St. Michael Catholic Church will always be a special place for me as it was the church that Sue and I were married in 9 years ago. I’ve been to quite a few weddings at St. Michael but Brittany and Zach’s came with a surprise from Father Sonny. You’ll notice him playing guitar in the middle of this movie. He stopped and sang them a song while he played mid ceremony. From the look on their faces it was pretty special for the bride and groom.

Post ceremony we headed west to the St. Charles Country Club. If you have not been, it is a Country Club worth visiting. Tucked back in the trees and on a rolling hill, the club provides wonderful backdrops for wedding pictures. Lookout for pictures of the dessert trays that came out late in the evening. They really spent a lot of time making all of the details perfect for Brittany and Zach.

Enjoy the movie!

Most of my brides know I’ll go anywhere to get a great picture. I say anywhere because I have yet to run into a location that I couldn’t make work. I would be lying if I told you this spot didn’t make my palms sweat a bit. If you have ever been to the top of The Allerton Hotel in Chicago you know there is a great view of the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Ave. What you may not know is there is a set of fire escape stairs located outside of each of the towers. I don’t remember the exact floor count, but if there were an actual emergency I might take a chance and use the elevator. Thanks to Leah and David for braving the heights!<br>

A cake is one more piece of the wedding that helps to tie all of your design elements together. The wedding cake often uses colors from the wedding color palette and quite often includes flowers that match the bride’s bouqet as well. Tomorrow, Keli Fayard from Vanille Patisserie will share some tips to consider when designing your wedding cake.

I realize some people are not fans of wedding cake. I on the other love all cakes, or really anything sweet. Put me in front of a cake or candy and it will quickly disappear. I’m not going to lie I would demolish a prime rib as well. Anyway, my eating habits are really not the point of this post. I have a lot of pictures that show off the various styles of wedding cakes. Most of these cakes are from Chicago and Chicago suburb weddings. I’ll share a few more cake images this week and a special post from our friend Kelli Fayard at Vanille Patisserie. 

Sarah and Jeff had their wedding at Klein Creek Golf Course in Winfield. Somehow I missed putting these up on the blog. Klein Creek has quite a few photography locations right around the club house. Luckily only a few of them are in the line of fire when golfers are on the course.

Amy and Dean’s wedding on July 3rd was my first trip to the Chicago History Museum. There are so many great photography options here you never have to leave. The front entrance has some great vertical lines and the backdoor has massive concrete pillars and steps. If that’s too much concrete you can always turn to the park right out the backdoor. If you are not familiar with it, you can find it at 1601 N Clark.