“Jeff + Chrissie were another awesome couple to work with. ( How do we get so lucky with our couples. ) For these two, we enjoyed meeting up with them on a warm, early June Thursday afternoon, shooting engagement photos, exploring new locations, getting to know each other, and learning about their upcoming destination wedding plans. Because we’re located in the Naperville area, and they are in Peoria we didn’t actually meet until the day of the shoot, except on Facebook.

 

For J+C’s shoot, we first stopped at a VERY unique location – with lots of urban grungy style. When I proposed this abandoned factory shooting location idea, which is just west of our Naperville area home studio to Chrissie, she said her and Jeff loved it. After the decaying building, we then mixed in a few Chicagoland nature locations and a quick stop in town for a fun “fine dining here!” pic. LOL!! One of our nature stops was in front of a picturesque, canyon at Starved Rock State Park. Although the canyon was a little crowded with kids playing in the canyon’s water, we were able to sneak in a few quick shots from a cliff above the waterfall. Next, we grabbed some pics along the river, in the tall grasses, and wow the evening sunset Jeff + Chrissie had on their day was seriously epic. The blazing night sky colors were unreal and unlike anything the four of us had ever seen. Ryan previewed the shots to us in the viewfinder and said nobody is going to believe the sky was really this colorful.

 

Jeff + Chrissie’s love story started a state away… they are originally from central Missouri and they met while Chrissie was in college. At the time Jeff was starting his own business and Chrissie and her twin sister auditioned for a commercial he was creating for the company. After J+C met, the rest is history. Currently they are both currently living in Peoria Illinois. Jeff + Chrissie mentioned they searched for the perfect wedding and engagement photographer that was basically anywhere in between St. Louis and Chicago. And gratefully they found Miller + MIller! We know there are thousands of wedding photographers to search through on the web and we are so glad they found our photo blog + fell in love with our unique photography style. The week of their shoot, J+C planned for an event filled, long weekend mini-vacation planning first a creative engagement session with us! Following our engagement session, they booked a couple of nights downtown Chicago and to close the weekend, skydiving! Chrissie was definitely showing a little hesitation when talking about jumping out of the plane, even with it being three days away from our shoot… I don’t blame her. We’ve talked since the photo session and learned she jumped – And had a great time. Jeff already had jumped previously, but was looking forward to another jump together this time with Chrissie.

 

We had a great time getting to know the two of you Jeff + Chrissie. Ryan and I enjoyed talking about your upcoming Cancun Mexico destination wedding plans, growing up in Missouri, boating, and talking a little about the perks of running a small business. Hope you enjoyed our tour of Starved Rock. As mentioned, we’d suggest heading back sometime on your own…. there are so many beautiful parts of the park to explore! Enjoy the rest of your Mexico destination wedding planning. You’ll have to let us know after you receive your disk of all the photos, how many of the pictures you decide enlarge and put on your new home as wall art. It will be difficult to choose just a few. Talk to you soon!!”

 

 

 

Jeff + Chrissie are planning their January 2011 wedding at the Royal Solaris Marina Resort & Spa all-inclusive in Cancun, Mexico. How exciting! We love destination weddings.

Sarah + Ryan Miller:

“When Jorie first contacted us in October, she was anxious to squeeze in an e-session before the cold, Fall weather approached. We picked a great day… the sunny, 70 degree weather in November was definitely a treat!

 

Derek + Jorie found our Chicago wedding photographer blog and fell in love with our unique style of combining nature and modern engagement photo locations for each of our couples.

 

Every photo shoot we go on seems to evolve differently. For Jorie and Derek, all of the elements aligned and we stumbled upon a hidden gem of a location! The first, softer location incorporated a bridge, creek, trees and open field providing a breathtaking, natural setting. Our next stop, provided the perfect edgy, industrial photo op! A chic contrast and ideal for Jorie’s requested modern photo style. Not only did the burned-out, rundown factory mirror exactly Derek’s profession ( being he’s a Fireman for Plainfield and Joliet ), but it also provided a grungy, mix of backdrops for some amazing engagement photos. WOW – - we just might have to return to this awesome location again.

 

Thanks Derek and Jorie in working with us, exploring and letting us get creative. The combination of romantic, modern and edgy images – we can’t say enough about these editorial-style photos! Happy planning Derek and Jorie while you are still narrowing down your plans for a Chicago to Mexico destination wedding. We love locally shooting engagement photos first and then traveling with couples on their destinations. D+J, we hope the e-session shoot and experience was a memorable one for you two. Enjoy!”

 

We are VERY happy to announce a few of Derek + Jorie’s industrial engagement photos are featured on the www.trendsettingwedding.com blog! : )

Sarah + Ryan Miller:

“If you have traveled to Southwest Florida in the Summer, you know storms roll in from the Gulf quickly and raindrops fall nearly everyday in late afternoon. Last Sunday for Jeff and Suzie’s beachfront Naples wedding it was gladly another story! Basically the only dry day the entire week we were in South Florida, J+S’s barefoot in the sand wedding ceremony cheerfully proceeded and was sealed with a sweet kiss.

 

As both Chicago area and destination photographers, we enjoy traveling with our couples. Jeff and Suzie hand picked the beautiful LaPlaya Beach Resort in Naples Florida because of it’s picturesque sparkling turquoise water and white sandy beach stretching nearly to infinity. Not to mention, the resort is one of SW Florida’s finest beachfront hotels and has multiple oceanside pools. A perfect beach and relaxing by the pool were a must have on J+S’s resort searching wish list.

 

Thank you Jeff + Suzie in choosing us to travel with you from Illinois to Florida. We enjoyed photographing your coastal themed wedding on Vanderbilt beach alongside you, your family members and close friends. And wow – we got some seriously FUN wedding dance floor photos!”

 

One last thing regarding the awesome team of vendors we worked alongside for J+S’s wedding.
The LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort was truly the perfect destination resort with an impeccable staff, elegant ballrooms and a picturesque, ocean front ceremony locations. ( Check the resort out here www.laplayaresort.com ) Kathy, Jeff + Suzie’s wedding coordinator, did an excellent job bringing the entire day seamlessly altogether and was a pleasure to work with. Randy Bender, the Wedding DJ and Event Specialist, was also very cool. He came right over and made us personally feel like we fit right in – it was like talking to an old friend. Thanks again Randy for letting us stand on your speakers to get those killer dance floor shots!!! ( To book Randy Bender call 234-567-8910.) Miller + Miller would definitely recommend these two professionals to anyone interested in a destination Naples Florida area beach wedding.