“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.

 

“Busy wedding season is here and we have several new, fun couple’s wedding + engagement blog entries coming soon to our photo blog! ♥ Up first is last week’s Chicago engagement photography session with Chip + Tina. We had a beautiful Spring day and enjoyed the walk and talks with each other while moving from one shooting spot to the next around Soldier Field and Burnham Harbor. We really enjoyed talking to Tina and Chip learning about them and their upcoming wedding. Tina was a referral to us from one of our favorite boutique wedding dress, bridal shops in Chicagoland ( also where I purchased my wedding dress ) called White Satin Bridal. I can’t wait to see the dress she decided upon in a few days!

 

Chip has recently moved to the City from Tinley Park. Season ticket holders to the Bears, they watch many games and enjoy tailgating at Soldier Field. We learned Tina has lived in the Bridgeport neighborhood all of her life ( which isn’t too live far from both the Sox and Soldier fields. ) It was fun learning how Tina and Chip first met a few years ago at a friend’s backyard bbq party. Thanks guys in spending the afternoon with us! We are so excited for your wedding – in just over one week!! We hope you enjoy the final days of your planning and love the photos.”

 

 

 

Chip + Tina’s June Chicago wedding ceremony is at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church located within Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood. Their reception will follow at the elegant banquet hall Venuti’s located in Addison. We are looking forward to meeting all of Chip + Tina’s family, friends and 10 bridesmaids and 9 groomsmen. We’re going to definitely have some fun during group photos with their big, bridal party.

 

“We had a blast shooting Mike + Valerie’s engagement photography in Wheaton at Cantigny Park and in downtown Naperville. The shoot was on another windy, warm Spring day. In fact, it was so windy that a branch at Cantigny park broke and fell to the ground about 100 feet from us. The wind can be a challenge to work with ( Mike + Val’s hair-do’s were blowing everywhere ), however we always love the motion and drama it creates in pictures.

 

We first met Mike + Val in January and as of then, Mike hadn’t technically proposed yet. So when we met up for their shoot, we got to see Val’s amazing engagement ring and learn how the big proposal night went down. Let’s just say Mike’s a romantic who surpised Val with a candle lit, hallway leading to a rose petal decorated bedroom. Hearing the stories of each of our couple’s proposals is great, no two are the same. When discussing ideas and location ideas for M+V’s engagement photo session, we talked about a downtown Chicago shoot in Lincoln Park and @ Second City, where M+V had their first date. But Mike couldn’t resist going to Cantigny and the Tank Park. So we planned a trip to Cantigny’s First Division Tank Museum – we loved using the army tanks as a prop. For the softer and nature side of the shoot, we enjoyed the mix of architecture, gardens, lush landscaped grounds and sprawling, 500-acre park of Cantigny www.cantigny.org. Towards the evening, we captured sunset photos in nearby downtown Naperville and planned for a few “secret shooting spots” and brought a few unique photo ideas to close the night.

 

Mike + Valerie are tying the knot over Fourth of July weekend at St. Patrick’s Church in Lemont and their reception is at the luxury, boutique Renaissance Oak Brook Hotel. As I speak, we are designing M+V’s engagement photo guestbook and have already started talking about their wedding day photo bridal session… M+V are very excited about the big day. We know their wedding is going be a great time! M+V we hope you enjoy the blog preview pictures… it was a lot of fun working with you. We can’t wait to meet each of your families and be there on your wedding day photo documenting the celebration.”

 

“After a few weeks of several downtown Chicago engagement shoots, we were happy to switch things up and head out West of Chicago to LaSalle County for an Jonathan + Tamara’s Starved Rock engagement photo session. Plus, we love the small town feel of Ottawa and Illinois River Valley area. Although Jon + Tamara’s October 2, 2010 wedding day was already taken by another couple, J+T booked us for their creative engagement session and are planning on using the photos for their Save the Dates.

