and all of the groomsmen order black suits from Macy’s in Old Orchard. Our gift to the groomsmen were their white dress shirts, tie and shamrock cuff-links. This way the men had a suit at the end of the wedding and not just a rental fee!
Our Ceremony took place at St. Paul of the Cross Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. Our celebrant was Father Britto Berchmans. He did a wonderful job and was highly entertaining.
The reception took place at Victoria in the Park, in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.
The flowers were done by a good friend Lauren Cornille (flowergirl5583@aol.com). She provided us with a gorgeous array of colors.
The DJ we used was Keith Christopher. He kept the party going all night.
Of course our photographer was Hilda Burke of Angel Eyes Photography!!! Hilda was not only a great vendor, but now I would consider her a friend as well. She organized a large wedding party so that we could get all the pictures we wanted. We look forward to working with her on future projects because she has the ability to capture the moment like no other photographer. We love you Hilda!!!
One of our favorite memories was seeing the dance floor full with several generations of family and friends. We had over 50 children at the wedding and they kept the night lively.
There’s always more photos on Facebook, click HERE to friend me or click HERE to ‘like’ Angel Eyes Photography.
Photo of the week, Cori and Steve
This fantastic photo spot I discovered quite by accident when we stopped for another location. Lucky for me I had a very willing Bride and Groom who decided to do a first look, so we had time to play. Doing photos before the ceremony…priceless
Marcie and Mark Wedding at the Seville, Streamwood Illinois
Meet Chipper, Marcie’s best dog. Isn’t he just the cutest? I love both of their amazing eyes!
Beautiful dress detail.
Marcie’s Mom helps her with her necklace….
….and as she started to tear up Marcie yelled at her to stop…then they started to laugh, this happened several times throughout the day
Bouquet by Olde Schaumburg Flowers.
I thought this was incredibly touching, she had one of her old dog’s tag wrapped around the bouquet.
Love this moment, now just go ahead and tell me that dog in not smiling I dare you!
LOVE!
A very nervous Mark waits for his bride.
Mark’s dad (who’s a pastor) shared some beautiful words of wisdom.
Congrats!!!
Loved that gorgeous back-lighting!
My assistant Carol is *slightly* obsessed with flare…but I do love the end result!
The reception was at The Seville in Streamwood IL.
Marcie’s Mom made the beautiful center pieces.
First dance, love this photo
Everyone loved Grandma! Wherever she went people were hugging and kissing her, she really must be a great lady
This was so sweet to see…Marcie walked her Grandma all the way to the car even held the door for her. I think that really says something about her character and the type of person she is
There are always more photos on Facebook. Please click the “Like” button
From the bride…
These are the vendors we ended up using:
The Seville did a great job with the lighting and setting everything up how we wanted it. The service was great and the food was excellent.
Prince of Peace Church, Pastor Peter Hellstedt We really enjoyed having Pastor Hellstedt marry us. We were very comfortable with him especially after having a pre marriage counseling sessions.
Sounds abound entertainment for DJ- Larry and Videographer. We thought Larry and his assistant were great the whole night of music was just fun. The videographer did a great job. We got the video from her a couple weeks ago and all the video she took and how they put it together for us was just amazing.
The heavens parted and angels sang and we were blessed with Angel Eyes Photography I really was happy with you as our photographer. You made everything comfortable and made sure i got all the photos i wanted which i really appreciated. I can’t wait to see them!
Your Limo—-A best choice limo I heard the limo driver was great. After they dropped the boys off a the church the boys gave him money to go get extra beer and he actually went and got it….which the boys really liked.
Bouquets and church flowers by Olde Schaumburg florist The flowerrs were just so beautiful. Everytime I show people some of the pictures we took everyone comments on how beautiful the flowers were.
Table decorations and centerpieces- Mom My mom made the center pieces and they were absolutley beautiful. i know she spent a lot of time picking out the type of rose and even more time putting the flowers together in the vase.
