The site was put together by some extremely talented Chicago wedding photographers to showcase different wedding venues around the Chicago area and they have done a fantastic job.

Finding the perfect venue to host your wedding can be a daunting task however this website has made that job a lot easier. Instead of spending countless hours driving from venue to venue in Chicago traffic you can now sit at the comfort of your desk and narrow your search down to a few venues that best match the atmosphere you are looking for.

In order to make your venue search as simple as possible the site has the venues broken down by area and type of venue and has some fantastic photos of each one of the venues.

They have not been able to post every single one of the thousands of wedding venues around the Chicago area yet but they are hard at work and updating it frequently.

Love birds Justine and John were married in the Century Chapel at Naper Settlement and had their reception at Carriage Greens Country Club in Darien. Their colors were black and ivory with accents of red. There was a subtle bird and damask motif throughout their event. The wedding was a beautiful late February affair that featured a bunch of the Chic Wed Pros including Kio Kreations who provided the flowers, MDM Entertainment who provided the music, Photo Booth Express who brought a photo booth and Mr. Stacey who did the photography.

Justine and John were a fun couple to work with and they had a definite idea for what they wanted for their wedding day look. They chose black, ivory and red as their colors and kept most everything B&W with touches of red in the bridesmaid dresses and some of the decor.

Their ceremony at Naper Settlement’s Century Memorial Chapel was quaint and lovely. Justine had a family friend who DIY-ed the majority of the decor at the church except for the custom monogrammed aisle runner which was hand-painted by Kio Kreations (me). We later moved the monogram to the sweetheart table at the reception. I am a huge fan of reusing things so the couple gets the most bang for their buck.

After the ceremony, Justine and John took some fun photos with Stacey around Naper Settlement and tried to stay warm as it was a chilly late-winter day. Justine showed off her gorgeous dress and stunning bouquet in many of the photos. Her bouquet was made of black and white anemones, ivory hydrangea, ivory parrot tulips, ivory sweetheart roses and cream Vendela roses. The handle was wrapped in black and ivory damask fabric to match the damask motif at the reception.

The reception at Carriage Greens in Darien was beautifully decorated with touches of damask and lots of white flowers and pretty birds. Justine’s family friend who decorated the ceremony also brought some decorations to the reception including most of the bird-themed items. They even had a huge standing bird cage to hold the cards.

One of my favorite details were the escort card table boards. Justine and her father made 2 large boards wrapped in damask fabric and black ribbon and framed them with black trim to hold the hundreds of escort cards. They were big and bold and really made a statement. The cake was another item that really wowed–it featured silhouetted birds, damask piping and a topper Justine found on Etsy of two love birds dressed in wedding attire. Some fresh anemones were added to the top and tiers for added detail. It is one of my favorite cakes of all time!

The centerpieces at the reception consisted of two types: one version were tall pilsner vases with hydrangea and manzanita branches with orchids and bling hanging from them. A submersible LED light uplit the vases for added emphasis; the other version was a small 12″ cylinder vase with black bear grass accents surrounding a submerged white dendrobium orchid and a floating candle at the top. These rested on a round damask runner and were surrounded by votive candles.

The escort card, gift table, sweet table, and memory tables all were decorated with branches, birds and other accents. Photo Booth Express even had a damask-themed curtain and custom-designed photo strip for Justine and John’s wedding.

MDM Entertainment kept the party going late into the night and Justine and John could not have been happier with how everything turned out for their most special wedding day. A big congrats from all of us to these love birds! It was a pleasure working with you two!

To Speak or Not to Speak; that is the Question!