 

For Jon + Tamara’s engagement photo session, they decided upon a Spring “nature” focus, so we started their day early and hiked into “The Rock’s” canyons. A beautiful day, awesome for an outdoor photo session, we saw so much wildlife, deers, birds, an owl and even a quick glimpse of a bald eagle. On the ride out to the park, Jon was actually hopeful to have a bald eagle appear in the woods behind them for a photo! Unfortunately we weren’t so lucky, but seeing one was awesome enough. We had mentioned we could always Photoshop one in there if he’d like. LOL

 

As always, we have a great time getting to know our couples. Jon + Tamara work together at a nearby Insurance agency and met while working at the office. Tamara grew up in the Chicago area, while Jon as one of eight kids has lived in New York, Michigan, and currently now resides in Wheaton. It was fun learning both J+T drive the latest rivalry in 2010 muscle cars. On the day of the shoot when they arrived at our house in Jon’s shy of 1 month old, 2010 black Camaro, my jaw dropped!! I wanted to hop into it vs. our Xterra to travel out to Starved Rock. Tamara was quick to show me in her phone, her equally as awesome cherry red, Challenger. Seriously we were jealous!! : )

 

While hiking, Tamara was telling us of her eight years in the National Guard and her position as a drill sergeant. ( So don’t let Tamara’s petite stature fool you. She’s little, but one tough girl! ) The hiking reminded of her basic training and some seriously, strenuous hiking days. Tamara was telling us of her experiences while attending the US Army’s combat training center of Fort Jackson … which was especially interesting to us, because In fact as I write this very blog post – Fort Jackson just so happens to be the same location Ryan’s brother Brandon is currently training! Small world.

 

Jon + Tamara, we hope you had a great first time at Starved Rock State Park and enjoyed the photo session!! Please put us on your Save-the-Date mailing list, so we can see how you incorporate the images!!”

 

“Joe + Megan capture the first wedding of our 2010 season spot, leading off with their beautiful Spring wedding. Their day fell on an unexpected, but wonderful 70 degree April day. From the moment I arrived at Megan’s home prior to her putting her dress on, the first thing I noticed was Megan glowing with pure happiness. In fact, her smile and the sound of her joyful laugh continued on and was heard through out the day as she greeted each of her guests. Megan and Joe… thank you for choosing us to be a part of your wonderful day! We enjoyed capturing the smiles, laughter and tears as Megan walked down the isle and the numerous celebrant reception smiles of you, your fantastic families and group of friends. We hope you are having a wonderful time on your honeymoon + cruise this week and we will be in touch with the rest of the images after your return. Congratulations!!”

 

Joe + Megan’s Catholic wedding ceremony took place at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Schaumburg and their reception followed at the nearby Chandler’s at the Schaumburg Golf Club. While in route to Joe + Megan’s Schaumburg reception, we found an incredible park in Schaumburg where the willow trees were actually growing along the lawn and horizontally – which was perfect for unique, bridal party and editorial style wedding photos. Enjoy!

 

“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.”

“Just before the winter cold set in, our close friends The Green Family, contacted us with one mission in mind… to stay away from the boring photos everyone else seems to have hanging on their refrigerators and shoot some beyond-the-norm and far-from-ordinary family portraits. We eagerly accepted – as we love creating out of the box photos! We set out upon a couple of our favorite Chicago area outdoor photo spots and captured some ultra modern family portraits.

 

Ryan “Dad” is also an artist, so he not only liked our edgy and unique portrait photo style, but also loved our photo wall art products. The Green Family recently moved into a new home so taking their artistic family photos and enlarging them on one of our huge Metal Wall Art Murals ( super mod ) was a perfect decorating solution for their home’s blank walls. They also used the photos for their Christmas cards and enlarged a few shots on Canvas Gallery Wraps for grandparent’s holiday gifts. Enjoy!”

 

 

Ryan + Sarah Miller:

“In addition to wedding photography, we also create personalized wedding invites. This custom designed wedding invitation set was designed and printed for Danielle and Bola’s wedding in Glen Ellyn IL and reception at Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton Illinois. After our first consultation with Danielle, it was determined she was looking for an elegant and rich, red wine colored themed invitation. With our creativity churning, we composed uses of an impressive metallic paper, matching metallic envelopes and professionally printed two-color metallic inks for the church, reception and response cards. The custom invitation design influenced Danielle’s choices of matching table place cards and the program cover paper stock.”

Ryan + Sarah Miller:

“On Sunday, Laura and Doug had a wedding ceremony and reception, with their gathering of their closest family and friends, at the Founder’s Room at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. A beautiful setting, the Founder’s Room features ornate bookcases, marble fireplace, intimate alcove, and stained glass windows, is a visual step back into the early 20th century. The nail biting week prior, the weather leading up to their special day was rainy, but luck prevailed and on Sunday it was an utterly beautiful and picturesque day! We enjoyed gathering photos after the ceremony within the Fragrance Garden, along the Joy Path and outside on the Thornhill Lawn behind the Founder’s Room. Congrats Laura and Doug and we wish you all the best! Take a peek at their Wheaton Illinois IL Wedding Photography we posted to our blog back in July.”