Doug McGoldrick photography weddings

2012-01-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

here are a couple really great Bridal events that I will be at in the next couple weeks. These will be great places to meet lots of exceptional vendors. Both of these shows are not the typical any vendor who pays gets to set up a booth kind of show, but carefully curated select vendors only, so you can meet the best.An Intimate Bridal Affair™Wednesday, January 25, 20125:30pm - 8:30pmHotel Palomar | 505 N. State Street | Chicago, ILand Indie WedRavenswood Event Center4043 Ravenswood Ave Chicago, IL Saturday, January 28, 2012 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM (CT)great must see events get you tickets now before they sell out!doug

Some nice love from Photo District News and Photsoserve

2011-12-06T14:49:00.001-08:00

Checkout this fantastic Postcard PDN photoserve did using one of my images. Fame and fortune must be at hand.

Caroline and Joe's wedding at the Palmer House Chicago

2011-11-26T15:59:00.001-08:00

The last wedding of 2011 has come and gone for me (unless something weird happens). This was a great way end it, I had a super time with a great couple Caroline and Joe where a total pleasure to work with and stayed cool through out the day. I also got to work with Denver Smith, I guy who I have shot for a couple times and now I got to have him shoot with me, he is a blast and the total life of the party kind of guy. Another great thing about this wedding was the Palmer house, I’ve had a couple brides get ready there in the past and was aware that they have the best looking lobby in Chicago, but now I got to shoot a reception there as well, and it was totally amazing, there ballrooms match the amazingness of the lobby. These may be the best looking rooms in Chicago, it’s like stepping into a European palace ballroom, that Potter Palmer had some good taste. The crew from the Palmer house did a really fantastic job with keeping the reception running flawlessly. One of my favorite DJ companies Toast and Jam was great as usual, they played a really cool set of music and kept the party Jamming. Great way to end 2011.

Great Feature on Style Me Pretty

2011-11-22T13:01:00.001-08:00

The super wonderful folks at Style Me Pretty did a wonderful feature on a recent wedding of mine. Check it out here. I love those Style Me Pretty folks!

Rachel and Nick's wedding at the Hotel Monaco Chicago

2011-11-14T08:26:00.001-08:00

Rachel and Nick’s wedding at the Hotel Monaco was such a super fun day. Rachel and nick stayed very relaxed all day and let the day unfold naturally. The Hotel Monaco has such a fantastic location in the city, it is right on Wacker drive so it is really easy, even without much time, to just walk outside the hotel and take pictures a long the river or in the loop it’s all right there a really perfect location for and all in one place wedding. We found some great locations around the hotel to make some fun photos. When the party got swinging they really got their dance on. There where lots of kids at the wedding who where itching all day long for the music to start so when it did they pounced on the floor. One of my favorite things about the wedding though is they got my name from one of my very first couples, so it was really fun getting to see them again after all these years. You know it's going to be a good day when the bride is wearing Converse all stars.

Lisa and Sam's wedding at Bedell Vineyards

2011-10-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

So every year I do my destination to me contest, where I give away coverage for a wedding, the rules are, it has to be 300 miles from Chicago and the couple pays my expenses. This always turns out to be one of my favorite weddings of the year. This year’s was no exception, in fact this is going to go down as one of my favorite weddings of all time. I’m going to do a quick run down of the timeline for you. Friday, they had a welcoming party at an art gallery, Saturday they had a beach barbeque party with a steel drum band and bright flowers every where. Then Sunday they had the actually wedding at an amazingly beautiful vineyard. The wedding was located in and around Greenport NY which is out at the end of Long Island, it was my first time in the area and it could not have been more wonderful. The Vineyard was the Bedell vineyard just outside of Greenport, a really wonderful location. This couple was very involved in the details of the wedding, lots of flowers and decorative details everywhere, and the food was amazing, lots of wonderful locally sourced goodies and plenty of desserts. The music was also wonderful, each event had it’s own sound signature, from a solo guitar at the welcome event to a great Gatsby style trio during the cocktail hour to a jam’n band during the reception. There is so much to say about this wedding, but I’m just going to let the pictures say the rest.Florist Zhanasdesign.com Catering Marceybrownstein.com Cocktail Musicians carteblanchevintage.com/ Reception musicians The Cafe Wha Band Reception bedellcellars.com Desserts malibsweets.com Saturday Catering DG catering coordinator cloudnoveevents.com Dress seliayang.com

Anne and Tony's wedding At Brookfield Zoo.

2011-10-17T21:10:00.001-07:00

I loved Tony and Anne’s wedding, I mean how could you not? the reception was at the Brookfield zoo. I have two little kids and live pretty close to the zoo, so I am very familiar with the place and really love it. We spent some of our time at the zoo touring around and doing some photos in front of the sites. It was pretty amazing at every enclosure we went up to the animals came right up to where we where standing it was like they wanted to be in on the photo opp. After dinner was over the band “Hey Jimmy” started up these guys really rocked, they got the dance floor jumping fast and kept it going, this group of people really loved to dance and get there groove on.

Amazing style unveiled feature!

2011-09-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

I got to work with one of my favorite vendors recently to do this super amazing shoot for Style unveiled. Hillary from Estera events put together some really amazing food and table design for this beautiful piece. see the rest here Wedding vendors involved include: Photography: Doug McGoldrick Photography Venue: Wheeler Mansion Event Concept and Design: Estera Events Styling and Design for the Breakfast Table: Sugar Chic Designs Linen: Private Label Linens Place Settings : Les Tableaux Plated Food: Entertaining Company

A thought leads to a wedding contest!

2011-09-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

So a friend of mine Justine recently posted some images she shot with her twin lens Rollie film camera. It, like my Hasselblad above shoots square pictures on medium format film. Medium format film in this case means the negatives are 2.25 inches square, a lot large than a 35mm negative you may have seen. Her pictures where great, heck she's a great photographer, but still it got me all nostalgic for my film cameras. The cameras you see above are my Hasselblad and my Leica the blad take s the cool square pictures and the leica takes regular 35mm shaped photo. My camera's are lonely they feel snubbed by there new fancy digital brothers. So I was thinking it would be fun to shoot an occasional wedding with film, but running the numbers I found it's expensive, so I thought well I'll just put together a higher priced package and shoot it on film. But wait who's going to book a package when they can't see any film images in my portfolio? (truth be told I shot a few weddings on film but that was quite a while a go, I need some fresh stuff) So I thought I'd do a couple film weddings for cost. Here's the deal you pay for my film, processing and scanning (not my time). I'll also bring a long a second shooter who will be shooting on a super high tech digi camera so You'll get color shots from that system. What's the price? well how does $2000 for 8 hours hit ya? pretty sweet deal eh? I'll only do a couple at this price so if you want it let me know soon. I'll run this deal until September to give you plenty of time to book. Your wedding should be in 2012.

If you want in let me know in an email, tell me your story.

Great feature all the way from Argentina!

2011-08-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

So if you follow my blog, and I'm sure you do, you'll remember back in December I went to Argentina to shoot a really amazing wedding. Well an Argentine Magazine called Nublis did a Feature on the wedding here is a copy of the page. I have no idea what it says but it looks pretty cool, and it's always exciting in this digital age to see my work in print.

Garfield Park Conservatory fund raiser

2011-08-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

Garfield Park is one of my favorite places on the entire planet. I've taken my kids there countless times, and I have gone by myself many times to escape the world for a bit and recoup, particularly in the winter it is an amazing wonderland of warmth and humidity during a dry cold Chicago winter. As many of you may know Garfield park's amazing conservatory was severally hail damaged this summer. The estimated clean up costs are around the two million dollar mark and the repair costs haven't begun to be calculated yet. What the park really needs is some angel to come to it's rescue with a monster donation, but until that happens I'll try to do something to help out. For several years I have been making photos in the conservatory, mainly in the now destroyed fern house, you can see the images here go into portfolio "Ferns and Grasses Mostly". For the rest of the year I'll take any price over $50 for one of the prints and donate all the money from the sale minus shipping and printing to the conservatory.

shoot me an email with the image you'd like to purchase. printed on 11x14 paper.

A great party at Chicago's Peninsula Hotel

2011-07-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

One thing that always makes me feel good about myself is when vendors book me to shoot their own events. All us vendors know each other and when we pick who we want for our own stuff we know whom to call. So I was honored to be chosen to shoot a birthday party for one of Chicago's top wedding and event planners. Beth of SQN called me up to shoot a party for her business partner Stephanie at the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago. They had a small get together at the Peninsula for High tea, it was a really fun experience, lots of fancy little sandwiches and tea. Being planners they also had lots of great details they made especially for the day by Stephanie it was a beautiful setting.

fresh faces

2011-06-27T21:10:00.001-07:00

This weekend my wifes family had a family get together I shot all the kids at the party. Two of these are mine guess which and I'll get you some sort of prize.

Unplugged weddings the new super trend!

2011-06-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

The super fab blog Offbeat Bride has put up the most wonderful post, that I think every bride needs to read when putting together her wedding day. This post has take the wedding industry like a wildfire and I hope it takes off with brides as well, it's a fantastic way for you and you guest to really get the most out of the big day.

Check it out

Rachel and Nick Engagement portraits.

2011-06-11T20:20:00.001-07:00

I shot some real fun engagement portraits recently, These portraits where besieged by bad weather or the last couple weeks, then a charity walk of some sort blocked us off from where we wanted to shoot, but we found some great spots and had a great time together at some alternative locations.

some great blog love from neotericart.com

2011-05-23T20:13:00.001-07:00

check out this great interview with me at http://neotericart.com/

Suzan and Anthony's engagement portraits in Kenwood, Chicago

2011-04-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

I recently did a really fantastic Engagement portrait session down in the Hyde Park area. Suzan and Anthony have recently moved from the near north to the Kenwood neighborhood on the south side, home to among many things some of the Hyde Park parrots and of course the president. For their engagement we walked around with there two fantastic dogs in the park and then headed over to the 43rd street beach and got some fun shots, it was a cold windy day but we really made the best of it.