Time – first, under 5 minutes is best, under 3 is even better. For speeches at a wedding, most people are hungry, in between courses and generally have been drinking through cocktail hour, their attention span is sort, make it short and sweet. Time yourself reading it aloud at the pace you are going to be giving it. Do not read it to yourself, not aloud, you will think it’s shorter than it really is, always read it aloud to actually judge the time.
It’s a toast not a roast – while you may think it’s funny, don’t roast your friends, they may feel uncomfortable or grandma will be in the front row at their wedding. If you want to spill some dirt on them, do that at the bachelor/bachelorette party instead of at the wedding in front of all the guests.
Ditch the inside jokes – one is fine. 5 minutes about how you and the bride or groom only understand is just boring and you’ll lose your audience, this often turns into the previous category, the roast and it’s just not appropriate and may make the bride or groom feel uncomfortable.
Past relationships – don’t mention them at all. End of story.
Memorize your speech – Memorize it and deliver it to whoever asked you to give the speech. Not only does it look bad in pictures when you have a paper hiding your face but it also shows that you really cared and took your part seriously in the wedding. And if it’s under 3 minutes, you can do it! Bullet points on a 4×6 index card that is sitting on the table is ok but don’t read it. You will give a more emotional speech without the paper.
Actually write out what you’re going to say – If you’re going to say something more than a few lines, write it out. Do not try to fly by the seat of your pants and not be prepared for this. The couple has trusted you to take this job seriously and not preparing for it does not show them that.
Jokes are only sometimes okay – again, back to the roast comment. If you’re not laughing all the time with your friend, don’t try to be the jokester on the wedding day. Wish them well in the future and give them a cheers, you don’t need to go on for a long time and don’t try hard to be funny, it will only look like you’re trying too hard.

These are just some guidelines for speeches, but things that I have seen over and over again. There are exceptions to some of these rules, but you have to really know how to give speeches to do so. The best ones are ones that come from your heart, are meaningful and actually for the couple.

Go Big or Go Home!

Did you know an 8×10 is actually a desk print? Some people think when I say “you need a 16″x 20″ canvas” they think it’s just way too big, in all honesty though, it’s not! On a large wall or above a mantel, it’s not too big at all.  The only time to use 8×10’s on a wall is if you’re doing several in a collage, otherwise, they’re just too small. You should really only put an 11″x 14″ as the smallest size on your wall but honestly, a 16″x 20″ gallery wrapped canvas is just amazing. I’m also going to touch on why you should order your larger prints from your photographer. Yes, you get the reprinting rights to your photos from most photographers these days, so you think that you’ll just print on your own? One, most people don’t get around to it (see the album post, I as a photographer only have TWO of my wedding photos done, yep, 2, I’m a living breathing example of this). Two, your photographer is going to take special care of your large prints, they will do some additional retouching at that level, for gallery wraps they may have to extend borders or take out people in the background. Three, they’ll guarantee that you’ll love your prints. The difference between a professional lab that your photographer uses and places like Walmart, Walgreens, target and the like is that the consumer places don’t care about your photos. They don’t take the time to look at those color profiles that photographers painstakingly put into your photos. I’ve actually done some print samples and there is no noticeable difference at 5″x 7″ and below but once you get to 8″x 10″, there is a large difference! Plus, you’ve already invested so much in your wedding day, you shouldn’t overlook the printing part of your photos.

Why you should buy them and not do it yourself

At this point in your planning you’ve probably done a lot more do-it-yourself projects than you ever thought was possible, so why not add the album on top of that? Places like Shutterfly, MyPublisher and Blurb all seem to have great albums and they’re a whole lot cheaper than those that your photographer is offering so why not right? Think again. Most photographers spend hours meticulously laying out your album and will narrow down your pictures for you which is a lot easier for them than it is for you. Narrowing down pictures for an album is taxing and it can take a long time to finally do it. Most brides who say they are going to do their album, they either never do or they take at least a year to get it done, some make them a lot faster but for the most part you may never get around to it. Also the consumer places don’t really care about the quality of your wedding album or it’s longevity.

Your photographer spent many hours adjusting your images just right for print and the consumer places don’t look at the color profiles embedded in the files. They also will not guarantee any type of quality over time or that each album will turn out identically, sometimes you will get a good printed album from them and other times you won’t, it’s a complete risk. Your photographer has access to pro-quality albums that guarantee quality and are made for an heirloom. Remember those photo albums you took out of your parents or even grandparents, these are your heirloom so go ahead and put it in your budget to buy a high-quality album. There are many different options from Flush-mounts to Coffee-table books and everything in between so talk to your photographer about the options you have, if you’re worried about price, ask about payment options such as a payment plan so that you can afford an album!

