We started in the garden’s of Chicago’s Michigan avenue Fourth Presbyterian Church…A gorgeous and calm sanctuary in the heart of the bustling Michigan avenue shopping area.  The gardens are beautiful and you can see the John Hancock center across the street.  The couple came from Germany to visit with family and get wedding photographs taken after having recently been married in Germany. Chicago is a special place for the couple and they had spent time here before being married. They wanted wedding photographs to remind them of all the great times they had here….

The bride and groom wanted photographs on the Michigan Avenue median with traffic surround them…This seems to be one of the most requested shots in Chicago for a wedding. I would love to see a whole book of these shots compiled to see all the variations.

I love this candid wedding photograph of a group of teenagers stopping to congratulate the newly married couple! Everyone seems to light up when they see a couple in a wedding dress and suit…

There was a crazy storm that had been gathering all afternoon and finally it struck

So we snuck into the Drake Hotel and did some shots there…in the bar

and in the lobby….

From the Chicago landmark Drake hotel,  we traveled to the North Avenue beach to see if the rain would stop so we could shoot outside….

Briefly the rain stopped and we ran outside and down towards the beach….

We were out about 10 minutes and the rain started again….

But the bride was going back to Germany in a great mood because we were able to get all the photographs she wanted!

Photos from a quintessiential Chicago wedding….we started on the Kinzie Bridge, a popular wedding photography location. We battled prime real estate with 3 other wedding parties and then the crew of the transformers. We got the photographs just moments before the entire transformer film crew invaded the Kinzie Bridge and closed it off to all traffic. The bridge is one of those spots you don’t mind waiting in line for because it is so 100% Chicago.

From the Kinzie bridge we traveled back towards the Conrad Hotel where the ceremony was going to take place. The bride had a few spots picked out near the Chicago River to be photographed so we were dropped off right near the Trump International Hotel.  As I searched around for some scenic spots the bride and groom stole a kiss that they didn’t know I caught…

I had my wide angle lens on a bunch so I could include a lot of the architecture in the photographs as a backdrop for the bride and groom….behind us here is the back side of the Sun Times building.

A garden in the city….perfect!

We walked upstairs and found The Trump International Hotel and Tower a perfect backdrop for the bride and groom….wow what a beautiful place not only from a distance but right at the base of it….

There is a beautiful fountain right at the base of the Trump and on the walkway that goes around the river on the North side. Photographing a wedding in the heart of Chicago like this is so great because I get to see things I have never seen before…chicago is always surprising me with more and more beautiful things…

We left the Chicago river and proceeded to the Conrad hotel which is located in the heart of Chicago right off Michigan Avenue. It has an unbelievable rooftop suite that looks north up Michigan avenue and towards Lake Michigan. You get a fantastic view of Lake Michigan and all of the hustle and bustle of Michigan Avenue. It was an intimate rooftop where the couple got married and had a quaint 11 person dinner. It was a private patio and I can’t believe I had never seen it before. Here the bride prepares for the ceremony and looks out onto the landscape….

Up on the rooftop you are surrounded by historic architecture…its like a little platform up in the sky.

The flower girl throwing petals on the rooftop suite

The backdrop is beautiful…the Hancock building, The Allerton Hotel and Michigan Avenue…a spectacular urban wedding photography vista

The south end of the rooftop suite held the table where the intimate 11 person wedding party had dinner. The north end held the wedding ceremony.  Everything was accomplished on one rooftop deck in a very intimate and romantic setting. I would really check out the Conrad Hilton’s rooftop suites for an intimate evening.

photograph from a wedding at Promontory Point, Hyde Park Chicago, where it started pouring rain just after the outdoor ceremony. The rain was so heavy you could see it coming down in verticle slants. Beautiful!