Yes, please…. can we say g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s…! Ross is a lucky man! Honestly, they are absolutely perfect for each other. I love that Sara said she knew by their fourth date, that he was the man she wanted to marry.

They met through a mutual friend and dated for a year before Ross proposed. I'm such a sap when I hear proposal stories and I really love the way Ross asked Sara to marry him. They have this cute tradition where Sara takes Ross's dry cleaning tag off the bottom button hole of his shirt. Almost everyday when he puts his dress shirt on for work in the morning, he will walk up to her and she will take the tag off his shirt. It has become part of their daily routine. Well, I'm sure you know where this is heading… yes, Ross asked Sara to come over to take the tag off his shirt. When she walked over to him, she looked down and saw that there was a ring hanging off of a tag on his shirt. Ross then popped the question…… and she said YES! Both their families were just waiting to celebrate at the Trump International Hotel for dinner. It was a magical night!!!

I'm excited to share their engagement session with you. It began where they had their first date at Sable Restaurant in the Palomar Hotel. A couple of cocktails always loosens up the fiancé so he can smile comfortably for the camera… say cheese! lol. Bob photographed them at the Trump and then onto the streets of Chicago for some evening shots! I always love those!

I can't wait to share their wedding photos…… SO DREAMY! Thank you Stacy Saltzman of So Stacy for introducing us to Sara and Ross!!!

Enjoy!!!

~ Dawn

A photographer's dream to photograph a beautiful couple in a beautiful kitchen, right?!!! And what a fun engagement session this was with Tracy and Chris! Truly, so genuine and in love, they were up for anything! They started in the kitchen, where Chris made an Italian pasta for lunch, and Tracy assisted along the way. They even slurped spaghetti until their lips met, just too cute! They watched the movie Rocky in their theater while snacking on popcorn and Twizzlers. They even played pool in the billiards room. I really love their playful side, they goof around with each other and love on each other, it's so nice to see.

Bob and I are really blessed to have amazing clients around the world. These two are so kind, so funny, and just so real, and so very appreciative. Their wedding was the first wedding we photographed in 2014 and I just can't wait to share the photos because their wedding was …. s.p.e.c.t.a.c.u.l.a.r….!

Thank you Vince Hart from Kehoe Designs for sharing us with this amazing family. I can't wait to share your work from their wedding with you!

Much love!

~ Dawn and Bob

Jillian and Matthew are adorable…. I mean beautiful… ummmm gorgeous! They are just too cute for words. Jillian describes how they met at the Swedish Day Festival in Geneva while in High School and Matthew couldn't stop flirting with her. I mean, can you blame him?

But it wasn't until years later did their story begin. While Jillian was driving along the river, windows down, blaring "Tangerine" from the radio. There he was, Matt, jogging along the river. So she decided to send him a "it's been awhile, just saw you jogging" text and he replied "it wasn't me but let's hang out anyway!" He took her on their first date to her favorite pizza place, she said it was the best date she'd ever been on… and so their story continues…

They were dating for 13 months before Matthew proposed. It happened on a Friday night. Jillian had just passed her Pilates test, so he took her out to dinner at Catch 35. She had no idea what he was up to, she thought a nice dinner, some cocktails, and then head home to watch "Dexter". Matthew was very nonchalant about the box he put on the table. She opened it and said there was there most beautiful dainty ring she had ever seen. She recalls it all happening so fast, after he put the ring on her finger and asked her to be his girl, they celebrated with their family and friends. "It was the best night of my life" says Jillian "Oh, and we didn't end up watching Dexter!" That part cracked me up!

Their engagement session was nice and laid back at Jillian's private residence. Of course, we always love when our couple's want their puppies in the photos, so these two cuties, Jack and Bella, got to share in the fun. Jillian and Matthew are so sweet and have such a dreamy love. The way he picks her up and smiles into her eyes… can make a girl just swoon for that kind of love!

We are so excited to be part of their wedding day! We can't thank Susan Cordogan from Big City Bride enough for sharing us with this family!

xoxo!

~ Dawn and Bob

We met with Renee and her mom, Barb, at our local Starbucks and we just clicked immediately! I love that Renee has a very laid back approach, which is good since she's an ER physician and knows how to deal with crazy, stressful situations on a daily basis. We talked about how her and her fiancé, Kevin, met and how he proposed, what their plans were for their wedding and why they wanted us to photograph their wedding. We got to know them and laughed a lot, it was wonderful. Barb was so happy for her daughter and you could just see it in her eyes, the way she looked at her daughter, it was beautiful. I knew they we were all a great fit.

Renee and Kevin are a fun couple with a fun attitude and all about sharing experiences together. Their engagement session began at Soldier Field where Renee and Kevin showed off their favorite Bear's players Walter Payton and Brian Urlacher by sporting their jerseys. It was so cute to see Kevin teaching Renee how to throw a football, but I think he enjoyed tackling her more! I love the photos under the columns at the stadium! Ahhhhh, so fun!