Bagpiper Dave Danefer- He was excellent. Everyone thought having him was a great addition and surprise during our ceremony.
Dress davids bridal is where i got my wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses.
Mens Wearhouse for tuxes- Mark, the groomsmen and the fathers got their tuxes here.
I think everyone looked great in their dresses and their tuxes!
I think everyone looked great in their dresses and their tuxes!
Some of my favorite things about the wedding were seeing everything come together that my parents worked so hard on for nine months especially my mom. I know she put a lot of time and work into everything. I was really happy that my grandma was able to make the trip up. She made the day really special for me. I really enjoyed the dance with my dad. The song was Daddy’s Angel by T Carter, this was definitely one of my favorite parts of the reception. As for Mark I loved how before the ceremony everyone kept coming to me and letting me know that Mark was really really nervous. Then walking down the aisle to him i could tell he was nervous and happy and excited all at the same time. We held hands throughout the entire ceremony and we were both so nervous up. I could tell because both our hands were really sweaty and warm and when it came to putting the rings on we were just praying that they would fit because our hands were so swollen. Another aspect of the wedding that i really liked was how well our wedding party got along. It seemed as if they all had already been friends for awhile. Lastly, I was really happy that my dog Chipper was able to be a part of my wedding. Even though he wasnt able to be in the ceremony I was really happy that we were able to get a lot of great pictures with him that i will always cherish. I dont think i would do anything differently I think everything turned out just how we wanted it.
A sweet message from a Bride
Allow me to share something that totally made my day
“Hilda-
My favorite photographer…EVER! Just wanted to take a minute to THANK you so much for everything. We could not have asked for a better day, and we’re so grateful you were there to share in our special day. Just from the few pictures we’ve seen we’re blown away. I’ve known you for awhile now, and know how wonderful you are, but thank you for showing all our friends and family how wonderful you are as well. Carol was so great too. Gosh, we had so many laughs, and memories, we’ll never forget it. Even when things got backed up and ran over, you didn’t even let it bother you, so seriously, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You captured everything and more that we could have possibly wanted. Have I said thank you enough yet? Not only did we have the greatest wedding party, we had the greatest wedding vendors. 
We’re so excited to continue to see pictures!”
One of my favorite photos from their wedding
Photo of the week, Lauren [Chicago IL portrait photographer]
I always wanted different color eyes, I wished for green or blue I wanted something unique. Well Lauren has that and then some! She has blue and green eyes, one of each…how cool is that? Lauren you’re gorgeous, and I’m totally jealous of your eyes.
Beth and Matt, Fulton’s on the River Wedding in Chicago
Beth started her wedding day at the Allegro Hotel in Chicago. To say that her dress was stunningly beautiful would be an understatement. It’s definitely one of my favorite wedding dresses I’ve ever had the pleasure of photographing.
Dress by Pronovias, purchased at Dimitra’s Bridal.
These keys are the Brides (and bridesmaids) sorority (Kappa Kappa Gamma) badges. They were pinned inside Beth’s dress for something borrowed and blue.
Flowers by Fleur Couture in Downers Grove.
I LOVE, LOVE this photo of Beth getting into the limo.
Samantha Hamilton from Get Hitched Weddings was the amazing Wedding coordinator.
To calm their nerves, the happy couple decided to do a first look before the ceremony.
The ceremony took place at the Chicago Cancer Survivor’s Garden. It’s a stunning hidden gem just blocks from Millennium Park in downtown Chicago. I’m sure Beth is the only bride I’ve ever photographed walking down the isle with Lake Shore Drive visible behind her.
Favorite!
Some exciting things happened after this photo, unfortunately I’m not allowed to blog about them….however if you ever see me in person, I’d be happy to tell you about this most tense but true story.
The reception took place at Fulton’s on the River.
After dinner we snuck out to take advantage of our very scenic City.
Love!
Tourists were very exited to see a Bride and Groom, there was cheering, clapping and some high-fives!
And I can’t forget to mention Ned…Ned, thank you for the many photo-ops and stories
