“WOW… what a SMOKIN’ HOT COUPLE! Not to mention, the natural love, affection and chemistry Brad + Lauren had for each other during the shoot was astounding + inspiring. B+L photographed like true professional models on their engagement photo session. Wouldn’t you agree?

 

We had an amazing time shooting Brad + Lauren’s Chicago style high-fashion engagement photography session in a contrasting country, small town and nature park setting. ( We loved heading out to the country to shoot — a much needed break for us, after numerous consecutive urban city engagement shoots. ) We loved everything about this photo shoot –- the weather, fun locations, Brad’s smokin’ turbo Mini Cooper, plus the vibrant + trendy clothing style B+L brought… it all came together quite nicely.

 

Brad + Lauren’s relationship started out as high school sweethearts. Brad decided to propose and soon after their wedding planning had begun. And with wedding planning, there comes finding a wedding photographer. We were so happy Brad and Lauren found us on FACEBOOK through mutual friends. When we met B+L for the first time, they came to us with one mission in mind — to create some bad-ass engagement & wedding photos that uniquely represents exactly who they are. Needless to say we gladly accepted this proposal and had a blast getting creative with them. Thanks for letting us put our creativity to the test with the smoking car for this one. B+L you both looked amazing and we can’t wait for your wedding in less than a month. ( Hope we’re lucky to catch some bombs bursting in the air during your Fourth of July weekend wedding! ) Enjoy the photos and thanks again!!”

 

 

 

Brad + Lauren’s Summer July Chicagoland wedding ceremony is planned at America’s Historic Roundhouse (formally known as Walter Payton’s Roundhouse) in Aurora, Illinois. Their outdoor ceremony is set to take place underneath the venue’s outdoor, courtyard gazebo. Following the ceremony is their reception proceeding indoors also at The Roundhouse in their Grand Ballroom. We are looking forward to a fun wedding day celebration with Brad, Lauren, family, friends and bridal party. A number of guests may be familiar faces to Miller + Miller, Brad and Lauren are from our hometown of Oswego, Illinois, so we’re looking forward to seeing a few friends at the celebration as well.

 

“We loved spending the day with Ian + Erica. For their extremely unique, urban Chicago engagement photos session. I+E were so awesome to work with, we loved their trendy high-fashion style and had a great time exploring some crazy City shooting spots.

 

When we met Ian + Erica last Winter, we learned Ian is a talented, Chicago DJ who’s spins at some serious National music venues. Check out his Facebook page or blog. Last year alone, Big Once “Ian” rocked crowds from LA to Brooklyn, opened for Cypress Hill and Z-Trip in the same night, recorded with members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and has played nearly every live venue and club in Chicago at least once, including Lollapalooza. Places which his bio refers to as the slickest downtown clubs, or the grimiest hip-hop dives. Once our schedule lessens up a bit, we can’t wait to head out for a night out to listen in person. In the meanwhile, we enjoy streaming his mixes.

 

Ian + Erica said once they found our wedding photo blog, they knew our edgy photographic style was a perfect match for their personalities. Miller + Miller enjoys putting individually a style for each of our couples in their own preferred photo environments. I+E’s love our pics that incorporate graffiti and the raw decay, urban location settings – we had no problem working with that. ( With Ryan’s early artistic start as a slightly rebellious teen + graffiti artist, he and Ian instantly bonded about graffiti. ) Not to mention, we love Ian’s eclectic mix of dub step, drum and bass and hip-hop music style that Big Once spins and felt inspired while listening to it up until their shoot last week. After talking with Erica, we found both of our relationships ironically started with music in common early in both of their relationships and also their connection because of mutual friends. We couldn’t live without music… a huge inspiration for our art, creativity + life.

 

Many thanks to you Ian + Erica in exploring the City and hiring us as your engagement and wedding day photographers. It was fun putting all of our artistic, brains altogether coming up with unique shooting spots and unique, urban engagement photos of the two of you. We have so many favorite images from your session. Looking forward to your upcoming wedding – in only a little over two weeks!! Can’t wait to hear your comments about the pics!”

 

 

Ian + Erica’s June Chicago wedding is at The Stan Mansion located within Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. The venue is described as an idyllic place to host a storybook wedding. The mansion features ornate décor and an auditorium which includes a stage. Erica was describing the place, colors and the lighting they’ve planned for their day. We can hardly wait to for their wedding day and are looking forward to meeting all of Erica + Ian’s family, friends and other music industry friends… not to mention, we can’t wait for some unique out of the norm wedding day music to help celebrate with.

 

↑ ↑ Be sure to watch Monica and Tomás’ YouTube Save the Date invitation video above. This creative stop motion flick was crafted by Tomás’ sister! ↑ ↑

“Wow, this was one smokin’ hot shoot! And what a stunning couple, meet Monica + Tomás. While discussing with Monica, their urban Chicago engagement session, she mentioned that they’d first love capturing a few softer photos at a nearby park where Tomás proposed and discussed incorporating their bikes in the engagement photos. Tomás said he can hardly live without his bike while living in Chicago – it’s a huge necessity even in the Winter months for him in getting around. After a bike through the park, we transitions M+T’s shoot’s focus into our popular high-fashion engagement photography style. We loved the intensity we captured of M+T, the day’s perfect sunset, urban locations, train tracks, graffiti wall and industrial looks, they all came together so well during this session.

 

We really enjoyed learning about how Monica and Tomás met and became college sweethearts. Tomás’ life experience was also very interesting. He lived two blocks from the World Trade Center Twin Towers in lower Manhattan during the 911 attacks of 2001. Tomás witnessed up close and personal one of the biggest tragedies in human history while losing his home and possessions due to debris and destruction. It was a very compelling and humbling story, thank you Tomás for sharing it with us… However Tomás did start his life over, making a dramatic change, by picking up and moving himself to Wisconsin meeting Monica, who changed his life forever.

