They met on their fist day of law school orientation and the rest was history! During a trip to Hope Town Harbour in the Abaco Islands, John had a plan and Whitney had no idea. After spending the day at the beach, they headed back to their cottage to get ready for dinner. John poured champagne, lit a candle, and opened the doors of the cottage to have the view of the ocean. And she thought he was just being sweet. They toasted and then he said, "Do you really want to know what we're celebrating? We're celebrating spending the rest of our lives together." as he pulled out the little blue box, got down on one knee, and said, "Will you marry me?" She was very surprised and of course answered with a yes! What a wonderful, romantic surprise!

We are so thankful to Hope Weis, Event Planner, for introducing us to Whitney and John and their families. We met Whitney first at her apartment and then I met with her mom later. They were just the nicest women and I'm always so honored when we book a wedding with wonderful people. We photographed their engagement session right away with their cute dog, Mollie, who stole the show! It's hard to believe their wedding has come and gone... and all that is left is the wedding photos we had the honor of capturing.

We are blessed to have the most wonderful 2nd shooters such as, Jenn Guadrau, who shot this wedding with Bob. Thank you lovely Jenn!!!

Here's some images from Whitney & John's wedding... we hope you enjoy!

Much love!

~ Dawn + Bob

Jeremy had a plan when he left work early and headed home. Danielle had no idea what was in store that evening. When she opened the door to their apartment to find rose petals covering the floor and when she was greeted by their puppy wearing a shirt that said "Mommy, will you marry Daddy?" and Jeremy around the corner waiting to pop the question, she was so shocked and not to mention, happy, she started laughing and crying at the same time. Needless to say, her answer was YES!

We can't thank Jim Dillbeck, from Heffernan Morgan Ronsley, enough for introducing us to this incredible family. I'm in awe everyday when God brings gracious and appreciative people into our lives. I clicked with Andie, Danielle's mom, the moment I met her in Jim's office. She's the glue that holds her family together and I can totally relate to that. She loves her husband, her kids and her dog, and I knew that she was my kind of girl. She stresses over the details, and she'd give you the shirt off her back. She's incredible and I adore her. When the bride's mom texts you photos of the bride in her dress from the Vera Wang store in New York, you know she is the BEST. I love our brides, but I truly love their moms. One day, far from now and God willing, I will be in their shoes helping to plan my daughter's wedding and I'm sure I will stress over the details too.

Thank you to our fabulous friend, Jenn Guadrau for second shooting with Bob at D+J's wedding. You are incredibly talented and we are always honored to have your assistance!

We hope you enjoy the images from this gorgeous wedding!

Much love!

~ Dawn + Bob

Their wedding was simply beautiful with incredible details, gorgeous bridal gown, shoes, cakes, flowers, ooohhhh the list goes on, but that's only the small part of what made their wedding spectacular. Their love for each other is pure right down to the last two paragraphs in this article. Since it's hard to read the text in the article, I'll recite it here because it's utterly noteworthy!

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While there isn't one thing the couple would change about their magical day, they were amazed at how quickly it passed. "I look at the pictures and I want so badly to step back in time and relive each moment," says Patrick. And the bride who has dreamt of her wedding for so long? Her favorite memory has nothing to do with the details.

"Right after the ceremony, Patrick and I were whisked away to a more secluded part of the property - just close enough to the ocean to hear the waves crashing - where we had a few minutes to be with each other and take in the moment" Melina recalls. "We didn't realize how profound that time would be for us after everything was said and done, but having those moments alone together to share our feelings was priceless."
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Bob and I did this on our wedding day. We stepped outside onto the veranda and just looked into our reception and really took in all the love that was in the room for us that evening. We held each other and cherished that moment. It's something we still talk about to this day.

I always share with our clients that if they can find the time to do this, they will not be sorry. And as Melina beautiful said, her favorite memory had nothing to do with the details, but everything to do with that moment they took for themselves on their wedding day.

Words cannot describe how excited we are for Melina and Patrick to have their wedding featured in the Fall 2012 edition of Inside Weddings magazine. Thank you Melina and Patrick for being so amazing, and for always praising our work. You make our job so easy! We love you both and wish you a lifetime of happiness! A humble, but huge thank you to Mindy Weiss for referring us. We love you dearly!!!

And last but not least, thank you to our dear friends, Ray Santana from Miami and Christine Bentley from Orange County, for second shooting this wedding with Bob. We love you both so much!

xoxoxo

~ Dawn + Bob

It's hard to believe we spent 3 weeks in Europe over the summer, more on which I'll blog about later. For now, I want to share this very special wedding of our very dear friends, Alenka + Joseph. Bob met Joseph while he was employed at Apple working in the Aperture division. He's now owns his own business, Aperture Expert, and is exactly that... an expert! Alenka is an amazing graphic designer. Together, they are a perfect match.

