A Wedding at Spiaggia : Chicago Wedding Photographer

You may remember Ali and Bryan from their engagement session at Promontory Point a few weeks ago. They were so much fun to work with during their e-session that I knew their wedding would be a blast! Ali and Bryan’s fun, easy-going personalities and their love for each other were evident to everyone. In the days leading up to their wedding, Chicago was experiencing its first days of spring – mild temperatures near 60 and sunny skies. But unpredictable Chicago weather struck on their wedding day, giving them howling winds, rain, and snow. Some brides would have been visibly devastated by this. Others would have been distraught but kept it to themselves. But I never once thought that Ali and Bryan were concerned about the weather. In Bryan’s words, “It’s not like we’re getting married outside.” Ali, Bryan, and I even ran outside to do some portraits after the ceremony, braving the rain, snow, and cold!

Ali got ready at the Sinai Temple, the site of the wedding ceremony. The temple restricted photography from the sanctuary floor during the ceremony, so my second shooter Maggie and I spent most of our time in the balcony. No one said anything about taking pictures from right outside sanctuary doors, so I shot from there as well! After the ceremony, we were off to Spiaggia for the reception. This was my second time shooting a wedding at Spiaggia, and once again, the food did not disappoint!

I was so thrilled to be a part of Ali and Bryan’s wedding day. Ali and Bryan’s friends and family were so much fun to talk to and be around. Ali’s vintage 1950s style wedding dress was fabricated by her extremely talented mother, and her cousins did a fantastic job with her makeup. Sarah’s Candies did an amazing job with the cake; being married to an aspiring pastry chef, I know how hard it is to do such a good job with buttercream! I was also happy to be able to work with Fleur and Toast & Jam – two of my favorite vendors. Ali took on the role of wedding planner herself, making sure that everything would run smoothly! Thank you, Ali and Bryan, for letting me be a part of your wedding day!

Shout-outs!
Venues: Chicago Sinai Temple (ceremony) and Spiaggia (reception)
Hair: Susan Flaga of Sparrow
Makeup: Sarah Scharf and Jessica Schultz
Flowers: Fleur
Cake: Sarah’s Candies
DJ: Dena from Toast and Jam

Want more? Wedding PhotojournalismWedding PortraitEngagements

Follow me: FacebookTwitter

24 comments

Facebook Comments

Leave a Comment

Comments

  1. Heather

    such creative, atypical wedding photos. party time! excellent!

  2. Elizabeth

    I love the shot in the gazebo! Great wedding, Steve!

  3. She has such a great smile. I love the emotions throughout this, their personality shines through.

  4. Very cool! That black and white gazebo and dancing shots are definitely keepers.

  5. Sandy

    Beautiful pictures. I love the dancing shots.

  6. Shyann

    Great wedding!! I love her hair piece, and the shoe shot, and the one of them dancing in B&W!! Great work!

  7. Michelle Rodriguez

    Wonderful pictures, Steve. I love the shoe shot with the books!

  8. Kyle

    Steve, looking at this makes me feel happy. I think that’s the mark of a great wedding photographer.

  9. awesome – love the vintage feel!!!
    Plus the flowers are sooo pretty!

  10. Elizah

    I love these photos, Steve. Love all of the dancing shots, especially the last one!

  11. Leanor

    What a beautiful wedding! I love the shot where they’re outside and she’s in the car. Such pretty colors!

  12. You’ve captured some beautiful and tender moments – love the dancing shots!

  13. Steve, you really captured the day and their personality. Just beautiful :)

  14. Becki

    I love the shot from behind where they’re holding hands. What a great wedding!

  15. kirsten

    I love the dancing shots! They all look so happy! Great job, Steve!

  16. I always love looking through your blog posts. So much inspiration to be found.

  17. Jeremy Lee

    This wedding has a really vintage feel to it. Nice work capturing it so beautifully.

  18. You captured so much emotion. They look so happy! Love the gazebo shot!

  19. Heather

    They’re so cute together! Great job capturing all of the emotions of the day, Steve. I love the gazebo shot!

  20. Cyndi

    Their wedding looked like so much fun! Great pictures!

  21. Paul

    These are awesome, loving the dance photo’s.

  22. Lori

    I love how you were able to use the colors and black and white.

  23. Jennifer

    Wow! I love your pictures! You’ve captured it all!