Afterwards we headed to Lincoln Park where they showed off their love of winter sports with their skiing and snow boarding gear. It made for some fantastic photos. They kissed under a pale pink sky as the sun set over the Chicago. You just couldn't order better weather! Grant's Memorial made for a castle like backdrop to show off their casual sense of fashion. And for a final shoot they wanted a backlit skyline photo, and those are always a favorite!

I hope you enjoy their engagement session photos as much as we do! Up next will be there wedding which is going to be featured in Inside Weddings magazine's next edition! So very exciting…!

xoxo,

~ Dawn

It's always the most amazing compliment when we are asked to photograph another wedding for a family we adore! This is Ashley and Ari… and Rebbe, their much loved puppy! Ashley is sisters with Danielle whose wedding to Jeremy was the previous year! Can you imagine 2 weddings for their parents back to back like that? Oh my!

Ashley tells us that they met on JDate, but chances are they mostly likely met as kids because they have tons of family and friends in common. She laughs because Ari picked her up for their first date in his mom's Porsche and tried to tell her it was his, just to show off. I can totally see Ari doing that! Of course, they hit it off and fell in love! When Ari proposed to Ashley, he attached a box to Rebbe's collar and had him walk into the room she was getting ready in for dinner with their family at their favorite restaurant that night. Ari got down on one knee, with Rebbe by his side, and said (something private… wink, wink ;) and proposed to Ashley. She said "it was amazing to have all three of us together"!.

We had a blast during their engagement session in Chicago! We began at their home, which is where they draw their strength and happiness. Rebbe was always present and was willing to pose at any moment. We headed out to the dog park near their home and took some gorgeous photos with the fall colors as a backdrop. Rebbe, of course, stole the show! I love how much Ash and Ari love their puppy, very much the way we love our Hunter! We ended the evening at the bend in the river to take some incredible night shots. It's the last photo we'll ever take there as the bend is no longer there in Chicago.

Here's some photos to share with you all…! Their wedding post is next!

"What is a Real Wedding Workshop?" is a question we get asked frequently. Well, it's basically when an engaged couple asks us to photograph their "very real and incredibly beautiful" wedding and make it a workshop where up to 15 photographers can be educated on how to shoot a wedding, while second shooting alongside Bob. This type of workshop is designed to be educational on Day 1 and Day 3. Wedding day is all about the wedding and capturing the moments for our couples. All photographers are considered 2nd shooters. We encourage them to team up with another photographer to make sure they are covered so they can get all the images they need to complete a fine art book of the wedding. It's a pretty amazing way to add a beautiful destination wedding to their portfolio. Everyone is very respectful on wedding day and we all work together beautifully. That's the technical answer... now for the emotional, overly gushy, girlie answer...

Our 1st real wedding + workshop was in Las Vegas in 2008. The 2nd one was in St. Simons Island, Georgia in 2009. The 3rd one was in Nashville, TN in 2011. The 4th one was in the Umbria region of Italy in 2012. This past May 2013 was the 5th wedding Real Wedding Workshop we've hosted, where 15 photographers, and our 2 second shooters, photographed Jenni and Stevn's wedding alongside Bob, in Charleston, South Carolina. Yes, you read that right.... 18 photographers total at this wedding! And yes, we are absolutely crazy!

I can't even begin to tell you how incredibly amazing these experiences have been on so many levels. Lifelong friendships have been made throughout this journey. Life changing moments have occurred. Long nights of talking into the wee hours and even some night swimming, not to mention, some fun moments that will.... well, let's just stay, what happens at a Davis Love Story Workshop stays at a Davis Love Story Workshop! You know who you are!

Stevn's mom, Pam Bell, is a very dear friend of ours. We met Pam at our St. Simon's Island workshop in 2009. I'll never forget when she called me about attending the workshop. She was the last one to sign up. We talked for quite awhile, as she wasn't sure this was the right workshop for her. Well, since then, she and her sweet husband, Wade, have attended our Real Wedding + Workshop in Italy last year, and also asked us if we would be interested in making her son's wedding a workshop, of course with their approval. Their family has become our family, we just love them so very much. When she shared the details of their wedding with us and sent us photos of Jenni and Stevn, we knew immediately this was the perfect fit.

We had the most amazing photographers join us for this adventure as Jenni and Stevn said "I Do!". Thank you so very much, Raul Castro, Courtney Clouse, Kristi Coil, Melissa Del Vecchio, Randy Dickson, Davis Macias, Samantha Oulavong, Jeni Rone, Crystal Schmidt, Tiffany and Miles Stelzig, Vivian Strayer, Mary Wessner, Becky Williamson, Julie Wooldridge for believing in us and trusting Bob and I to provide you with an educational and fun experience! Please remember to keep in touch with us. We know that we provided a ton of information and if you ever have questions, always know that we are here for you!!! We want to see you succeed!