Hello Darling at Macy's

2011-04-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

My good friend Natalie who owns Hello Darling was invited to do a display for Macy's floral show this year. She was nice enough to let me come along and photograph the event, and I even got a birthday cake out of it! anyway check out this fun stop action video I made that night. This video is about 3,000 frames.

Hello darling's Macy's setup from doug mcgoldrick on Vimeo.

Some cool blog love

2011-03-28T21:02:00.001-07:00

the very cool and stylish site eyeinform.wordpress.com did a nice feature story about fashionable sunglasses for weddings and they used one of my images check it out. If you're like me and wear glasses you can find lots of cool style, info and of course great deals on the rest of there site.

Help Japan and Buy some art from Wall Space gallery

2011-03-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

The wonderful folks at Wall Space gallery are doing something really great they are putting up work on there site some of by very well known photographers and auctioning it off to raise money to help Japan, as of March 28th they have raised more than $38,000 that's a lot of dough. One of my images just went live on the site so buy it or buy something else.

Tiffany and Demetri's wedding at St. Basil's and The Rookery in Chicago

2011-02-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

There's no better way to kick off a new year than to shoot a wedding reception at The Rookery, one of Chicago's most historic buildings that combines Burnham and Root and Frank Lloyd Wright in one space! Tiffany and Demetri chose the fine folks at Jewel Events and Catering to keep everything running smoothly at the reception and the food was fantastic. The music was a nice mix of traditional Greek and contemporary western music. The ceremony was held at St. Basil's Greek Orthodox Church and it was like stepping back in time to something pure and original, rich with tradition.

Here's to many more weddings and receptions like this in 2011!

And the Winner is . . . . . . .

2011-02-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

Lisa and Sam

This is a super amazing story that my girls the super tough judges really loved, a photo with camels was also a big hit. Thanks to everyone who entered, I read some amazing stories and it was not a easy thing to decide at all. here is there story in there own words.

The North Fork, and specifically Bedell, is a very special place for us; the story is much better told live, but I'll give it a shot ... Three weeks after we met in May 2008 (at a bar called Employees Only in the West Village of Manhattan), we decided to go an overnight excursion to the North Fork (wine country). My boss offered me her car for the weekend; she gave me instructions for how to retrieve it from her Manhattan garage but failed to mention any other details about the vehicle (and I didn't think to ask). On that Saturday morning, we showed up to the garage and we were handed over a beautiful and new Mercedes S500. What a great start! We had a beautiful day of vineyard hopping, walking on the beach, indulging in local cheeses and meats, and most importantly, enjoying each other's company. We stayed at a quaint inn, and after a jog and a hearty breakfast in the morning, we embarked upon another day of fun at the wineries in the area. About five minutes into the journey, we were involved in a car accident; an older lady was attempting to change lanes and didn't see us as we were in her blind spot, and side swiped my boss' car. Thank goodness nobody was hurt, but the Mercedes was definitely damaged. We pulled over, as did a cop who witnessed the accident. Since I was so upset about crashing my boss' car, I went to the other side of the street to collect myself, while Sam dealt with the officer and provided the insurance information. After the police left the scene, I had to call my boss, who was in Bermuda celebrating her husband's 40th Birthday. Ring, Ring, Ring...my boss said, "Hi Lisa, How's the car?" In a very broken-up monologue, I explained exactly what happened. My boss was speechless, and put her husband (who I know well) on the line. He was extremely cool about the whole thing, and told me to calm down, to go about my day as the car was drive-able, and that insurance would cover the damages. So Sam and I decided to follow his instructions and we headed to Bedell Cellars for a tasting. About twenty minutes later and before heading into the winery, I decided to call back my boss to apologize for disrupting her vacation. She picked up the phone and reiterated her husband's message; "I'm not upset, and as long as we you guys are ok, go enjoy the day." Just as we were about to say goodbye, she said the following statement under her breath; "Lisa, this is exactly why we would never drive a nice car in the the New York area, things like this happen." I replied, "This is no time to be sarcastic/joke around, we are in your black Mercedes S500." She said, "Mercedes??? We have a silver Honda Accord!" I said, "Honda Accord! We are in your black Mercedes!" With that, we realized the garage had given us the wrong car, and that we had crashed a stranger's car, not my boss' car. I looked in the glove compartment, and sure enough, the documents were in the name of a random person that we did not know; when the police were filing the accident report, Sam was providing the information while I was hyperventilating on the other side of the street (Sam didn't know the last name of my boss or her husband's name at that time). Over the next twenty-four hours, a lot more details came out on why and how this happened, which I would love to share at a later time... But to make this already long story shorter, we decided to go about our day; we parked ourselves at Bedell Cellars for the afternoon. We drank fabulous vino and listened to live music; it was at that time and place, and following that insane car experience, where we really got to know each other and decided that we really liked each other. Two and half years later, we got engaged (details below); Bedell Cellars was the obvious choice for the venue!

Free Free Free Wedding Contest!!!

2011-01-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

Well it’s that time of year again, the email box is filling up with brides looking for photographers, and that’s a good thing for me. For the last few years I’ve done one wedding each year for free, with some simple rules, 1. You must be having your wedding at least 300 miles from Chicago 2. You must send a photograph of yourselves 3. You must send a short story about yourselves. What do you get? You get 8 hours of coverage of your wedding day, you get a disk of full resolution images, and you get an online gallery. What do you pay for? Well you have to pay for me to get to you and you have to get me a place to stay, I need to get to where the wedding is two days before the ceremony, so I need three hotel nights (this way we don’t have to worry about missed or cancelled flights). Also if you are not getting married in a city with easy access to cabs I need a rental car. Who picks the winner? Those tough looking girls in the picture pick the winners; I’m only there for a tie-breaking vote, although to be honest the little one pretty much picks who ever the older one likes. How do you butter up the Judges, well the big judge likes Harry Potter and Star Wars, the little judge likes all things Princess, Barbie and American girl she’s a very girly girl. How much is this worth? Well an 8 hour package would normally run $4100, that of course includes a starter album so take out the album and you are getting a $3100 package for the cost of a plane ticket and a couple nights at a hotel pretty sweet deal eh? Who has won in the past? Last years happy couple was in Los Angeles, and the year before that was in Seattle, where next? Enter now; Judge will take place on Feb 11, 2011.

Annie's in River Forest.

2011-01-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

Recently a River Forest institution closed its doors after over 25 years. Annie’s was the place in town for after school ice cream and treats. Simon and Agnus where as much fixtures in River Forest as was there shop, they were always there with a smile to light your day and a treat to fill your stomach. It was simple comfort food, done just right. They will really be missed around town particularly when the heat rolls around this summer and you need some treats.

Here's a link to a great article about Annies

Laura and Pablo's wedding in Buenos Aires

2010-12-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

I've been anticipating shooting Laura & Pablo's wedding and reception in Buenos Aires, Argentina all year long and wasn't disappointed! Having shot their engagement portraits and civil wedding here in Chicago earlier in the year, I've gotten to know this fabulous couple fairly well. Since it’s summer in Argentina, the weather on day of the wedding was perfect and cooled down nicely in the afternoon with a nice even light. Laura dressed at the wonderful Sofitel Hotel in downtown Buenos Aires and the wedding was held in a beautiful neighborhood church. The reception took place in an old mansion that had been restored to it's original finery. The sun shining through the windows made for a breathtaking afternoon shoot, accompanied as it was by a jazz trio and sumptuous food made the event a huge success!

Nice Blog Love

2010-12-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

in addition to my wedding work I do commercial and fine art photography too. I recently got some nice blog love from new landscape photography/ check it out it's a great photo blog.

Roy and Val's wedding at Locanda Verde and the Thompson Hotel New York City

2010-11-18T10:41:00.000-08:00

Having a passionate love for New York City, I always jump at the chance to travel there. I recently had the pleasure of shooting Roy and Val's wedding in New York City and it was a simple yet beautiful affair. Their ceremony was held at the City Clerk's office. Having shot at Chicago's City Hall earlier that week, I must admit New York City's set up is a bit more impressive. After the ceremony the guests dined at Locanda Verde in Tribecca. Later that evening, a larger crowd partied at the Thompson Hotel bar in Soho to celebrate the nuptials in style. On a side note, having spent most of my life living in Minnesota, when I was walking down the street near Battery Park I ran into a friend who lived across the street from me in Minnesota! Just goes to show that even in New York, it's still a small world!

Laura and Pablo's Wedding at Chicago City Hall

2010-11-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

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I shot Laura and Pablo’s engagement photos last year and last week I shot their city hall marriage in downtown Chicago, then we had some fun walking around the loop before a small dinner party at their place. In mid December I’ll be flying down to Buenos Aires, Argentina to shoot the religious ceremony with their families. These guys are keeping me busy, be sure to check back in a month or so to see the photos from down south.

