Nervous on your upcoming engagement shoot?  I wrote a post for Chicago Style Unveiled "the Lounge" giving three tips for better engagement photos.  Leave a comment on their blog and become eligible to win FREE tickets to the exclusive "Love at Breathtaking Heights" wedding show being held at the Metropolitan Club in the Sears Willis Tower on Jan. 23. And who knows?  Go to the show and you could win a FREE engagement session with lil' ol' me. You can also come and see all of my work and products in person (including some dreamy new art canvases).  Hope to see you there!

Sometimes the best way to begin such a lovely wedding is with the bride's words when she initially booked me.

"To start, I think the best way to describe Devon and myself is full laughter and love. With Devon's military schedule, we are not together a lot of the time. Every moment we have together we cherish. I envision our wedding as a fairytale. I'm just so happy to have found the love of my life and share our happiness with our family and friends. We are very easy going and laid back couple who love to have a good time.

Onto the Ceremony: I am beyond anxious to walk down the isle with my dad to Devon. I am so filled with love and can not wait to say our vows to each other to be husband and wife in front of God and our family and friends. I'm a little nervous about this however, well... because I tend to be a lil emotional and afraid the tears of happiness, joy and love will be flowing. (note to self, waterproof mascara) I have a surprise planned for the ceremony (shhhhh! Don't tell anyone!) Devon loves the bagpipes, so I have found a bagpipe player to come in at the back of the church and play after the pastor has announced us as husband and wife."

Don't you just want to hug Margie after you read such sweet, beautiful words? 

Well, I assure you, Margie looked stunning as a winter princess bride and Devon is probably one of the easiest grooms I've worked with.

Margie is also really into barns - as am I - so we braved the single digit temperatures for a few snaps. (Thank you to my second photographer, Maggie Rife, for assisting in such frigid cold.)  

This post is a little detail heavy, because I was sooo in love with the decor at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club.

I hope you all enjoy this wedding as much as I enjoyed photographing it.

Last July Charles proposed to Cindy on a trip to Chicago.  Longtime sweethearts, he knew Chicago's breathtaking cityscape views would be the perfect scene for his proposal.  A little over five months later during their engagement session with me, Chicago is definitely breathtaking alright, but for another reason: it was cold and snowy.

I was pretty impressed by these Nashville residents braving snow, slush, traffic and the bundled masses on busy Michigan Avenue. Once again, with my husband in tow as the light man and random bag holder, lots of fluffy snow drifted into the Cindy and Charles' photos.  Cindy's parents, who were along for the party, made for great assistants as well.

After the session ended, my husband and I grabbed some snacks at a coffee shop in order to warm up and dry off.  It was such a magical time for us with my husband, Johnny, seeing why I love my job so much as we compared notes from the shoot.  Later when walking down the crowded sidewalks with big flakes falling heavy all around us, I wished a photographer was snapping photos of us as we walked as one.