Another beautiful wedding designed by the ever-so-talented Reva Nathan & Associates. Some may say that Susan & Ted are the modern day Brady Bunch without the "Mom always says not to play ball in the house!" lifestyle. Their ceremony was a beautiful blending of families with Susan's children Matt, Jack, & Elli, along with Ted's children, Alec, Jack, and Ryan each pouring different colored sands into one vessel symbolic of combining both families. They celebrated their vows under what Susan called her "Christian Chuppah" at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Incredibly sweet... just see for yourself.

Thank you Susan + Ted for trusting us to show how beautiful blended families can come together!

xoxo,

~ Dawn + Bob

Every detail was so well thought out, but of course it was, Reva Nathan was the Event Planner for Sara + Matt's wedding. When you're working with the best, you only get the best. And what a wedding this was! There is nothing better than working with incredible vendors, all pulling together to make someone's wedding a day they will never forget. I'm quite positive that Sara + Matt will always remember theirs.

Sara looked stunning in her Monique Lhuillier dress. It's a two-piece gown and it is spectacular. Matt was looking quite handsome in his Ralph Lauren Black Label Tux as well. But all names aside, these two are as nice as they are beautiful. And Bob and I are so thankful they trusted us with their wedding day! Their family is wonderful and we are blessed to have such incredible clients.

I say this with the utmost of appreciation; I pray to God, that He will bring us the clients that are meant for us. Ones that are kind and genuine and truly appreciate photography and what it takes to make a great image. He never fails us and I'm so humbled by the blessings He brings to us. Sure we have days that are not so good, but then look at these photos... how can anyone deny how wonderful this world is when they get to witness incredible love like this.

Thank you Sara + Matt for allowing us to be part of your lives! And thank you Reva for the introduction to such a wonderful family!

xoxxo,

~ Dawn + Bob

I think Cooper tried stealing the show! Haha... he looked so snazzy in his bow tie. Lizzy + Brett wanted to do photo shoot a few days after their wedding and I'm so glad they did. A wedding day is always so crazy and shoots like these are laid back and relaxing. We started in the backyard of the home Lizzy grew up in. It was perfect, with a green apple tree and all. Their bulldog, Cooper, was just adorable and well, he takes after his humans! We headed off to the Chicago Botanic Garden where the backdrop of gorgeousness is incredible! Some of my favorite images are on the bench by the waterfall where all the trees blanket the background. So dreamy!

It's becoming more and more popular to do this type of shoot. Why? Well, take a look at the photos and you'll see. It's really hard to capture photos like this on a wedding day unless you dedicate 4-5 hours to it. And that is pretty rare, especially as relaxing as this type of shoot is. So, brides, make sure to think about doing this! You will love the photos!

This concludes Lizzy + Brett's story! Off to their real story.... life! We love you Lizzy + Brett!!!

xoxox,

~ Dawn

When we met with Lizzy + Brett, she had share with us that she wanted to bring the outdoors inside. I think she and her Event Planner, Randy Schuster, totally accomplished that. The Standard Club looked amazing with the huge trees that were brought in and decorated with hanging candles and threaded orchids streaming down the branches. The attention to detail was perfect. The chuppah was gorgeous carrying the theme of threaded orchids while the aisle was dressed with candles and branches. It was just incredible! The flowers were beautiful and so was the room when it came time for the reception but nothing compared to how beautiful Lizzy looked in her Vera Wang gown. I love how playful her and Brett are with each other. And there is no dying how much love was in the air!

A big thank you, THANK YOU, thank you to our dear friend and 2nd Shooter, Veronica Hinajosa, for working with Bob to make sure every detail was covered. We love you V...!!!

There are no words to describe how grateful we are to have been part of their wedding day! Stay tuned for Part 3 of their fun after the wedding shoot!

We wish you both a lifetime of happiness!!!

xoxox,

~ Dawn + Bob

So happy to share this gorgeous wedding of Melissa and Ben at the JW Marriott in Chicago created by the very talented Reva Nathan & Associates in the Summer 2012 National Issue of The Knot. They are the sweetest most beautiful couple and we love everything about them. Thank you Rebecca Crumley, Weddings Photo Director, for selecting our client's wedding for your magazine. You are a doll...!

Our dear friends, Ruth Lin + Kenny Nakai, were married just a few weeks ago. What an honor to photograph a friend's wedding, not only is Kenny a friend, he's a photographer so it's a double honor! Our friends from Miami, Ray + Anna, came to the wedding and Ray photographed the wedding as well. Another one of our dear friends, Veronica, photographed their wedding too! This wedding was well covered by 3 talented photographers.

Bob photographed their engagement session and then came their wedding day at the swanky River East Arts Center in Chicago. They were surrounded by their friends and family. It was a beautiful day indeed.

I just noticed that Chris + Oliver, the videographers, posted a same day edit from the wedding. It's a must see!!! Click here to take you to their fabulous site! I do hope we get to work with them in the near future... love their work!

Ruth + Kenny, thank you for allowing us to be part of your wedding day! May God continue to bless you with all that life has to offer. You are loved!

xoxo, ~ Dawn + Bob

Ps: Images posted here are ones captured by Bob. I'm sure you will find some amazing ones on Ray + Veronica's blog as well.