Lisa and Josh's wedding at the Ivy Room Chicago

2010-10-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

When I first started blogging about weddings a few years back, I tried to limit myself to 10 or so images from each wedding. Slowly the images started to creep up to 15 or perhaps even 20 images. I’m pushing 30 images on the blog for this wedding! At times, weddings are just so much fun it’s hard to edit it down. Lisa and Josh had their ceremony and reception at the wonderful Ivy Room in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. This is actually my third event there this season. It’s always a pleasure to shoot there as it’s a great space, very accommodating and everything runs very smoothly. Lisa and Josh put together a super group to help out on their wedding day. Dana and her crew from Jewel Events did an outstanding job creating delicious food and put together a desert bar using old family recipes from both families! It was really fun to see and taste a little family history. Stolie from Cage and Aquarium Productions ran the music for the night. She played a really fun mix of tunes that you don’t generally hear at weddings which made the music more interesting since by the end of a season, I’ve kind of heard a few songs a few too many times. A Stem Above created an amazing table arrangement and flowers that really added a beautiful sense of color to the space. Lisa and Josh were a really fun couple to hang around with for the day. They had a memorable wedding day which I’m sure will lead into a fantastic life together. I only have two more weddings to go this year, neither of which is going to be in Chicago so this was a great way to end my local season. Thanks to Vanessa Churchill for the great shooting assistance on this one.

Nice feature on Bride_Buzz

2010-10-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

The lovely folks over at Bride-Buzz.com did a feature on one of my favorite weddings from last fall check it out. It's a great site so spend some time looking around, once you get there.

Renee and Elihu at the South Shore Cultural Center

2010-10-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Some times the best plans just don’t work, thanks to Mother Nature. When I met up with Renee and Elihu for there engagement portrait I had lots of plans of cool places in the city to take them and shoot, well within moments of getting in the car to head out to shoot it started raining not just little sprinkles but big winds and big rain. Well it’s always good to have a plan b. Renee and Elihu wanted to head down to Jackson Park and the South Shore Cultural Center, so off we went. The South Shore Cultural Center is a really amazing building, built right on the lake it’s le stepping into another world and another time. It’s a palace like building with one of the most amazing ballrooms you will ever see. Renee and Elihu where a super fun couple and real troopers, Renee is a Florida transplant and had to tough out our local cold wet weather. They are heading down to St. Lucia for a destination wedding in a few weeks, and I wish them all the best! Now that I've shot an engagement portrait and the South Shore Cultural Center I really really want to shoot a wedding there!

Check out this sweet blog love from the Ivy Room

2010-10-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

The Ivy Room is one of my favorite venues in the city, a totally fun beautiful space in the heart of the River North. I recently did an anniversary party and the Ivy room people did a great blog posting about the party, check it out.

Kendall and Ryan's wedding at First Presbyterian church of Lake Forest

2010-09-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

I shot the most wonderful wedding this past weekend. The ceremony was at the beautiful first Presbyterian church of Lake Forest; it’s an amazing space with wonderful woodwork and even more wonderful Tiffany stained glass windows that are just amazing. Kendall and Ryan are both really wonderful people even though they both live in DC and are involved in politics. Funny thing is that each works for a different party, but they claim to be moderates so maybe they are pretty close on most issues. Kendall’s moms is an interior designer so she handled many of the design details, and choose a really wonderful palette of blues and silver for the wedding it carried through the flowers and even the candies. The reception was held at Kendall’s parent’s home in Lake Forest and was a real show piece for her mom’s hard design work, the attention to detail was amazing. Jewell Events did the catering; they did some really great stations with an eclectic and yummy variety of foods. I’m kind of a obsessive when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, and I must say the chocolate chip cookies they served up are definitely going on my top ten list, and that is one tough list to get on. Dana from Jewel also did a great job of keeping the wedding moving along smoothly. Lord and Mar did some brilliant flower arrangement and bouquets for the wedding, I wish I couple plug their web site but they don’t seem to have one tisk tisk. For the reception they used a tent in the yard that was connected right up to the house providing a wonderful flow between the spaces inside and out. Kate from Toast and Jam did a great job setting the mood during cocktails and got the party going during dancing. Kendall and Ryan are great people with smiles and laughs which really light up a room.

doug mcgoldrick on brides.com

2010-09-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

A wedding I shot last fall up in Lake Geneva WI is currently being featured on the home page of Brides.com check it out it's pretty cool. It was an amazing wedding with a super cool couple.

Here's also a link to my blog about the wedding if you want even more info. link

yippie!!

doug

Leila and Norman's wedding at Pleasant Home in Oak Park

2010-09-06T19:05:00.002-07:00

This last wedding was such a great event, and it could not have been any more different than the big blow out toga party that came the weekend before. Leila and Norman, like the last couple where all ready married although in their case I think it’s been less than a year rather than twenty-five years. Leila and Norman got married on the west coast with just themselves and there parents on a beach, so they came back home to Chicago and had a reception for there friends and family in Oak Park. Unlike their crazy Toga party above this was a simple and elegant affair. The venue was the wonderful Pleasant Home in Oak Park, a wonderful old mansion that the city runs as a historical museum and also rents out for event, it is such a warm and lovely home, I always look forward to shooting in the space, although it’s very large it doesn’t feel overwhelming it’s a warm comfy space, I’d really love to see the space in the winter. It’s also great since I can practically walk there from my place. These two are just a great couple they just seem so perfect together, and during the event many people got up to tell stories about growing with the to of them, and how knowing them has strengthened them and made them better people, it was really beautiful. They have a real passion for there lives and there work, Leila was a reporter for years and then hung up her press pass and is now blogging about hair full time, I love to hear about people taking a personal passion and turning it into a job. So check out her bglhonline.com/ if you love hair. It’s great to have such different events so close together it keeps me on my toes and shows how much fun you can have doing this.

Toga Toga Toga at the Ivy Room Chicago

2010-08-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

So I get to go to a lot of great parties, and sometimes I think to myself "this is it nobodies going to top this one," then someone always does. Well this couple set the bar a little hire for everyone last weekend. First just check out the all star list of vendors they brought together. First the venue was the Ivy Room, that place and there crew continues to amaze me with what they can put together, The space design, flowers, and lighting where done by Heffernan Morgan, and I have to say I've never seen the space look so cool, and the lighting was really amazing, usually, when people light spaces it really works against me, all dark and moody but these guys put up enough lights that it made shooting much easier, but still made for a beautiful impression, next up Red Mink provided living statues, yes living statues you need living statues at a toga party right? The Entertaining Company did a really wonderful Job making everyones tummies very, very happy. The band was The underwater People who really entertained to folks and got everyone hopping. This was all brought together by celebrity wedding planner Renny Pedersen of Bliss events who I have worked with many times before and always puts on a great event, there is one more surprise person but you'll have to scroll down to see who. So what was this event for? A 25th anniversary party these two really put on a show recreating a grown up version of the college toga party for there friends. It was amazing I had so much fun.

So What is the surprise and why are all these folks so happy? Sure it's there friends party and all, but if you are going to throw a toga party who is the one person you need to invite? Well I'm sure you've all seen animal house (if not you should) so you know at the toga party in the movie they have Otis Day play at there party, so who else could they get to come up and play a little set other than Otis Day himself, this guy got the crowd going like nobody I've ever seen before it was amazing. Shama lama ding dong, I love my job.

Kirsten and Zac's wedding at the Ivy Room Chicago

2010-07-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

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I shot Kirsten and Zac's engagement photos on a cold day back in December, now I was luck enough to shoot there wedding on a beautiful, warm, pretty near perfect weather day in June. There wedding and reception both took place at the always amazing Ivy Room at Tree Studios, I love this space, this year I'm going to be luck enough to shoot there twice. The Ivy Room has the most amazing outdoor space in the city, it's an amazing court yard in the center of the building totally private from the world yet with tons of space and beautiful light, it also has places to climb up and shoot down on the crowd for some unusual shots you can't really get anyplace else. This couple was such a delight to hangout with for the day, I new they would be after the way we trooped through that cold engagement session. They had some really fantastic help from Anthony Navarro a fantastic wedding planner who is a total hoot to work with. He keeps everything running super smooth and remains a super fun and calm presence the whole day. Having him backed up by the always amazing team of Donna and Matt from The Ivy Room meant the day was completely smooth, even if something had gone wrong they would have been able to work around it in such away that know one would have noticed. Kirsten and Zac also brought in a great band called Maggie Speaks who I hadn't worked with before but they did a fantastic job of getting the party started and then keeping it going all night long. Nadine from Fragrant design did some really amazing work with the flowers around the event. And the folks from Art of Imagination really did amazing work with designing the space into a comfortable colorful fun space. The Entertaining Company was on top of there game as well with wonderful food and hors devours. All in all a wonderful day and a wonderful couple lead to an amazing wedding.

Darling Fleur Academy of Blooms

2010-06-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves flowers, but making really amazing arrangements is kind of like learning to paint, but there isn't a place to learn. Well know there is, two of Chicago's best florists Natile from Hello Darling and Kelly from Fleur have teamed up to let you in on some of the secrets to making the amazing arrangements they put together that end up at exclusive weddings and in magazines. I was luck enough to join them at there first class and captured the big day in a stop action video check it out it's lots of fun, and sign up to check out the next class.

Darling Fleur - Academy of Blooms from doug mcgoldrick on Vimeo.

Great feature on Kyra's wedding! in CS Brides

2010-06-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

The new issue of Chicago Social Brides has a wonderful feature on one of my favorite weddings from last summer, so rush out and pick yourself up a copy! They had a really wonderful wedding day with a service at the University of Chicago, and a reception at the new modern wing of the Art Institute of Chicago which is a really amazing space with some of the best views of the city you can find any place. I'm super happy with the feature, it's always lots of fun to see my work in print.

