“What a beautiful “picnic in the woods style” May wedding!! Ryan and I loved Sean + Stephanie’s wedding day. Remember when we photographed S+S at this same wooded Sugar Grove, IL Forest Preserve back in January? It was much greener this time around (and definitely warmer at close to 90 degrees plus humidity.) The wedding at the forest preserve was filled with bright colors of orange, warm touches of nature’s green and brown, and was buzzing with family and friends gathering for Sean + Steph’s wedding ceremony.

 

The picturesque outdoor ceremony spot Sean + Stephanie picked was on a rolling tree-covered hill, beneath the warm shining sun — intimate nature was all around and it was an absolutely perfect, naturally beautiful May day. S+S’s ceremony at Bliss Woods reminded Ryan and I of our own Nevada mountain wedding ceremony in a way… our favorite types of weddings to shoot are destinations or local Chicago area outdoor ceremonies.

 

Sean + Stephanie’s very personalized ceremony and “picnic-style” reception was a reflection of Sean+Steph’s relationship, engagement at the park and past visits to Bliss Woods. With the help of Mary Beth Kraft of Social Butterfly and her wedding planning & decorating expertise, the day encased numerous touches of picnic elements such as baskets, candles, cupcakes, wine bottles, wildflowers, picnic benches, picnic tables + table cloths, outdoor wooden touches brought inside, shades of oranges, and greenery. The guests enjoyed live music, everyone danced all night, it was truly a memorable and awesome time. During the ceremony the Aletheia String Quartet created a ceremonial ambiance and played “All you need is Love” as the exit song —a special request by Stephanie. Prior to dinner the Brent Shroy Recital (a live band who are friend’s of Sean+Steph) joined by Stephanie’s sister Amanda, the maid-of-honor, performed during happy hour. DJ Monty from St. Louis Missouri kept the dance floor going all night long. I fell in love with their first dance song “Can’t Help Falling in Love, Fools Rush In” a cover by Ingrid Michaelson. ( I downloaded this song myself. It’s beautiful & a perfect first dance song! ) The reception venue was a familiar place to Sean’s family and grandparents. It was a country barn style police lodge which was decorated with twinkling lights spanning the roof beams. Attached to lodge was a white tent which included picnic tables and a cocktail bar, so guests could enjoy more of the outdoors throughout the evening until the end of the reception. We loved the set up and so did the guests.

 

Thanks S+S for setting aside a little extra time in your busy wedding day for some on-location bridal coverage! It was fun photographing indoors at the restaurant & bar and getting creative with the Bride + Groom : ) Sean + Stephanie — we hope you love these fun pics and enjoy the photographed memories of your wedding day. Thanks for hiring us, we enjoyed celebrating with your family & friends and maybe we’ll see you again one day one soon at one of their weddings… if we’re lucky!!”

 

 

 

 

Revisit Sean + Stephanie’s Winter engagement photo session which also took place at Bliss Woods in Sugar Grove.

 

Sean + Stephanie’s outdoor wedding ceremony and reception were both in Sugar Grove Illinois. Their Spring wedding ceremony took place at Bliss Woods and following was the reception at the nearby Kane County F.O.P. wooden lodge and rustic barn. Wedding day planning and coordination by Mary Beth Kraft from Social Butterfly 630-631-9567. The live event music was by the Aletheia String Quartet, the Brent Shroy Recital, Stephanie’s sister Amanda and Scott Monahan of DJ Monty 618-567-6237.

“As you can imagine, with freezing temperatures and bitter wind gusts, outdoor Winter Chicago engagement sessions are only occasionally featured here on our Chicago wedding photography blog. Most couples would rather shoot during warmer weather. : ) We were excited when a slight February warm up in temps came along for these guys.

 

A rare experience for us, we photographed some of Stephanie + Sean’s engagement photos at the same place their outdoor wedding ceremony will also take place. A picturesque location with a creek, tall grasses and amazing 150 year old plus towering oak trees, we can see why they love spending time at Bliss Woods Forest Preserve. The entire park is beautiful! Since they are planning a Spring wedding, they were enthusiastic about changing up the season and shooting Winter engagement photos in the snow. Located in the town where S+S grew up, Sugar Grove’s Bliss Woods Nature Preserve is a very familiar park to them with many milestones in Stephanie + Sean’s relationship. The park is a romantic reminder of their weekend biking, picnicking and hiking dates, it’s the location where Sean proposed to Stephanie, and not to mention it’s where their upcoming May 2010 wedding ceremony will reside.

 

All of our Chicago engagement sessions are a good time and we enjoy talking and getting to know better each of our couples. Ryan especially won’t be forgetting this shoot anytime soon. He was just laughing the other day telling his “Man vs. Wild” story of maneuvering around the creek, trying to get the best angle, getting a little too close to the creek bank and breaking through the ice! About a 1/4 of his leg went deep into the cold, icy water. Needless to say, he was much colder than the rest of us for the remainder of the day.

 

Stephanie and Sean we look forward to photographing you, your family and friends at Bliss Woods again in a few months! Enjoy counting down the days… your wedding is less than one hundred days from today.”