1. Can I see a full wedding?
2. How do you describe your style?
3. What does the price include and what is extra?
4. How much post processing do you do?
5. When should I expect my photos after the wedding?
6. Do you have insurance?
7. Do you have contracts?
8. How much will is cost if I want (insert items you want such as engagement session or album)?
9. How much is your retainer?
10. What kind of backup do you have (equipment and in case of emergencies)?

1. Gifts for family – frame them and give them!
2. Wall art – go ahead, get that 16×20 canvas
3. Save the Dates
4. Wedding Websites
5. Facebook to make your friend jealous of your awesome pictures
6. Photo Card Boxes
7. Slideshow for your wedding day
8. Wedding Programs
9. Shower invites
10. Frame them and put them on your desk so you can see your honey at work!

I often get a lot of requests about timelines and how to form them! I usually end up working with my brides one on one with the troublesome ones or figuring out if we can make it to certain locations but if you have a wedding planner be sure to let me know so we can get in touch about the photo end of the day! Here’s the number 1 rule when it comes to making timelines, always plan more than you’ll need! I always start out with the ceremony time and work backwards.
So let’s say your ceremony is at 3pm. For this timeline we’re going to go with 1 hour long. End time, 4pm.
Are you doing a receiving line? Add 30-45 minutes for 200 guests, if your parents are in the line, lean more towards the 45 minute mark.
Also remember that most churches kick you out at some point which is usually 30 minutes after the time your ceremony is supposed to end (not the time it actually ends). So think about moving your greeting line to cocktail hour or going to visit with your guests at their tables.
So far we have:
3pm – ceremony
4pm – end of ceremony
4:30pm – end of church pictures
now let’s say your cocktail hour starts at 6pm (if you want another location, this is an ideal time frame).
BIG tip: Always add an extra 15 minutes to your travel time and even more if you’re in the city and going to popular destinations, traffic can kill timelines that don’t allow it.
So we have basically 30-1 hour for pictures depending on the location. I’ve used local parks, places like Cantigny, or the actual venues themselves especially if the reception is at a country club.
I need around 20 minutes for bridal party and 30-45 minutes for the couple. My style is to focus on the bride and groom for the “formals” part of the day and get the bridal party done quickly! So an hour is good for me for one location! *disclaimer – this hour is based on what I do as a photographer, if you’re reading this and you’re not my client, talk to your photographer about what they need *
If you want multiple locations add around 30 minutes for each location as I’ll be splitting that hour up and not doing all the pictures in one location!
Your venue should help you with planning out the timeline for the reception so I won’t go into that. However, I do love love love when couples walk in and go directly to cut their cake! Many venues now require this but it’s nice for your guests because the attention is directly on you and you don’t have everyone bum rushing the cake table to get the picture, usually when this happens it’s just me close! Also, I also love when the speeches follow that too, then dinner can begin with no interruptions (because the waitstaff generally won’t serve if people are speaking). That’s really all I have to say on reception timing!
Ok, back to the beginning of the timeline. If your ceremony starts at 3, you need to be hiding and at your venue at 2:30 if you’re traveling to it. It takes about 10 minutes for the bride to get dressed and I’ll tell you when to get dressed! But do not, do not, do not, get dressed without me there if you want the dress hanging and getting ready photos. I don’t have to be around for all of the getting ready photos, I don’t take pictures of makeup being done until you have foundation on and usually there’s not much happening but if something special is happening then by all means have me there!
So a timeline may look like this:
1:45 – get bride dressed (approximate timing depending on whether you have to gather items and load them or if they’re all ready and need to just be loaded)
2:15 – leave for church
2:30 – arrive at church
3 – ceremony
4 – ceremony ends
4:30 – church pictures done
5 – arrive at park near venue
6 – leave for cocktail hour (short drive)
7 – intros start
Whew! Now this is just an idea on how to form a timeline. It really depends but it should help you. If you’re doing a first look, just increase the time beforehand and decrease the time in between the ceremony and reception! I generally talk with each client about any timeline issues I foresee or if they have questions! I’m more than happy to sit down and help you out! So if you’re struggling, shoot me an email!
Here’s another one for a first look:
1:30 – get bride dressed (approximate timing depending on whether you have to gather items and load them or if they’re all ready and need to just be loaded, could also change depending on when )
2:00 – meeting and pictures occur
3:15 – leave for church
3:30 – arrive at church
4 – ceremony
5 – ceremony ends
5:30 – church pictures done
6 – leave for cocktail hour (short drive)
7 – intros start
And if you have one of those large gaps in between:
11:30 – get dressed, 12 – leave for church, 12:30 – arrive at church, 1pm – ceremony, 2pm – ceremony over, 2:30 church pictures done, 3 – arrive at location 1, 4 – arrive at location 2, 5 – leave for cocktail hour, 5:30 – get to venue, take a few pictures and get items to room, 6 – cocktail hour begins, 7 – reception begins
If you have a small amount of time in between the ceremony and reception and are worried about getting pictures in and you don’t want to do a first look, then you may want to think about doing pictures of the boys and girls separately beforehand but I caution you that sometimes this doesn’t work at all. Someone will always be late, so tell them all to gather 30 minutes before we actually need to start! That way if anything goes wrong or they’re stuck in traffic, we’ll be fine. If you have a 2nd photographer in your package, they’ll be sticking with the boys and making sure they’re on time!
It’s always important to communicate any concerns you have with any of your vendors! We’re all specialists so your hair stylist, your makeup artist, venue and so on will be able to tell you the time length of things. I would always put some cushion room in the getting ready area because it’s ok to be ahead of schedule, but being late can possibly panic you. So it’s always better to have your hair and makeup done earlier rather than just on time.