Mimi and Dan's wedding in Camarillo, CA

2010-05-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here they are the big winner for 2010, Mimi and Dan. There wedding was at the beautiful Maravilla Gardens in Camarillo, CA. Even the space had a great story apparently the owners had a flower nursery, and when there own daughter got married they fixed up the grounds for the wedding, people loved it so much that they left it and started renting it out for weddings and now it’s constantly booked up. The reception was a private residence in Simi Valley. These two met when they where just 13 years old and I think they knew even then what was in store for them. The weather of course being southern California in early May was absolutely perfect not to hot not to cold, with beautiful blue sky’s and still early enough in the summer that the hills where still green. I really loved the reception, the site was wonderfully presented and the food was wonderful, but I think my favorite moment, maybe even better than the first dance was when Mimi and Dan’s fathers got up and did a duet of “when I’m 64” they did a great heartfelt job, and the crowd of course ate it up. So far with my contests I always get some really fantastic couples and they where certainly no exception, they are off to a wonderful future together, I can’t wait to see who wins next year!

the day light

2010-04-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that last week I completely updated my website http://weddings.dougphoto.com tons of new images and lots of good stuff. When I was trying to figure out how to start the new site, wondering what eye catching image to grab people with I choose a image from Jennifer and Casey's wedding which I shot in Richmond VA. One thing that really drew me to there images is the light, they had a day time wedding, something that I very rarely shoot but wish I could do more of, sure it doesn't have quite the drama of the night wedding but it really does make photography, well I don't want to say easier, but it gives me so many more options when shooting, when shooting in the dark your depth of focus is really limited by flash power and what ever little ambient light that you have, with the day time wedding I have can lots of depth if I want it or very shallow depth if I want that, it gives me lots of other nice options too. So when your planning out your wedding think about the light, where are the windows in the space in relation to the sun, west facing windows are great beautiful warm sunset light can fill the space. Keep in mind too that the sun in the summer doesn't set until after 9ish so start things a little early get some natural light to bathe your space with warmth, you'll be happy you did. And when someone from the space goes around to close the curtains to keep out the sun smack them. If you do have an evening wedding make sure to ad some spot lighting to your head table and the dance floor, sure keeping things dark seems cool, but a few spot lights can really help the photography out and create a film set look to the images that is wonderful.

Great new organization in Chicago

2010-03-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

I had a great time tonight going to the launch party for a new organization in the Chicago area. Wish Upon a Wedding gathers wedding industry professionals to donate their services to couples where one of the people has been diagnosed with a terminal disease. Imagine if you where going to through something like cancer and your partner could not be with you in the hospital to help make decisions about you care. Imagine you have dreamed of a wonderful wedding your entire life but now medical expenses have made that dream impossible wish upon a wedding can help. The organization has the potential to help so many people I feel privileged to be a part of it. If you know someone who could use some help please direct them here.

link

A Sale A Sale

2010-03-18T11:35:00.001-07:00

If you book me for a 2010 wedding or 2011 wedding before June 1st, I'll throw in one extra hour of photography for free and an engagement portrait. Why? Why not.

watch out you get what you pay for

2010-03-08T09:56:00.001-08:00

This video has been making crazy rounds on photography boards lately and I thought I'd share it. If price is all you are considering watch what you might get into. Also this judge really knows his photography very impressive.

The Big Winners

2010-02-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

The big day is here and so with out further ado here they are. Mimi and Dan from the LA area. So what's there story? The have known each other since they where 7 years old when they would go to summer camp together. When they where 18 they saved up all there money and took a trip together to England and Italy which is pretty gutsy for a couple 18 year old kids. Then later after college and getting jobs he proposed to her over cheese fondue love it. I can't wait to get out there, and meet them this May.

Times almost up!

2010-02-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

If you are planning on entering my contest, time is almost up so hurry up and enter. So far I have submissions from, California, New york, Washington DC, New Jersey, Texas, Michigan, and Florida.

dougphoto featured on Bride-Buzz blog

2010-02-07T18:12:00.001-08:00

Bonnie and Michaels wedding in Lake Geneva WI is being featured on Bride-Buzz check it out. It's super cool.

Contest Time Again!

2010-02-06T23:50:00.000-08:00

Well it's january so it's cold in Chicago and I'm so looking forward to the wedding season again when it'll be warm. Last year about this time I had a double contest giving away two free weddings, they ended up being two of my best weddings ever I really got pumped up doing, so I'm doing it again. This year I'm going to be giving away one wedding, and here's the deal. Once again I have the same two judges to pick the winner, my super fab girls. so write in your story and send a picture of you guys so the girls can take a look at you and I can read your story to them, last year they picked some really great winners so I'm sure this year they will too. Rules are the wedding must take place at least 500 miles from Chicago, and you must be a totally fun couple. What you win is 8 hours of coverage from me, a disk of images at full resolution, and an online gallery of images. All you need to cover money wise my transportation costs to get to the wedding. Start sending me emails so I can get those kids of mine to work. I must get you email by Feb 22nd.

Last years winner #1

Last years winner #2

Judge #1

Judge #2

Laura and Pablo engagement photos chicago

2010-02-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

I had such a good time shooting these engagement photos. Laura and Pablo couldn't be a sweeter couple. The sad part is they are from Argentina and will be getting married down there drat. They have such a great story they have been dating for many years but for the last couple they have been separated by 5587 miles, while Pablo is working on his masters in Econ at Northwestern Laura has been finishing up her undergrad back in Buenos Aires Argentina. They been dating via skype, gmail chat and occasional trips, during Laura's summer break our winter. I wouldn't have expected these two to be very weather tough but they had a great time running around the city to make pictures, braving some cold and windy Chicago weather. Laura had a lot of great ideas for the shots which we worked into the session and it really made the day extra fun. Now if I could just get them to move there wedding to Chicago.

I did it again!

2010-02-04T16:10:00.000-08:00

I placed again in another http://AGWPJA international photo contest 5th place this time I'm move'n up!

Is your photographer really a photographer?

2010-02-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

These days it would seem everyone with a digital SLR is a wedding photographer, I guess they think it'll justify the expensive lenses they want to buy. Some of these people are hanging a virtual shingle out and taking jobs, and this scares me, not in the they are taking away my business way, more in the I think they could hurt your wedding memories way. Generally these people are on the low end of the wedding photographer market but some can get up there in price. My worries for brides are several, first if they have a good full-time job with health care etc... and the boss decides they need to attend a conference the weekend of your wedding what happens to you? what if they get transfered? beyond that there are the technical problems that could arise, you wouldn't want me to do your taxes and you wouldn't want my accountant to shoot your wedding. before I went off on my own I assisted for lots of other photographers for six years, I also have a BFA and an MFA so my training is pretty solid, you would be amazed if you where to search some photography boards online how often you see posts about very basic technical issues like how to use a flash, that start out "so I have a wedding this weekend and I can't figure out how to....." the person who shoots your wedding should know there cameras backwards and forwards you run into lots of different technical situations at a wedding you need to know how to react to them. You need to have professional gear and back ups of professional gear. Then comes the issue of digital storage of your images how do they archive the images? If you get a disk that's great but if your disk is damaged or lost can they give you a new one 10 years down the road or have they moved onto another hobby? Most professional photographers spend a couple thousand dollars a year on gear, software, computer stuff, and repairs of equipment that takes a beating every day. It's hard to justify those hefty expenses unless you are doing this full time. When you go out and interview potential wedding photographers make sure you ask them if they are full time shooters, there are some great part time shooters out there but if you decide to use one make sure you ask them some of the questions above to know you're covered.

need not apply

2010-01-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

I love old St. Pats church I've shot some of my favorite weddings in that bright, beautiful space, but now I can't, in fact most of you can't either. Old St. Pats church in Chicago has decided to only let 5 studios shoot in there space, and all five studios are large companies who I don't want to disparage but well, except for one of them I would not want them to shoot my wedding. One sticky situation I've heard is brides who've booked last year with photogs who aren't on the list have to find new photogs and loose there retainers, or have no pictures from inside the church, that would be a major bummer for all involved. I think Old St. Pats has really made a bad decision here, it doesn't help anyone and hurts many. Sure some photogs take advantage of church's and are intrusive at ceremonies but I really feel that they are the minority of photographers at least I hope they are. After all doesn't Old St Pats have the worlds largest block party where they claim many people have met and gotten married after? All you brides should complain to them.

I'm a winner!

2009-12-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

So I'm a member of the artistic guild of the wedding photo journalist association, which is org that you have to be juried into and they are pretty exclusive. Well they have quarterly contests among there members who come from all over the world and this time I have an image which placed 8th in the brides category so yeah me!

Kirsten and Zac engagement portrait Lincoln park

2009-12-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

The other weekend on Sunday morning the first really cold Sunday morning of the winter I met up with Kirsten and Zac in Lincoln park near the North Pond restaurant they got engaged right across the pond from the restaurant so it seemed like a natural place to shoot there engagement portrait. I love lincoln park, point the camera one direction your in the woods point the camera the other direction and the Chicago is behind you, great stuff. Kirsten and Zac are a really great couple and I'm really looking forward to shooting there wedding in 2010. Engagement portraits are great for me because I get to get to know the couple a lot better than I would if they just meet with me and talked a bit before the wedding, the portrait session is a good long conversation with a camera pointed at them. These guys did great and I'm super excited about the images we got that day.

loyal readers

2009-11-22T14:39:00.000-08:00

please go to click! and vote for my photo, It's a photo contest in a pretty big deal magazine, I'm just outside the top 10 right now, you can vote up until dec 1 so vote, please

Alison and Chris's wedding at the Hotel Allegro Chicago

2009-11-21T14:38:00.000-08:00

This was my last wedding of the year (unless I get some sort of last minute booking) So I'm really glad it was such a good one. Alison works for the hotel Allegro, so it really seemed like the whole place was in on the wedding and excited about the day. Her connection to the hotel really added a special feel to the day, maybe everyone should get married at work? Although working at a hotel makes a lot more sense for your wedding than say working at a law firm. The hotel Allegro is one of the best hotels in Chicago for weddings, no boring tan wallpaper and crystal chandeliers in a windowless ballroom here, instead it has wonderful wood work and big beautiful windows, also in the lobby they have this incredible staircase with the coolest wallpaper ever. The event planners for the hotel, the catering staff, everyone at the Allegro really put there best foot forward for Alison and Chris. They were a super cool couple as well, they even had there dog at the wedding, who got a great steak meal that was almost as big as he was was. They also had Karaoke and a DJ, this is my third wedding this year with Karaoke at it, it's totally fun, sure your friends will drink and dance and make fools of themselves at the reception, but there is a special kind of fool making that can only happen with mic in hand, and it's really fun to watch. I have to say I enjoy the bad singers more than the good singers especially when they are really into it. A very cool thing they did which I hadn't seen before is that outside of the reception room they had a cocktail area where they had classic movies playing on the wall, it was a really cool background and it added a fun classic element, hopefully I'll start seeing more of this.

