Intimate Wedding at St. Mary's on the Lake [Uptown - Chicago, IL}

I don’t photograph many weddings anymore but when I do, I only take on intimate weddings & I fall in love all over again with them. Scott & Erika had a beautiful wedding in Uptown at St. Mary’s on the Lake, one of the most gorgeous churches I’ve been to in Chicago. The inside is stunning with golden ceilings, marble columns and awe-inspiring vastness, and the outside has more wonderful columns and arches and amazing places for portraits! Their wedding was the first I’ve photographed since before the pandemic began and while I was nervous, it was summer, numbers were low, I was masked and their wedding was the smallest I’ve ever photographed. It was a dream. Their sweet pup Ripley was even able to join us for some photos outside the church gardens in the beautiful sunlit afternoon. Congratulations to Scott & Erika, and thanks for having me along to document your lovely day.

2018 - Year in Review - Couples - Chicago Engagements, Proposals & Weddings

I can’t believe 2018 is almost gone - I feel like it just started and I was looking forward to all all of these beautiful engagement sessions and weddings. Now I’m planning for 2019, and packing for my first wedding of the year in the Caribbean & can’t wait to see what this new year brings. One of my favorite end-of-year things to do is this blog post because I get to go through all of my favorite sessions from the year and reflect on all of the love. I get a bit emotional looking through all of the images and seeing how many people trust me to document their biggest moments and let me bring their vision to life. Thanks to all of my 2018 couples for letting me get “just one more” photo “over there in that light” and to letting me push my creative muscles. I adore you all!

Much love, Courtney

LeaAnne & Raj - Hindu Wedding Ceremony at The Ritz Carlton - Grand Cayman

This wedding was so big and beautiful that I need to turn this into two blog post sneak peeks! My dear friends LeaAnne & Raj made their love official in Grand Cayman on the gorgeous beach at the Ritz Carlton. They're so in love they had TWO wedding ceremonies in one day! I joke, but they really did have two ceremonies. A Hindu ceremony, and a Christian ceremony, to bring both of their families and traditions together. 

Here's a peek into the beginning of the day, the first wedding, the Hindu ceremony. It was incredibly colorful and SO beautiful. Raj rode in on a horse - some of my favorite photos! The way he hugs his mom when she first sees him, also one of my favorites! So many portions in the ceremony were beautiful, sweet and sometimes goofy. 

Since their wedding was so chock-full of photos, I had to break this down by ceremony or this blog might explode with too many beautiful photos. Keep your eyes peeled for the Christian ceremony portion, coming in the next day or so. Much love, my friends!