Oh Chicago, how in the heavens have I never visited you before? You look so splendidly pretty, and are host to some of the most fabulous fêtes. For instance, this city chic affair by Denver Smith Photography – it’s full of gorgeous green hues and fabulous city views, so gawking over this wedding just makes me feel like I need to book a trip to the Windy City ASAP. But you don’t have to hop on a plane to enjoy all of the pretty – you can see it all in the full gallery!
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From Denver Smith Photography…I knew Victoria and Nick’s wedding day was going to be fun after shooting their engagement session. I just had no idea HOW fun! The bridal party was a blast, and the event itself was absolutely gorgeous! The W Hotel City Center did an amazing job executing on Victoria and Nick’s vision of their wedding, with style and class. The day began in the bridal suite with all of the bridesmaids and myself, up to my normal shenanigans. During planning, I dropped the idea of doing the First Look in the center of LaSalle Street in front of the Board of Trade. I full expected Victoria and Nick to say “uhhh no way.” Instead, they jumped at the chance and loved the idea! So from the hotel, we made our way to the location for the First Look, and while standing in the middle of traffic on a Saturday afternoon (and luckily neither myself nor my second shooter Doug getting hit by said traffic), we were able to witness along with all the bystanders on the street, the first time Nick was able to see his beautiful bride Victoria on their wedding day.
Victoria and Nick wanted a bunch of locations photographed during their formals before the ceremony. They began by doing a First Look in front of a large crowd of people and traffic in the middle of LaSalle, right in front of the Chicago Board of Trade. While not the typical setting for a reveal, it was awesome and definitely unique. She gave me a near 4 hour window to capture photos throughout Chicago. After the First Look, we began our Trolley Photo Safari, where we traveled around Chicago to various places important to the two of them and photographed the couple and the bridal party. We visited the Franklin Street Bridge, Wrigley Field where they had their names on the marquee, and the South Pond in Lincoln Park. We had a blast, and even though we had another wedding party stalking us to nearly every location, we were able to get a lot of great images! Sadly, I wanted to do a wedding party show down shot, but the other photographer with the other wedding didn’t seem to keen on it.
Victoria and Nick decided to go with our “DropTheFun” Photobooth at their wedding, which is essentially a portable studio setup that I bring along to the wedding reception. My assistant was clicking away for 3 hours during the reception, and the crowd seemed to have a blast taking the photos! And the photos…well let’s just say they were a whole lot of fun as well! (for images from the photobooth, check out: http://bit.ly/su26LV )
In addition to that, my favorite part of the day was actually the bridal party. They were a lot of fun to be with, and they kept in mind the reason everyone was there together. There was no drama, just a whole lot of fun!
Wedding Photography: Denver Smith Photography / Second Photographer: Doug McGoldrick Photography / Ceremony + Reception Venue: W Chicago – City Center / Bride + Bridesmaid Fashion: Watters / Bridal Salon: B. Ella Bridal / Bride + Bridesmaid Shoes: Nina / Groom + Groomsmen Fashion: Calvin Klein / Floral Design: Flora Chicago / DJ + Reception Entertainment: Okyne Media Lab