Well that's the end of the season for me, I plan updating my tips for brides area over the winter months so keep stopping in I'll also have another contest this year so keep on reading.

Meg and Aaron's wedding at the swedish american museum

2009-11-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

How cool where these two? one word Malort! Malort is just about the worst and strongest drink you can imagine, it can pretty much only be found in Chicago and is only popular among a limited few, but once it has you it has you. Meg's big moment for the wedding wasn't the first kiss or the first dance or any of that stuff it was the Malort toast when everybody got to give it a go, and it was quite the moment. Beyond that she had a totally cool custom dress by Dame Couture, live band karaoke and a different cake on each table! man what a cool wedding they put on, oh and Meg's sister was ordained by the good old Universal Life Church and performed the wedding service it's amazing how many of my favorite weddings involve that church it's always a good sign when they are around. I've done a couple weddings with the live band karaoke this summer and they blow me away, how they can play so many songs so well? it boggles the mind, and the crowd goes wild. It was also good to be back at the Swedish American Museum again I didn't shoot there at all last sumer ad only once this summer but before that I was shooting there like 4-5 times a year it was like my home base. These two cats had such a cool retro vibe about them, that I just can't wait to see where there lives take off too. I'm going to have to buy them a copy of Jennifer Greenburg's (also a former bride of mine) book when it comes out which is super soon. One last super cool thing about them, they didn't hyphenate there names, she didn't change her name to his, they combined there last names into a new one.

check out Malort face on flickr http://www.flickr.com/groups/malortface/

Danielle and Stu's wedding at the Ivy Room

2009-10-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

I recently got to shoot a wedding at one of my favorite Chicago spaces the Ivy Room which boasts, both one of the best indoor and one of the best (ok the best) outdoor space space in the city. On this particular day it was surprise surprise for this year raining, will it ever stop this year, but the crew at the Ivy Room headed up by the amazing Donna of the Ivy Room made the switch to all inside with such smoothness that it was as if it was planned that way from the beginging, Lauren and Phil from Event Creative did a wonderful job setting up there outdoor lights and decorations to make an amazing indoor space. It goes to show if you want to go outdoors have a good back up in this case they had a great back up. Danielle and Stu where a super cool couple to work with and since Danielle works in the beverage industry there where some pretty amazing drinks to be had at a super cool backlit bar. The Crew from the Entertaining Company put out a really great spread, some wonderful finger food and a pasta station where they made the sauce right in front of adding all kinds of yummy things to the mix. The DJ's from Fig also had a backlit table for there gear as well, it was super cool as the lights came down and the two bars glowed through the dance floor. I got to work with Brian one of my favorite Fig DJ's, it's kind of funny with this job you have all these friends who you get to see a couple times a year so it's great when you run into one of the really good ones. Fig did a great job of getting everyone up and dancing and kept the party going late into the night. Danielle and Stu had a great crew which made sure they had a great party that was smooth and seemless, inspite of a bit of rain. It was a really great time.

Carolyn and Owen's wedding at the Vine Hill House Sonoma CA

2009-10-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

Way back in May which given my crazy summer and fall feels like a few years ago, I shot a wedding in Carmel CA, and a few Weeks ago I drove about an hour north of San Francisco up to Sonoma county to shoot the sister of the bride I shot in Carmel crazy eh? I have to say that area of the world is really special, I just love being out on the west coast in Northern California. Carolyn and Owen had there wedding at the beautiful Vine Hill house which is a really fantastic vineyard that is surrounded by some wonderful scenery. The whole wedding was outside so the views of the vines and the mountains really filled our day, and as you can imagine with a wedding at a vineyard the wine (from what I hear, don't want fuzzy pictures) was pretty spectacular too. Carolyn and Owen choose this spot because they love to make weekend trips up to the wine country and this is one of there favorite spots. Both bride and groom where very relaxed on there wedding day and because of that they were really able to enjoy the day full of wonderful experiences.

Bonnie and Michael's wedding in Lake Geneva WI

2009-09-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

Bonnie and Michael's wedding took place on Bonnie's fathers Lake home just outside of Lake Geneva WI, he has really beautiful place and jazzed it up even more for the wedding with raised paths for walking on, lots of out door furniture and a platform built for the seating and service. The reception was in a large reception tent on the property. Bonnie found me through the web blog Style Me Pretty which if you haven't been checking out you really should it's the best resource on the web for beautiful weddings. She had a clear vision of how she wanted her wedding to be and did all the right things to make it happen. Lori From Lola events did the planning and she really kept a pretty involved wedding day running smoothly and stress free a good wedding planner makes a huge difference at a wedding and Lori is great. The flowers and much the design work where done by Botanicls and I have to say the design and attention to detail at this wedding was beyond compare everything was just perfect, from the tables, to the flowers and dresses perfection. Bonnie in her real life is a TV news producer in LA so she knows how to organize and put together and event and it showed through here, she hired the best and let them do what they needed to do make everything move smoothly through the day. Michael was described by his friends during toasts as the most likeable person you could ever meet and it is very true both of these two are just so real no pretension, they where so fun to hang out with all day, they really enjoyed there day and let it flow naturally all day long. DInner was handled by Blue plate how did a really fantastic job as usual and seemed to even kick it up a notch that night for service. The highlight of the wedding was when they had a fireworks crew shooting off fireworks across the lake from the home late at night I'm not sure there is a better way to end a wedding than that. Although in this case it didn't end the night since they kept on dancing to the great music being laid down by Fig media until around 1 in the morning, and at the end people where still chanting one more song. blue plate

here's something new.

2009-09-14T20:01:00.001-07:00

The people who do my back end work, have these instant slideshow they make now, so check this out.

Carmel Wedding featured on Style Me Pretty

2009-09-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

ANother wedding of mine has been featured on style me pretty check it out here

Style Me Pretty

Kyra and Jeremiah's wedding at Rockafellar Chapel and the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago

2009-09-07T17:36:00.001-07:00

Kyra and Jeremiah are my second contest winners from last winter they won the local wedding. After shooting there wedding I am so glad they one. I've shot down at the University of Chicago plenty of times for engagement sessions and weddings at the Bond Chapel, this was my first wedding though at the Rockafellar chapel and I know have a new favorite church to shoot in. Like most things down at the U of C it has a very Oxford feel about it it's a grand old church really powerful, however unlike most old churches it is also filled with beautiful light as well it's really bright inside there are also lots of places for photographers to hide and shoot fun angles of the ceremony. There reception was in the new modern wing of the Art Institute of Chicago specifically the Modern Wing and the Terzo Piano restaurant these spaces are really beautiful affording wonderful city views and wonderful light inside. This is the first summer for weddings at the modern wing but I can see it's going to become a very popular place for weddings in Chicago, I really think it's hard to beat it. I also met some really fantastic vendors at this wedding first the guys from I Do Films are amazing I have to be honest most people who do videos at weddings have not wowed me with there work but these guys rule amazing films and they are super cool to work with. they shot quite a bit of super 8 film so there videos have a wonderful vintage quality which really go nice with the kind of images I like to create. They also had a great band in spoken four they really got the party up and going fast and kept the energy level high. Kyra and Jeremiah are a really wonderful couple and they really deserved to both win my contest and enjoy these amazing spaces, they really had a great as did there guest and me too.

what else do you do?

2009-08-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

Lot's of brides ask me what other stuff I shoot, well I shoot commercial and advertising jobs in addition to weddings, I recently had this huge commercial gig that I have been doing prep work for the shooting and then doing post to here is a kind of long stop action video of the whole shoot. I thought some of you may find it interesting.

big shoot from doug mcgoldrick on Vimeo.

Emily and Aaron's wedding at the Thornewood Castle Lakewood WA.

2009-08-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm sure all my loyal readers have been waiting with baited breath to see the weddings from last years contest, well the wait is finally over at least for one of them. Emily and Aaron won the destination wedding contest and I shot their wedding at the Thornewood Castle near Seattle Washington. It was a really great time they are a super couple, and in my own personal cool jobs contest Aaron may win hands down, he works summers in Alaska fishing just like deadliest catch but for salamon, how cool is that he actually knows all the guys on that show, I love that show, this may beat the wedding I did of a indi rock celeb a few years ago. The Thornewood Castle is a crazy place it's an actually castle that was shipped over from england in pieces in the late 1800's, the interior is mostly completely from the English castle it's pretty amazing, with beautiful gardens and a great lake view, I'd go back there in a second. The wedding which was outside went off with out a cloud in the sky, making me think that maybe all the Seattle rain talk is just to keep people away from such a fabulous city, since it looked to me like they where going through a big drought, if anything it was a bit hot, but no humidity so it didn't feel so bad. I've been going back and forth about running the contest again this year but these guys where so cool that I'm just going to have to run it again. On a side note the wedding I have in a couple weeks will be the next contest winner wedding.