I Hired My Photographer, Now What?!

So now that you put down that deposit with your photographer of choice, you’re thinking, now what do I do?
Set up your engagement session – Now that you haven’t skipped it because you read the article about them, now what do you do? First, think about what season you want your photos to be in and schedule it around that. Fall and Spring are typically busy seasons for these sessions so contact your photographer about how far in advance you should book them. Next, think about location, do you want a more urban feel, typical Chicago, or something with plush greenery? If you don’t have a location in mind, ask your photographer for suggestions, we know the areas that make for great photos! If you want something more personal, choose your favorite hangout or even do something for your session like go bowling or make dinner or cookies! If you’re looking to use your engagement pictures for anything for your wedding, schedule them at least 2 months in advance! Also check your photography contract for any entrance fees you may have to cover or cancellation policies in case of inclimate weather or illness.

Timelines – if you’re wondering when you should do things or if you should do a first look then go ahead and talk to your photographer about your options. This will also help if you are wondering when you should schedule hair and makeup for your day.

Day of expectations – You should be in talks with your photographer the last few months leading up to the wedding with any questions or issues you think will arise. Be sure to tell them any restrictions your ceremony venue or officiant may place on your photographer and understand that they have to follow those rules and your photos will most likely be impacted because of it. You should also talk about what they will be doing the day of, talk about where they should arrive and what time. It is also nice to tell them about their meal on that night as they’ll be your longest working vendor most likely! You will also want to talk to them about the formals time and any family issues that they may have to navigate around on the day of. The more information you give your photographer about your wedding day is a great idea!

Some Suggestions for Booking & Attire

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Now that you know about boudoir, here are some suggestions for your session.

The week of your session, lay off the soda and drink more water as it will help clear your skin. Also, make sure you’ve covered any questions you have or any nervousness for the session with your photographer. If you are nervous, it’s a good idea to meet with your photographer beforehand or schedule a phone call to talk to them. Also, many photographers allow you to bring a friend along to the session, so go ahead and drag your maid of honor with you!

You should book your boudoir session 2-3 months in advance to allow any products you order to come in. You should also start thinking about your attire for your boudoir session and what you will need or want to buy. Many items may not be in stock in stores so you may have to order online so allow for the time for the items to come in!

To hide a stomach, babydolls and chemises are good to cover those areas if you’re self conscious about them; to hide hips or thighs, look into more of the skirted fashions that are coming back in lingerie; to emphasis your chest, look for bras with some padding or for triangle type tops. Items that are good for everyone are: corsets because they pull the waist in, garters and garter belts but make sure to get the appropriate size, men’s dress shirts, jerseys and bra and panty sets. Great stores to look at are Frederick’s of Hollywood, Victoria’s Secret and Gilly Hicks to name a few along with some other smaller boutique shops. If you are buying all new lingerie, you should set aside $100-300 to have your boudoir wardrobe complete but it’s always great because you don’t need anything else for your honeymoon!