We are loving our new business cards by Studio-Z. When it came time to selecting who would re-print our letterpress business cards, it was an easy choice. After seeing the beautiful cards Zida made for Kenny Kim, I knew we would be in good hands.

I can't stress enough how important it is that love your business cards. Bob and I are educators in the photography industry and we travel the world teaching lighting techniques and business strategies. More times than not, we are handed business cards with an apology or a statement of being in the middle of re-branding.

I remember the days that I felt that way. Many, many years ago and I have to stress "many", I designed our first business card and it listed documentary style weddings, elegant parties, private galas, corporate events, editorial, magazine style books, full service retouching and design, portraits and advertising. Yes, that's right, all that was on our card, not to mention our logo, name, title, phone, cell, email, and address. It was a disaster in the making!

What's important to remember when designing your card is to make sure it reflects who you are. You are your brand and you need to brand yourself beautifully because if you don't love the direction of your brand then chances are your potential clients won't love it either. And when I say brand, I mean your entire brand; your website, blog, business cards, marketing materials, social media accounts, etc., should all be consistent. I'm not a brand expert but I can tell you that I love what Bob and I have created and it reflects in everything we do.

Remember not to overload your business card with information. You do need to have your name, email, website and phone number. You wouldn't believe how many people do not have any contact info on their business cards, only their website. You don't want to lose a client because they have to go searching for your info when their time is valuable. I feel that adding a photo to your business card is an option, one that we decided against. We wanted our cards to have a clean, professional look and we feel that our logo clearly states that we are a photography company.

You also want to have a unique card, one that someone will remember and not toss when you walk away. We selected a die cut shape that matched our brand. Our logo and text is letterpress onto Cranes Lettra 600 gram paper. It's beautiful to the touch and piece of art which always elicits a compliment.

Avoid cheap, do-it-yourself, cards. You only get one chance to make a first impression!

Thank you so much Zida for your patience with me. You are a true delight to work with and I'm so happy with our business cards. I'm very proud to share these with the world...!

I hope this helps. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

God bless you and yours,

~ Dawn + Bob

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

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

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 feel a need to share the story of how Matt proposed to Sara...... in his words...

"I began serenading Sara, singing one of her favorite songs (American Honey, by Lady Antebellum), except I had re-written the words to be about our relationship. The song eluded to marriage and starting a life together. At the end of the song I got down on one knee and pulled a small box out of my back pocket and “popped the question.” After some tears (of shock and joy), Sara screamed, “Yes I will marry you!”

How fun is that? And of course, a proposal is always brings me back to when Bob proposed to me.... only not as romantic. You can feel the love in their photos... it's truly magical. Sara is stunning and because I'm just now getting to this entry, I know that Sara made a gorgeous bride. Their wedding was amazing and I will post that next.

Thank you to Reva Nathan for introducing us to Sara + Matt's and their wonderful families. When we walked into their home to meet with them, we also had the pleasure of meeting Sara's mom, Susan, and Matt's parents, Chuck and Debbie. We fell in love with this family and I remember crossing my fingers when we walked out their door saying... please, please, please select us. I just knew they were wonderful people. I was so happy when we received the call... "They want you to photograph their wedding." So exciting!!!

Here's a few favorites from their engagement session!

xoxoxo,

~ 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

Lizzy + Brett met when they were in College. They bet who could rap more of the words to the song "Sugar On My Tongue" by Trick Daddy. Guess who won..... yes, you guessed it, Lizzy! These two are just amazing people with really wonderful families. Lizzy is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Her smile lights up the room and she has a heart of gold. Truly gracious in every way. Brett plays for the Chicago Wolves AHL and I would image, rough and tough on the ice but a perfect gentleman around his bride. Together they are so fun and make a great team!

They began their day, where else, at the Centennial Ice Rink at the Daily Plaza in Chicago. Even though it may have been cold outside, they filled the day with their laughter. They skated around the ice and then headed to Millennium Park. They even went to Home Depot to buy a Christmas tree & lights so they could take photos on North Avenue Beach. How cool is that?

I've been waiting to post their engagement session until after they married, for privacy reasons. So, now's the time! Consider this Part 1 of 3... more to come on their wedding day and post wedding shoot.

Enjoy........ and much love!

~ Dawn + Bob

Welcome to the beginning of our Italian adventure. Bob, our kiddos, + I flew to Italy to host a real wedding workshop where we photographed the beautiful wedding of Giulia + Marco, along with 11 of our second shooters. Yes, you absolutely read that right. As many of you know, we host photography workshops around the world and this one was beyond our wildest dreams! With the help of our dear friends, Max + Cris who organized our workshop and introduced us to our bride + groom, we spent 6 glorious nights + 5 fun days photographing a pre-wedding session, sunflower fields, a wedding in a castle, and the rolling hills of Umbria and Tuscany... a dream come true! After countless hours of laughing and sometimes crying, we all said goodbye in tears. The friendships that were made were incredible and will last a lifetime. I can't wait to write more about that soon.

Does it get anymore fun than this? I don't think so. Meet Angela + Bryant... they are just so adorable! They met with us before they even had their church and reception hall chosen. It's always great pleasure to know when someone has been waiting to get engaged so they can finally hire us for their wedding! Angela spent hours planning the location and photo ideas for their engagement session. Photos are very important to her and that makes us happy! We love when couples say that photography is most important to them on their wedding day. After all, when everything is said and done, all you have is your photographs!

Bob, and our assistant (daughter), Alli, met them at Ed Debevics in Chicago. There was a terrible thunderstorm hitting Chicago, so they all spent a couple of hours in the restaurant, which was okay because there are so many photographic opportunities there! After the storm was over, it was a beautiful day as you will see in all their photos! I'm so glad they didn't want to cancel their session because rainy days make reflective streets and dramatic clouds, which make the best photos!

Angela and Bryant... thank you so much for wanting us to be part of your lives! We adore you both. And can't wait to see all the fun things you plan for your wedding!

xoxo,

~ Dawn + Bob

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