Megan and Mike wedding in Lincoln park reception at bistro margo

2009-07-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

I have to admit this wedding kept me up nights, sure it's been fairly dry the last couple weeks, but friday night it was pouring rain, with rain on the way for saturday. You see this was to be an outside ceremony in Lincoln Park with no back up option, I was nervous, Mike and Megan where apparently much cooler about it than me. Anyway Saturday morning came and I woke up to beautiful blue skies, I got in a nice long bike and then got ready for the wedding, sky still blue. The ceremony was beautiful and the sky was clear Tom Skilling you owe me an explanation. The best part is that a storm front moved through while we where out taking pictures by the lake and we got a nice double rainbow background but never actually got rained on. Mike and Megan where a totally cool couple to work with and where very relaxed and fun. The reception was at Bistro Margo in old town a great french restaurant, they rented out the second floor and had a great time enjoying a fantastic French meal and some dancing, to work off the food. A day that could have been a weather disaster turned out to be perfect in every way.

commute

2009-07-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

for one reason or the other I've been making lots of stop action videos recently here's the latest, it my bike ride to Columbia College Chicago where I teach photo part-time.

commute from doug mcgoldrick on Vimeo.

Christine and Hyosub's wedding at the society for the arts

2009-07-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Christine and Hyosub had a wonderful wedding at the Society for the arts on millwaukee ave, it's such a great small space very open and if you get lucky you'll have some great art on the walls of the gallery like they did. Hyosub is a professional musician so he was able to gather some good friends of his and put together a kind of all star band of friends who really where amazing musicians and lots of fun to hear. Jordan's food of distinction did a great job both providing wonderful food and they also kept the day running very smoothly and effortlessly. Christine and Hyosub had a great casual wedding what I like to call a grown up wedding not a lot of crazy dancing just great food great music and great people sharing a wonderful day together. I really enjoy this style of wedding for I feel like there is more time to get to know and interact with the people to tell there stories rather than chasing crowds all day. It really was a wonderful day.

Pay your florist more.

2009-06-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Recently I had a chance to hang out with the crew from hello darling some of the coolest florists in Chicago. I was really blown away buy how much work goes into doing the flowers for a big wedding, these people really work hard. I made this cool little video so you could watch them work.

two days with Hello Darling from doug mcgoldrick on Vimeo.

Colleen and Bob part II

2009-06-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

Every year I get the one wedding that is the blow out party to end all parties, honestly I thought maybe the other weeks wedding was going to be it with Chris, until the glow sticks came out at Colleen and Bob's because that was just the start, after glow sticks came the party hats and feather boa's and sparklers, the toys just kept rolling out during the reception, that plus a great band from standing room only really pushed this reception to another level all together the dance floor was completely packed with people all night long. The fact that there was a wedding party of 39 people didn't hurt either Colleen has 7 brothers and sisters most of whom also seem to have 2-3 kids of there own so there where loads of people very invested in the wedding, and wanting to have a good time. The day started out at the beautiful TeddieKossof saloon in Northfield where most of the ladies had there hair and make-up done, personally I love starting out early in the day like that, because I am really able to get the full story that way, then off the church in Glenview at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a very nice church which any other Chicago spring would have been filled with wonderful light from all the great windows, but being the year that it is it the sky was cloudy, but still a good amount of natural light came through I'd love to go back some time when the sky is clearer. The reception was at the Renaissance Hotel in Northbrook which had a really great set up for receptions with a nice large area for people to mingle before dinner and then a ballroom which was a great size for the crowd it never seemed to crowded or to sparse. A wonderfully run day for a super couple who just got a new puppy, unfortunately the puppy couldn't make it but I saw pictures and he's a cutie.

Chris & Erica's wedding at the Evanston Arts center and Dank Haus

2009-06-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

So I've known Chris for a number of years he is an amazing photographer, and most of his friends are amazing photographers and/or Musicians, so I had the double pressure of shooting for a photographer and shooting for a friend. I had a great second shooter this day named Jenn Shannon who was a big help through out. Chris teaches with me at Columbia College Chicago and he also runs the photo area of the Evanston Art Center where the couple met. Being creative types they had tons of super cool photo details, like letterpress place cards with camera images in the background, which where hung like drying prints at the entrance to the reception also each table had a center piece of flowers sitting in a glass, darkroom chemical measuring container the bottom of the container had a reel for holding film and an unrolled roll of film that spiraled up. I could go one and on about the details, one of the coolest though was during the ceremony, instead of a unity candle or pouring sand together they poured two photo chemicals together which when mixed turn a bright purple even though they start out as clear and yellow, it was pretty cool. The reception/ party was held at the Dank Haus on the northside of chicago you'd never notice this place from the outside but the inside is really nice lots large windows with great evening light and city views. I really can't say enough great things about them or there wedding. There wedding planner was Kate from A Totally Great Night who I hadn't worked with before but hope to again, she did a great job of keeping a pretty complicated wedding moving along very smoothly. Since there where as many musicians as photographers at the wedding they had a band called the Hootenanners who played at the reception these guys handed out a list of maybe 300 songs that people could come up on stage and do live band Karaoke to it was pretty cool, Chris even got up and drummed to a Zepplin song that was pretty amazing. It was a great wedding and party. I almost forgot to mention they did the coolest thing at the ceremony to bring the rings up to the couple the strung ribbon all through the crowd so everyone there participated in passing the rings forward as they slid along the ribbon it was pretty great, I'd love to see that catch on.

Jessica and Leonard wedding at Bond chapel and Oak Brook bath and tennis

2009-06-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

I had a couple great weddings recently which I'm currently swamped with editing for, I also have two art photo shows I'm trying to print frame and ship right now so ugh I'm busy. Jessica and Leonard had a great day for a wedding It's been so cold and crummy this spring, seems like it rains everyday, but there day was fairly sunny and I'd say crisp, which in the grand scheme of things is much better than a hot wedding day since people are pretty dressed up. Anyway the wedding was held at Bond chapel at the university of Chicago which is maybe the prettiest small space in the city everything down at the U of C just screams of history and it has that english town feel about it like being at Oxford. From there we headed out to the Oak Brook Bath and Tennis club where I had not shot before but found it to be a really great space lots of fantastic light and a beautiful park like setting. I was also happy to see one of my favorite Dj's at the reception John from Beep media, he did a great job keeping everything flowing nicely along and got a great dance party going. All in all a pretty fantastic day with a pretty fantastic couple.

As seen on TV You!

2009-05-27T19:22:00.001-07:00

I got this email from my good friend and wedding planner Renny Pederson today and thought I'd help spread the word for her. This is the real deal and it's coming up fast they want your emails by June 5th and are looking for fall 2009 weddings.

Do you know of a couple planning on getting married or would like to marry Summer or Fall of 2009 in the CHICAGOLAND area, who really DESERVES an amazing wedding but cannot afford it in these tough economic times?

“Wedding Day”, a new prime-time series premiering Tuesday - June 16th @ 8pm/7pm CMT on TNT,
Is seeking to cast inspirational couples for our next amazing season!

You can view a promo of “Wedding Day” here: http://www.tnt.tv/dramavision/?oid=47477

Service Men and Women, Volunteers, survivors, teachers, real-life heroes, social workers, charity workers, farmers etc. …
We want to hear from you!

If you had to downgrade or delay your wedding plans due to job loss, injury, illness or deployment …
We want to hear from you!

If you know of a couple who is so busy helping others they deserve someone to help them out …
We want to hear from you!

NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY!

Send a brief paragraph about your situation, or another couple's situation, the current wedding budget,
a recent photo of the couple (in .jpg format), and your contact information to:

WeddingDay@markburnettprod.com
SUBJECT LINE: Attn Roberta

Please respond by June 5th, 2009.
***Couples may be asked to make a casting video with friends and family. ***

Sent by Bliss Weddings & Events
Imagine what Bliss can do for you!

Megan and Mike Engagement session on Division street

2009-05-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

I got to do a really fun engagement session this week with Megan and Mike who are getting married later this summer, we had lots of fun exploring the allies and bars along Division street right by my and there homes, we even got into my dentist's office, they are for sure going to be a hoot at the wedding.

Margaret and Chris's wedding at the Tehama golf club

2009-05-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure most of the readers of this blog surf around to other wedding blogs (it's ok I don't mind) and look at printed wedding magazines all the time, while doing that you may notice that many of the weddings they feature are in California, and many of the big time wedding photographers in the untied states are also based out of California, ever wonder why? I recently had the chance to shoot an amazing wedding in the Carmel, CA area and let me tell you the light out there is just amazing there is something special in that California light, you can't put your finger on it but it's there. Just think of how it changed David Hockney's paintings. The view out the window doesn't hurt either. The Tehama golf club is a pretty special place as well, the club house sits on top of a mountain top and is surounded by breathtaking views of the course and the surrounding countryside. The club planner Holly, did a wonderful job of running the day and every thing went off smoothly and perfectly and I got the feeling that, perfection is the rule at this club. During cocktails and dinner the paris string quartet provided wonderful music to mingle by, and then of course once the meal was over and it was time to dance daryl from Kelly productions really got the place moving. Margaret and Chris are a wonderful laid back couple who enjoyed letting the day just happen and enjoyed the ride. They have know each other since they where eight years old in swimming class so they have already gone the distance before they even started. The best part or at least the best part for me is that the brides sister is getting married later this year and I get to back out to California for that as well, maybe I should set up a shop out there, it's probably a lot nice in January than Chicago is.

vacation

2009-04-19T16:13:00.001-07:00

I took a last minute vacation before the season gets rolling along. Here's a little video I made of the trip.

Click

I don't want to bog down your connections or disturb your office, so I didn't embed it. It's cool though you are going to want to share it.

style me pretty feature!

2009-04-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

check out my latest style me pretty feature!