A huge thank you to our Operations Manager, Michele, for helping us along with every step of the way with this workshop. We don't know what we'd do without her.... truly, everyone needs a Michele! And a huge thank you to Arlene and Doug Beets who 2nd shoot this wedding with Bob. Also, major contributors were their daughter and son-in-law, Tiffany and Miles. And, Stevn's mom, Pam and his sister, Katrin who shared some photos with us as well. We love you all so very much!!! Thank you for contributing as our 2nd shooters! You are the best of the best!

We hosted our workshop at the Charleston Center For Photography which was a fantastic location! Andy and his team were amazing and so gracious with us. We were also blessed to have Brandon Heiss from Westcott Westcott join us to help with lighting setups. Thank you Brandon!!!

Day one, we all headed to Battery Park in Charleston with everyone, which is famous for its beautiful cobblestone walkways and Antebellum homes. As you can see in the photo above, there were a lot of light stands! Jenni and Stevn were amazing as they were being photographed like celebrities! I really loved the gazebo at White Point Gardens and all the . Their love for each other is undeniable! And every photographer there was taken in by not only their beauty on the outside but their kindness on the inside too!

After Battery Park, we were off to cover the red carpet entrance to the rehearsal dinner at the 1940's deco American Theater. Look familiar? In my all-time favorite movie "The Notebook" Noah and Allie go to see Buster Keaton in Li’l Abner at this theather. Pam & Wade were hosting the rehearsal dinner and wanted to do a red carpet entrance. Bob thought it would be fun to have a paparazzi style entrance. And Jenni looked amazing in her BCBG Maxazria dress!

So, this is Part 1 of a 4 part blog post of our last Davis Love Story Real Wedding + Workshop. We hope that you can experience how incredible this adventure was for us all through our photos! Enjoy!

Much love everyone!

~ Dawn and Bob

Since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, it's been such a cool theme during our last couple of engagement sessions. Meet Lauren and Stephen... so cute and so fun... I just love their energy and I love that they make each other laugh. Lauren has the most beautiful eyes and a smile that just lights up in every photo.

And I, of course, love that they wanted to wear their jerseys and begin at the Field Museum right near to the dinosaur. Lauren and Stephen, we are looking forward to your wedding in January!

A big thank you to Reva Nathan for sharing us with this beautiful couple! We are so grateful to have your trust.

xoxoxo,

~ Dawn & Bob

Whoop, whoop, so excited to be photographing our dear friend, Erin, and her fiancé's wedding in September! We met Erin at one of our Davis Love Story Workshops as she is a photographer as well. What a compliment when another photographer wants you to photograph their wedding!

We had a blast during their engagement session! They are huge Blackhawks fans and wanted to begin their session at the United Center. Of course!!! Love it! We then stopped into G-Cue Billiards and they welcomed us with open arms to take a few photos there. Such a cool billiards joint! Then onto the North Avenue Beach for some awesome Chicago Skyline shots. It was a windy day in the windy city but the weather was wonderful...!!! We adore you Erin and Kevin and can't wait for your big day!

xoxox,

~ Dawn and Bob

On my way to Heffernan Morgan Ronsley to meet with Jim Dillbeck and his client, I had NO idea what I was in for. When I walked in the meeting room, it took only moments for me to fall in love with Andie, Danielle's mom. We laughed and talked for a long time and she loves her puppy as much as I love mine!!! I left our meeting thanking God for bringing such an incredibly kind and beautiful woman into my life. You can't help but fall in love with Andie instantaneously. She is the most caring, loving, involved mom and I hope to be half as close to my kids as she is with hers as mine grow up.

Danielle + Jeremy met while attending the University of Denver together. They would say their fist date was almost a complete disaster. Jeremy asked Danielle to go to Rosh Hashanah services with him and then go out to dinner afterwards at a Chinese Restaurant, one of Jeremy's favorites. As it turned out, Danielle had not been to services in a long time and not a fan of Chinese food. But it didn't matter because they spent the next 7 years learning to love each other completely. They've traveled the world and have skied almost every resort in Colorado.

They have lived in New York together since early 2008. Jeremy is an attorney specializing in commercial litigation and international arbitration and Danielle has established herself as an internet marketing specialist for Yahoo! I'm so excited to share their engagement session with you all. We began at Danielle's parent's beautiful home, where she grew up and then we hit the streets of downtown, Glencoe. I love when our couples include their dogs. Meet Sohpie, she's so stinkin' cute!

Next blog post is their wedding! Yes, they said "I Do" and it was a perfectly dreamy wedding!

Definitely one of my favorite families of the year!!!

Enjoy!!!

xoxox,

Dawn + Bob

It was really important to Susan + Ted that they found a photographer that could capture the essence of their families. See, they were planning their wedding at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and they each have 3 beautiful children. Susan's kids don't mind having their photo taken and well Ted's boys, they hold back their smiles just a tad. So, they wanted someone who could let the kids be themselves and capture them doing what they love most.... play!

Bob did a wonderful job letting the kids have fun, while sneaking in a few portraits. Susan + Ted, you have the most beautiful family and we are so happy to have captured these images for you.

xoxoxxo,

~ Dawn + Bob