 

Monica + Tomás are looking forward to their June Chicago wedding celebrations. The rehearsal dinner will be hosted at the colorful venue Carnivale and the ceremony + reception at the impressive Pazzo’s within the 311 South Wacker Drive, Chicago Loop building. With Monica originally from South Dakota and Tomás from Brooklyn, having a midwest wedding and bringing their families together for a Chicago City wedding is picture perfect. M+T hired the expertise of Marcy Alspach and her team at Here Comes the Party wedding event planning company. We can’t wait to see all of the special touches Marcy’s putting together for their wedding day.

 

Having another windy Chicago day for this photo session, didn’t phase M+T even the slightest. For the evening shots, Monica’s Chicago boutique lime green dress looked gorgeous and we actually loved the added element the gusty winds brought to the shoot… the touch of blowing wind added an edgy, editorial style to so many of the shots. Oh and Tomás… you looked pretty good too wink, wink. With too many great photo options, editing was a challenge narrowing the photos down to just these blog favorites – we hope you enjoy them Monica + Tomás! Thanks again for dinner at New Line Tavern – what a fun place to eat food, drink Guinness and sip wine. We enjoyed spending the day with you. Talk to you soon!!”

 

 

 

We are excited to announce a few of M+T’s Chicago engagement pictures have been featured on the www.trendsettingwedding.com blog. Check’em out!

“For last week’s two Chicago engagement photography sessions, we had some unexpected 70 degree, seriously awesome April weather! However, it was not only warm, but also two extremely gusty “windy city” Chicago days.

 

Brittany + Bobby are a fun loving, easy going couple who are very much in love. Ryan and I had a great time venturing around the City and seeing them interact with each other in the photos. We enjoyed visiting a few new photo locations just outside of the Chicago Loop for their shoot. During every engagement session, we seem to have a memorable moment … we will never forget stumbling across another couple near the Lake Michigan shoreline during their shoot. ; ) LOL

 

When discussing their shoot, I proposed the idea of incorporating some balloons into a few pictures. Brittany fell in love with the idea, so she gladly ordered and brought some balloons along – we had sooooo many balloons that we were a little nervous they all wouldn’t fit into our XTerra. The wind was definitely a little tricky to work with, but determined, we captured some romantic shots with the balloons in a quiet, secluded section of Chicago’s Museum Park. In addition, we mixed in some other soft photo styles then incorporated historic architecture, Lake Michigan and finally closed the day with everyone’s favorites, some after dark glowing Chicago evening skyline photos. Brittany looked stunning in her black dress and hot, yellow heels.

 

After the session, we grabbed a bite to eat and got to know each other a little more discovering Brittany and Bobby have been dating for over ten years – almost longer than Ryan and my relationship. With their upcoming destination wedding at Lake Lawn Resort on Lake Delavan in Wisconsin approaching, they were excited to talk about their wedding plans. We LOVE shooting destination weddings, whether they are only a state away or a destination wedding around the world. Brittany and Bobby… Ryan and I are thrilled to be heading up with you for your lakeside wedding. We can’t wait to meet your family and friends, 22 member bridal party, and enjoy your wedding weekend this Summer. Enjoy the photos and hope we created some lasting memories for the two of you… ”

 

Sarah + Ryan Miller:

“The months of October + November have been incredibly busy for Miller + Miller! Actually, the busiest we’ve been all year. While balancing a hefty schedule of photographing weddings, commercial photo shoots, engagement photo sessions and Fall family portraits, plus juggling the varying weather forecasts – needless to say our blog has suffered. Therefore, we’re a little behind in blog entries.

 

For this photo session, simply put… Sergio and Kristen are a super cool couple! Very easy going and obviously madly-in-love with each other, they put their trust in us to create some unique engagement photos and memories. For S+K’s engagement photo session, we choose to go out West exploring a few of our favorite spots within the Starved Rock area. We had an incredible Saturday afternoon with some brisk chilly wind, but a crystal-clear, crisp blue Illinois sky. The outcome, dramatic and amazing engagement pictures! The colorful sunset paired with an incredible couple, makes for some vibrant engagement photos. We love these photos!

 

Sergio + Kristen… we had a wonderful time getting to know you during your engagement session. We can’t wait for your 2010 October wedding at Timbercreek Hotel and Lodge. We hope you enjoy your engagement photos – choosing 10 favorite images for your engagement guest book will be a challenge. There are too many options!”

 

Sarah + Ryan Miller:

“For Aaron and Elizabeth’s Chicago Fall engagement portraits, we started mid-afternoon taking photos in downtown Oak Park. The Lake Street near Harlem Avenue area is a favorite local spot for Liz and Aaron to shop and enjoy dinner, entertainment and movies. She requested some local streetscape photos to include the Lake Theater sign, followed by photos in a nearby park’s garden. As the sun was going down, we travelled downtown to capture some magnificent Chicago skyline night photos. Inspired after seeing a photo we previously captured at the Adler Planetarium, Liz envisioned this photo spot as a perfect place to illustrate the vast City of Chicago for their Latin American families living back home in South America.

 

As the day progressed, we couldn’t help but notice the natural way these two interacted with each other. Aaron couldn’t resist making Liz giggle. We agreed, it must be their true love and chemistry for one another! Oh and thanks again Aaron for being quick on your toes. When a hefty Chicago wind gust came in, one of our umbrella was blown into Lake Michigan. Quickly responding, Liz was afraid Aaron was going to dive in after it! Luckily it washed back towards the break wall.

 

Aaron and Liz, thanks for the wonderful conversation and spending the day with us! Good luck in the rest of your planning for your November 2010 destination wedding in the amazing coastal city of Lima, Peru.”