A Wedding Merger

2009-04-06T17:03:00.000-07:00

Two of Chicago's coolest wedding vendors have merged. Magnificent Milestones and Smitten Boutique, I have worked with Kara From Magnificent Milestones at some really great weddings she's a great planner and designer she does lots of custom wedding stationary and invitations. Kirstin Runs Smitten Boutique she is also a powerhouse in the wedding planning and design business, This partnership brings you two seasoned planners, an extensive collecion of custom invitations and an array of wedding accessories under one roof. Here is the best part Kara is offering a special deal for my readers, just let her know you heard the good news on my blog and she'll you 10% off of consulting, custom invites and everything in the boutique! Either print out this article or just drop my name and the discount is yours enjoy!

The great recession special

2009-03-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a bride to be yesterday who had been recently laid off from her job, and told her I'd give her a free hour to add to however many hours they choose to use me for, this is a $425 savings. Then I thought heck I'll do it for anyone, so if you've been laid off your job while trying to set up a wedding let me know and I'll give you a free extra hour too. Another way to save some dough with me is by cutting out your paper proofs and going with just proofs on disk, if you cut out the paper I'll cut $200 off your package. So there you go a $625 savings for you, happy recession!

The Ring

2009-03-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

When Photographers get together and share wedding stories and gripe about work one thing that comes up all the time is how brides spend x amount on food, dj's,bands, flowers etc.... but want to skimp on photography, when as we love to point out to each other it's the only thing that will last beyond the weekend. Today as I was driving back from my favorite jewelry store I had two thoughts I thought I'd share, first is photography isn't the only thing that's going to last, the ring will too. Those rings you are going to buy will be a constant reminder of your commitment to each other, yes you will look through your albums, and at the framed pictures on your desk, but the ring is there all day everyday, so make sure it's something very special. This brings me to my second thought and it's a lesson in customer service, the above ring I picked up today was bought at the same store where in 2001 we bought our wedding rings, why did I go back to the same sore? Because they stayed on my radar, once or twice a year I get a mailer from them and once or twice a year I get an email from them, about a sale or some new neat stuff they have at the shop. Because they stayed on my radar I returned because I still felt a connection with them. When I went in the store they made me feel like I just bought the other rings last week, like a good friend they are developing a relationship with me that could unless I move last for many years to come. It's important to point out that they aren't sending me stuff monthly or weekly just a couple times a year enough to say hello but not to much that they start bothering me, are you listening weekly pottery barn catalog. As a wedding photographer repeat business is not my goal, I want you guys to stay married forever and as far as I know all of my brides have stayed just that way. But it's still great to stay in contact with people to see how they are and watch the story of the rest of there lives unfold.

Steve Quick the world's best jewler

It's me in Brides Chicago

2009-02-22T14:49:00.001-08:00

An image I shot at a wedding last year is in the current issue of Brides Chicago magazine, which is pretty fun it's always nice to see an image in print. The wedding was from last summer and Renny Pederson was the event planner/designer, pretty soon I'm going to have to start calling her a celebrity wedding planner she's every where this month the Knot, Chicago Magazine, Brides Chicago, and CS brides. Oh and there is some sort of TV show in the works according to Chicago Magazine, better book her now before she gets on Oprah and doubles her prices. She is one of my favorites to work with so it's nice to share a little bit of the glow. Funny thing is although I'm in the biz I don't really look at a lot of wedding magazines maybe I get enough wedding stuff at work. Any way flipping through the magazine there is tons of great info inside so go out and get yourself a copy.

John and Kathryn at the Chicago Cultural Center

2009-02-11T19:58:00.000-08:00

I've done a few city hall weddings in my day and they are always lots fun and city hall in the loop is pretty but the space you get married in is nothing really to write home about, picture your typical government office and that's about it. Well I found out the other week that Chicago has a secret civil ceremony space that only happens on Saturdays and you have to make a reservations but wow is it cool. The wedding was in Gar Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center an incredibly beautiful room in the Chicago Cultural Center. If you've ever been in the building you know what I'm talking about it is one of the most beautiful building in the world with an amazing history that goes back to just after the fire (you know the big one) the history even involves the Queen of England if you really want to know email and I'll let you know but I don't want to get to off track. If you haven't been in there go check out the building it has great art exhibits, amazing grand halls, the worlds largest Tiffany glass dome ceiling and tons of FREE concerts and lots of other goodies, oh and you can get married in GAR hall on Saturdays. When I got there the room had a around a dozen or so brides waiting to go into the main room which is just beyond GAR and is also Beautiful with huge windows looking over Michigan ave. Unlike City hall, people get dressed up lots of wedding dress's and families, there's even a fake cake to do pictures behind incase you feel the need (I did not). It's an exciting atmosphere inside, each couple gets around 15 minutes with the Judge and then when you walk back into GAR they announce you and everyone cheers and claps it's loads of fun, I want to go hang out there on weekends just for the good feelings vibe you get. Anyway on to the Couple John and katherine where a totally cool laid back couple, I met Kathryn a couple years back when she was working with Natalie at Hello darling florist (they do really amazing work), John has an even cooler job though he works for the blueman group I mean come on how cool is that? They also had the sweetest little 4 month old girl with great red hair to match her moms, she was so good during the whole thing never cried a bit and actually stayed awake the whole time which is pretty impressive at that age. After the wedding they where heading down to the newly restored Blackstone Hotel for the night, pretty great eh?

I've been super busy

2009-02-05T21:25:00.001-08:00

Meeting season is really starting to kick in for me right now so I've been to busy to write much lately. I've also been shooting a big video yes video project for a university in Chicago that's kept me working a lot. I had a wedding last weekend, and I'm planning on having it up for everyone to see next week. I was hoping to have it up this week but I've been kind of swamped, and now taxes are coming up fast that's no fun at all. Keep checking in I'll get rolling with great info again soon.

drum roll please.......

2009-01-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

Well me and my girls had quite the weekend looking through all the great entries. It was super hard for the girls to make up minds, I tried not to interfere at all and in the end they made what I think are two really great choices for the big winners, so with out further ado the Winner for the local Chicago wedding is ....... Kyra Hernandez and Jeremiah Fitzgerald They are getting married Sep 6th with a ceremony at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel and a reception at the modern wing of the Art Institute. I think what won it for them was a goofy picture of Kyra at a party with a giant crown like ring on her head the kids liked that a lot. The Winner for the Destination wedding is ......... Emily Smith and Aaron ? they are getting married August 2nd near Tacoma Washington at the Thornewood castle again I think it was a picture that one it for them with the kids first there photo of themselves with the snow shoes looks like lots of fun and also the pictures of the venue it's very castle like which impressed the girls greatly. Congratulations to our winners I'll be contacting you soon with all the details, and I'd like to thank all the others who entered the contest you seem like a great group of people and I wish I could have had you all win, after I win the lottery I'll shoot all my weddings for free.

times running out!

2009-01-18T13:44:00.001-08:00

Me and the girls have gone through the entries and they have selected there winners, however there is still a few days left so do it now or never... I can't wait to make the big announcement on tuesday it's going to be really exciting!

Vendors, the right fit.

2009-01-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

So at my house we don't have cable tv, but at our cabin in wisconsin we do have it, so when I'm up there I get to watch lots of strange tv shows. One of the shows I got hooked on over the holidays when we where up there for two weeks was "who's wedding is it anyway" on the style network. It's a pretty odd look at the production of some pretty crazy weddings, with lots of only on reality tv personalities. One of the oddest things about the show which piggy backs nicely off the post below this one is the fact that so many of the planners and brides just don't get each other. You and your planner are going to be working together really closely for a long time, you need to make sure you are on the same page about what you are looking for in a wedding. There was one bride who wanted a goth wedding (boy would I love to shoot a goth wedding) and the planner didn't even know what goth was, obviously a bad fit there. Your planner has been to hundreds if not thousands of weddings and really knows what works and what doesn't and how to get things done, listen to them and choose someone who you really click well with. That being said I thought I'd list some of my favorite vendors in Chicago to help you narrow down your list.

Planners www.livenitup.com/
www.greatestexpectations.com
www.blissweddingsandevents.com
www.LOLAeventproductions.com
www.engagingeventsbyali.com
www.redlettereventplanning.com
www.anurbanaffair.net
www.birchdesignstudio.com
www.tyingtheknot.biz

Dj's www.beepwebsite.com
www.toastandjamdjs.com
www.okynemedialab.com
www.stylemattersdjs.com

Florists www.darlingevents.com
www.Fleur.com
www.larkspurchicago.com
www.annaheldflorist.com
www.oliverdogwood.com
www.AmodaChicago.com

Cakes www.alliance-bakery.com
www.vanillepatisserie.com
www.bulldogbakery.com
www.thecakegirls.com

Video I Do Films
http://www.orangeweddingfilm.com/

Venues This is a tough one since it's so personal to many people where they have there weddings and many of my favorites are park spaces that don't have web sites to speak of. I love any place that's visually interesting and has lots of natural light, any place that isn't a hotel ballroom with tan wallpaper, and no windows. There are so many great spaces in Chicago it would be impossible to narrow it down.

Well there are some great vendors for you to mull over. You'll notice going to there sites that like with me the person who answers the phone or your email is likely to be the owner, these are all small boutiques who are all about quality and personal service.

