Fine Art Wedding Photography by DWP

Josh + Vandana Part 2 | Indian Wedding Ceremony | The Crystal Gardens | Chicago

Venue: The Crystal Gardens
Event Design & Florals: Kehoe Designs
Catering: India House
Coordination: Magnificent Milestones

First of all, a very big thanks to Sergio from Arizona who came out to shoot with us during this event.  It was delightful working with another photographer whose work we both respect so much! We also want to thank Suzy Brown who assisted us throughout the day.

Vandana and Josh's Indian Ceremony took place at the beautiful Crystal Gardens in Navy Pier.  Their event was full of color, tradition, singing and dancing. We'll be posting part 3 of Josh and Vandana's wedding tomorrow! For now, here are a few of our favorites from the evening:

Shana + Josh | Wedding | The Spertus Museum | Chicago

Venue: The Spertus
Flowers and Event Design: Botanicals
Coordination: Kate Zachary of Dettagli
Bridesmaid Hat: Tonya Gross millinery
Catering: Wolfgang Puck
Music: Las Guitarras de Espana

Three words immediately come to mind when thinking of Josh and Shana's wedding at the Spertus Museum: intimate, stylish, and unique. Their devotion to local and unique vendors aided in making their wedding truly one of style.  Shana's bird cage veil and her bridesmaid's hat which she had custom made by Tonya were to die for.  Shana's bouquet was entirely baby's breath and lavender which complemented her Monique Lhiullier lace dress and blue shoes perfectly. There were so many details at this wedding that I absolutely adored, but you will have to wait until the slide show to see them all.

For now, here are a few of our favorites from the evening.

Vandana + Josh part 1 | Mehndi | Chicago

This is the first of three posts of Vandana and Josh's three days of wedding festivities.  The first day was the Mehndi which took place at Vandana's parent's house.  Their families were so lively, and everything in the house was full of bright colors! It made for some wonderful photos throughout the evening.

Here are a few of my favorites:

We'll be posting parts 2 and 3 the second half of this week, so be sure to check back for those!

Dena + Gavin | E-Session | Chicago

Dena and Gavin are getting married in a month at the Drake.  We were so happy that they were able to fly out from LA in time for the engagement session.  We walked around the West Loop and really enjoyed getting to know them better.  What struck us most about them is that they are both very sophisticated while also being hilariously fun.  It really shows through in their pictures. 

Here's a few of our favorites from the afternoon.

Patricia + Mike | Wedding Slideshow | The Trump

Here is the sideshow of our favorites from Patricia and Mike's wedding at the Trump in Chicago. The unrivaled views of the Chicago riverfront really make The Trump Chicago a truly fabulous venue. The view coupled with unique event design and flowers (which I adored), and a very fun crowd made for a a beautiful wedding. Enjoy the slideshow! If you would like to see the full set of images from the wedding, you can go on Pictage and register to be notified when they will be available.

Alex + Adam | Wedding | Exmoor Country Club

Church: St. Mary's
Reception: Exmoor Country Club
Band: Chicago Catz

Alex and Adam have a classic style that came together exquisitely on their wedding day.  Alex got ready at her parents beautiful home, and her and Adam had their first look in the foyer, as she walked down the stairs. Their ceremony took place at St. Mary's, and their reception was at the Exmoor Country Club. 

Alex's family is Italian, and they incorporated much of their Italian heritage into the reception.  My favorite Italian detail was the Vino Santo that they brought in for the reception.  Vino Santo is wine made by your family; it is an Italian tradition, and the Vino Santo at Alex and Adam's wedding was made by Alex's grandfather quite some time ago.  Later in the evening the dancing really got wild! Dave and I were impressed with the Chicago Catz who kept most everyone on the dance floor all night.

There are many more things we could say about this wedding, but we will let the pictures speak for themselves. Here are a few of our favorites from the evening; be sure to look out for the favorites slide show in a few weeks!

Blog Posts coming up...

Dear Blog Readers,

Dave and I are sorry for making you wait so long in between posts! We have been shooting almost every day, which means we have lots of things to blog, and not a lot of time to blog them :)  I thought I would let all of our loyal blog readers know what we have coming in the next 2 weeks of blogging.

Alex + Adam Wedding at Exmoor Country Club
Shana + Josh Wedding at the Spertus
Vandana + Josh Part 1 Mendhi
Vandana + Josh Part 2 Indian Wedding at the Crystal Gardens
Vandana +Josh Part 3 Jewish Wedding at the Field Museum
Alisa + Todd Wedding at the Cultural Center
Suzie+Matt Wedding at the Sheraton

And those are just the weddings we have coming up! We worked with so many amazing vendors from each wedding and can't wait to share our favorite moments and details from each of these beautiful weddings.

Alex and Adam's wedding will be up later this afternoon, but until then, here's a teaser image to whet your appetites from one of our upcoming blog posts.

Why we shoot Engagement Sessions

There are a lot of reasons, but we recently got this thank you note from Shana and Josh and it summed up a lot of those reasons so nicely that we thought we'd share it:

"We just want to thank you so much for the wonderful evening last Wednesday. Our engagement session was a fun and insightful experience and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with you both. We were completely relaxed and in the moment, despite being the sole focus of attention for almost three hours. Josh and I tend to avoid situations like that, so I was a bit;nervous prior to meeting up. However, my apprehension soon faded perched high up on the fire escape.

The locations you chose were perfect. We appreciate your unique angle, because we also admire the beauty and differentiation in scenery or objects that others might consider pedestrian or mundane and pass by without a second thought...

We can’t wait to see the results. We also can’t wait to our wedding. Exactly one month from tomorrow. Yikes. I’m relieved to know that you will be there to catch all the nuances, joy and celebration but most importantly, to tell our story just as we would have captured it ourselves."

Cameron + Jeff | Tower Hill Botanic Gardens | Boston

I recently returned from Boston, where I stayed most of the time with my friend Connie Miller, a talented Boston wedding photographer. While there I shot a wedding with Connie at the beautiful Tower Hill Botanic Gardens.  Cameron and Jeff planned a very non-traditional wedding full of many fun little details.  The drumstick origami centerpieces were probably one of my favorites, along with the scrabble pieces on the tables, and the bride's custom orange converse.  Here are just a few of my shots from the evening.  Be sure to check out the full gallery on Connie's blog!

DWP places 5 photos in the ISPWP's Summer Contest.

We're honored that 5 of our images placed in the latest ISPWP (International Society of Wedding Photographers) Summer Contest. A big congratulations and thank you to all our couples who won. 

This image of Ran and Tjomme crossing Michigan Av. placed in the "Pure Art" category. You can see their wedding at the Ritz-Carlton here, and their Chicago bridal shoot here. 

This photo of Moira and Michael placed in the "Engagement Portraits" category. They're wedding at Zed 451 is quickly approaching! 

This image from Matt and Suzie's engagement session shot at the Modern Wing of the Art Institute placed in the "Framing the Subject" category.

This photograph that we shot right before Greg and Joan's wedding ceremony at the brand new Modern Wing placed in the "Motion" category. There's was the second wedding ever held there. 

Another winning moment photographed at the Modern Wing that placed in the "Humor" category. 

You can view some other amazing prize winning photographs on the ISPWP website.