“Fall is a scenic time of the year for outdoor pictures in Illinois and a very popular season to get married. Picking apples, carving pumpkins, the changing of the leaves… Erika + Ernesto thought of all of these activities in deciding on their October date and decorating details for their wedding events. E+E went with a elegant and traditional Fall color palette incorporating vibrant oranges and yellows.

 

Erika with her family and bridesmaids prepped for the day at Erika’s family home in Geneva. The bride selected modern and simple bridal party fashion in simplistic black to offset the vibrant florals. The morning rain and wind subsided in just enough time for Ernesto + Erika’s ceremony to begin. E+E chose one of the most beautiful of all churches in Illinois Baker Memorial United Methodist Church to exchange vows in. The sanctuary is amazingly gorgeous and a popular location for ceremonies in the Western suburbs of Chicago. Baker Church is located in downtown St. Charles a convenient few minutes away from both the nearby Fox River and their reception venue of St. Charles Country Club.

 

Always difficult to predict exactly which October weekend each year the leaves changing will be at their peak, E+E really lucked out. : ) Their wedding day had the most vibrant leaves of the entire season! So capturing photos of them amidst nature was a definite must do. When Ernie and Erika’s vintage Rolls Royce rolled up to the entry of their reception venue’s clubhouse, we all noticed the mix of yellow and orange leaves beyond the course which was glowing with bright colors. The St. Charles Country Club sits on 140 acres of magnificent rolling hills the perfect setting for a luxury wedding, and as we predicted the nearby the clubhouse had a dense amount of trees in a fiery mix of orange and yellow. We captured a mix of some softer romantic photos in the wooded forest setting and a few of our distinctive high-fashion wedding photography style not only in the woods, but also in front of their vintage white Bentley.

 

Inside, the luxurious reception’s rooms were decorated to the season with candles, colorful leaves, and carefully placed floral embellished pumpkins scattered around the ballroom. The tables featured soft golden colors and floral centerpieces in varying heights with floating pumpkins, and rather than orange pumpkins selected were white pumpkins enhanced with metallic gold paint. Beyond the room’s already well stated elaborate chandeliers, warm wood burning fireplace, this was a luxurious and sophisticated reception setting. The burning fireplace was the centerpiece of the room located just beyond the dancefloor. After the wedding, I asked Erika about an extra special event at the reception… it was her unique daddy daughter dance. Erika surprised her dad with a video of her and him dancing together, previously recorded when she was 2. Their dance was playing on a large screen simultaneously, as they were dancing to the same song. It was truly memorable.

 

Erika + Ernesto getting to know the two of you more and spending the day with you the two of you was great. We enjoyed your enthusiasm and dedication in working with us to capture some unique pictures… hope you enjoy the unique + fun, added bonus “end of the night photos” with the cigars. We had fun composing those with you guys! You both looked stunning on your wedding day and we had a blast venturing around St. Charles with you and your families. Enjoy the photos, hope they take you back to the moments of your beautiful day. More photos will be coming soon.”

 

 

 

Ernesto + Erika selected a group vendors to work together on their exquisite ceremony + reception events:
Ceremony: Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles, IL
Reception: St. Charles Country Club, St. Charles, IL
Couture Gown Shop: Veiled in Elegance Bridal Store in Geneva, IL
Hair by: Christy Schobert from Eddie Caruso Hari Salon, Saint Charles, lllinois
Makeup by: Nichole Clemens from About Face, Geneva
Tuxedos + Bridesmaids Dress: The Crystal Bride, Geneva, IL
Menu: Pretzel Crusted Chicken, ( Lobster and Filet for Bride + Groom )
Cake: The Artful Baker, Naperville
Flowers: All Flowers by Marissa, Wheaton
DJ: Keith Christopher Entertainment Group
Daddy Daughter Dance Song: “You Got It” by Roy Orbison

 

 

 

We went into Chicago in October of 2009 for Ernesto + Erika’s engagement photo session.
Click here to revisit Ernesto + Erika’s Fall Chicago Engagement photos.

Remember Mike + Aimee’s wedding day? ♥

“They like it, they love it, they want some more of it! We knew Michael + Aimee enjoyed working with us for their past engagement and wedding day photography shoots, so we were not surprised when they recontacted us and booked us for a third photography session! Above are a few of our favorites from the couple’s Fall Chicago wedding fashion photo shoot. ( And a few re-posted favorite images from their April 2010 ceremony and reception. )

 

Couples who want to  “go above and beyond the wedding day photos”  hire us for their after the wedding bridal photo shoot or a trash the dress photo session. An extra day of photography provides ( without needing to keep to a busy wedding day schedule ) time to venture into more elaborate shooting locations… and for an ultra high-fashion look we enjoy discovering unique photo shoots for the trash the dress sessions going into non-traditional shooting spots in Chicago. Popular with many area couples who are bummed when they find they cannot hire us as their destination wedding photographer to travel with them, instead when they return from the trip, we go on a day session capturing their excitement all over again re wearing their tux and gown again here in Illinois.

 

Mike + Aimee’s bridal session consisted of our signature Miller + Miller high-fashion approach to wedding photography, creating some straight from the pages of a magazine style pictures. Aimee decided to arrange the couple’s private bridal session at their same reception venue. A bridal session shoot can take place the day after the wedding ( like a past couple of ours Erik+Allison did for their trash the dress photography session ), as a one year wedding anniversary photography session, a shoot scheduled after you return from the honeymoon, or you could even take us along with on your honeymoon. Remembering back to the day of this session, we remember Aimee saying she would highly recommend an after the wedding shoot to everyone. She raved how much she absolutely loved the idea.

 

Mike + Aimee… we enjoy our newly developed friendship with you! We are pretty certain you’ll be back for an anniversary or family session one day… and have a hunch this third time working with you will surely not be our last.   : )   Congrats again and thank you! Hope you enjoy our mix of classic, romantic and fashion magazine style keepsake photographs.”

 

 

 

Revisit our other past photo shoots with Mike + Aimee by clicking the links below.
Mike + Aimee’s Patrick Haley Mansion Wedding Photography in April 2010.
Mike + Aimee’s Fashionable Chicago Engagement Photography session from September 2009.