Don't worry

2009-01-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

Wow, don't worry could be a blog in it's self, maybe it will be. Any way just checking into say I was out of town for two weeks and now I'm kind of swamped, but I will have new blogs coming soon, until keep the contest entries coming and the ask the photographer questions.

thanks

doug

great article on vendors

2008-12-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

I read a lot of other wedding blogs, I'm a gluten for good wedding info and images. One of the blogs I frequent is the blog done by Elizabeth Anne Designs, they do a couple cool things on the blog you should know about first they keep a very extensive list of vendors and blogs they likes called the EAD library tons of good links in there they also have lots of great articles, one that caught my eye recently was an article they did on picking vendors which I thought I'd share a link for you guys so you can check it out it is a really great article with lots of info, most importantly they say go with your gut. I like to tell people looking at vendors but in particular when looking at photographers go with your gut, your going to spend a lot of time with me on what can be a fairly stressful day you want to make sure I'm someone you want to spend some time with, keeping in mind that I'll have a camera pointed at you for a lot of that time. take a look at the article it's a winner. Here's the link Great article enjoy.

great tune

2008-12-20T18:22:00.000-08:00

So in the big contest post I mention a great nina simone song that I love. I found this great video for the song that I thought I would share.

Something new for the winter.....

2008-12-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

Last year I did a bunch of tips for brides articles which are easily accessed over on the side of the blog, and I do plan on adding more this winter. I also thought it would be fun to have an ask the photographer series this winter, so if there is anything you want to know from me about photography wedding related or not shoot me an email or post a comment here and I'll answer them for you. It could be as simple as what point and shoot would I buy, to a more complicated question about photoshop or even question about how I work at a wedding, why I work at weddings or how I got into this whole thing in the first place, so start them rolling in. Heck they don't even have to be photo related questions if you have other question for me shoot.

Also keep those entries coming in the girls are have a great time looking through them.

the big contest

2008-12-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

I'm not afraid of the economy, to prove it I'm giving stuff away. I'm running two contests. Contest number one, you could win 6 hours of wedding coverage. For this first contest it must be a local Chicago area wedding, you get me for 6 hours to shoot away at your wedding and have a great time. Take a look at package "A" on my site this contest gets you package "A" plus two hours minus the printed proofs. Contest number two is a destination wedding you get me for 8 hours any place you want, the only thing you need to pay for is my travel expenses (flight, hotel, car rental if needed, and some food would be nice you want me strong). How do you win such an exciting contest? Easy simply email me a picture of yourselves, and tell me your story or why you deserve to win. Who judges the contest? Those two tough customers above will be my judges. Don't worry about a tie the little one generally does what ever the big one does. What do they like? anything princes or high school musical related. My only request is that the first dance if possible is done to Nina Simone's "My baby just cares for me" it's such a great song that would be such a great a great first dance song but I haven't seen anyone use it.

I got a couple emailed questions last night so here the answers for you.

First, the winners will be announced Jan 20th

Second someone wanted to know if the wedding has to be a destination for them as well as me? No the wedding could be where you live as long as it's outside of lets say 300 miles from Chicago.

great style me pretty feature

2008-12-08T20:41:00.000-08:00

another great feature on Style me pretty

Rebekka and Mclain at a New Leaf Chicago

2008-11-19T20:16:00.000-08:00

Last wedding of the season but don’t fear faithful blog readers I’ll be adding to the tips for brides series again this winter, as well putting up the occasional e-portrait and maybe some commercial jobs or new art pieces, I maybe even doing a contest over the winter so stay tuned I’ll try to keep up posting once a week or so.

Anyway what a great way to go out, a super creative couple, graphic designer marries architect, so every detail was beautifully arranged and thought out. The wedding and reception was all at the new leaf one of my favorite mid sized spaces in Chicago lots of cool urban loft like charm a very unique space. There was some extra pressure on me though for this one they had a couple good friends running around shooting who are also pro-wedding photogs, plus the bride being a Designer really knows good photography. Fortunately as I was going through the images I really love what I got at this wedding, having the friends there shooting was a nice thing for if I didn’t get something I know someone probably did, plus I made some new good friends and got to talk a little shop. It was also a great party wedding one of favorite DJ companies was doing the music Beep Media they always play a great eclectic selection of tunes and especially during the dinner when they stray from the typical smooth jazz in get loungie which is great although I didn’t catch anything by the Cocktails the ultimate lounge revitalization band (inside joke). Food was by Fig catering and it was quite scrumptious. This couple really finished off my season in a great way it already has me itching to get out there and shoot more weddings unfortunately I don’t have anything until the spring, hhmmph.

Carrie and Jamie at the Shedd Aquarium

2008-11-14T17:03:00.000-08:00

So I’ve shot weddings in lots of cool spaces, but last weekend I shot a wedding at the Shedd Aquarium for the first time, wow, now that’s a cool space. Sure I’ve been to the Shedd a million times I’m even a member, but to walk into the lobby of Shedd set of for a wedding is a very different experience, when I go the Shedd I’m wrangling the kids and navigating a line so I really never got a really intense view of the lobby, with everything pulled out though it’s an amazing space. Then to have your dinner table next to the reef tank how cool is that. Carrie and Jamie sure new what they where doing when they picked this venue for there wedding. Carrie’s brother performed a beautiful ceremony, after which we all went down to the shark area for cocktails before dinner by the reef and then dancing in the lobby. The band Incognito played great stuff and kept the floor moving all night. I hope I get to go back there next season for another great wedding by the fishes. Special thanks to Dan Chen and Mark Doddato for helping me out.

Way to go Ireland

2008-11-08T14:08:00.001-08:00

Normally when I look at my monthly reports the United States has the most hits to my blog, which makes sense since that's where I live, and Canada is second which also makes sense since you can drive there from here. This month though Ireland knocked Canada out of the number two spot. It's probably because the last couple I shot lived in Ireland for a couple years, and have lots of friends there but a victory for the emerald isle non the less, My Grandfather would be happy.

Obama in Grant Park

2008-11-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

Sure I like to keep politics off this blog I'll shoot your wedding no matter what party you like but I felt the need to share these anyway.

I was down in Grant park the other night to be part of history and it was an amazing experience one of the greatest nights of my life. To be part of a couple hundred thousand happy people was amazing. I couldn't not go without my camera so I shot a bunch and thought I'd put some of my favorites up to share. I started out the night at millers pub for the worlds best burger, and that was a blast too the tv's had the news on and when ever a state would go Obama the whole place would cheer, then around 9:30 Me and Jenn headed into the park to feel the love. The ride home on the L was like a Tokyo subway at rush hour pushing people into the cars, but it was worth it. The city handled the event beautifully lots of security but they let people have there fun with out getting to over bearing, I think it bodes well for the olympics coming out way, now if the Cubs could have pulled something together....

If anyone knows any one in these pictures email me and I'll send them a copy.

Colleen and Bob

2008-11-03T20:48:00.001-08:00

I always enjoy it when couples choose to do engagement portraits. It gives me a chance to get to know them a little better and feel how they react to the camera. I had a great time shooting Colleen and Bob last week, I have a really good gut feeling that there wedding next year is going to be one of my favorites next summer, they are a super fun couple and are totally a breeze to hang around with. We went down to Northerly island and got some great shots inside and outside of the old Meigs terminal building. I’m really looking forward to there wedding day next year. You know it's a good day when the city decides to give you a warning parking ticket rather than the real deal.

Heidi and John in Evanston

2008-10-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

John and Heidi are a super cool globe trotting couple, who have lived in Ireland for the last couple years but are now back in the states, or at will be after a nice month long trip to New Zealand, jeeze I’m jealous. I had a great time shooting there wedding which took place in Evanston with a reception up in Northbrook, where surprisingly the mosquitoes are still out in force, in the city I get used to screen free windows all summer, ahh the sweet smell of concrete. The ceremony was at a great little church in Evanston the Grace Lutheran church, Chicago has a shortage of nice traditional looking small spaces. Lots of people want the look of a traditional church but don’t want to fill a 1000 seat grand old space. Grace Lutheran is great in that it looks the part in every way, but size a really nice space with great details but a small enough space that it’s no problem make it look full, it is a space you should check out, it also has a fun young minister. The reception was up at a Hilton in Northbrook which had some very nice outdoor spaces a long the Des Planes river and forest preserve for formals, which was nice for getting out of the building for some natural environments. They had a really fun band at the reception and a fantastic desert bar with a Sunday station yummy.

James Nachtwey

2008-10-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

James Nachtwey has been one of my photo heros for a long time. He recently won a 100,000 dollar ted grant to make a dream project, the results can been seen on the site he created for the project and also in the current issue of Time magazine with the soup line on the cover. Check it out it's important work the deserves as wide an audience as possible. I know it's hard to think of others right now with the scary news at home (at least your not in Iceland boy are they in trouble) but it's still important to remember the wider world.

Liz and Graham’s wedding at bond chapel and Northerly Island

2008-09-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what happened to Meigs field after Dailey carved those famous X’s in the landing strips? Sure you may have been out to see a show at the venue out there at the Pavilion but what about the runways and the terminal building? The runway area has been turned into a prairie restoration park, and the terminal building is a park field house. The space is amazing filled it’s a total mid century modern glass box with great arcing columns, tile walls, and unlike so many places in Chicago giant windows which let in light, light and more light! A fantastic space for a wedding. Liz and Graham had there ceremony at Bond chapel down at the U of Chicago a space I’ve been shooting at a lot lately and then had there reception at northerly Island which is the name for the park where Meigs was. I really want to get out there again and shoot it’s really great, I’ve shot at a lot of new spaces this summer and this may be my favorite of all of them. It would also be a fantastic place to out and do portraits, and talking to the security guy it seems like it’s very under used so book it and then book me. Greg Christian did the catering and it was a wonderfully run event by them. I’ve had a few weddings with Larkspur florist in the past and they seem to always do a great job using lots of local varieties, which fit in well with the prairie restoration out at Northerly Island. John from Beep Media provided really fun tunes through out. During cocktail hour they where playing lots of space age jazz which is always lots of fun, Beep always puts on a great show. Liz and Graham where a great couple who had a beautiful day for a perfect event. Don’t worry about that fist bump photo they aren’t terrorists.