Laren & Anthony are engaged and will be wed later this fall.  They currently live in the east coast so they flew in  for a few days to get all of their wedding planning done, along with their engagement photos =D!  Thankfully, we had a beautiful HOT summer day for their session at the Buckingham Fountain in Chicago.  Ok, maybe it was a little too humid, but that’s Chicago for ya… Laren & Anthony, thank you for a fun engagement session!  Andy and I had a great time with both of you!  Can’t wait to photograph your wedding when it’s about 30 degrees cooler (hopefully)!

xoxo Michele & Andy

Something that is unique about Laren & Anthony is the way they hold hands, in their own special way, that only they know how to do…

Congratulations to Patty & Dennis!  We had their engagement session at the beautiful Anderson Japanese Botanical Gardens. Patty wanted to have their session at a Japanese Garden so she “googled” it and found this location.  I never knew that there was such a place in Illinois.  Definitely a hidden gem in the city of Rockford, IL .  Dennis and I have known each other ever since we were little and I can’t believe he’s getting married!  They make such a cute couple =D.  We can’t wait to photograph their wedding in 2011!

xoxo Michele & Andy

More photos on Misha Media’s Facebook Page!

Below is their Misha Media Photo Booth!  Patty and Dennis held signs written in their native language (Tagalog – A Filipino dialect, and Korean) which means “I love you”

Congratulations to Phyllis & Hector on their engagement!  It was a hot summer day when we photographed Phyllis and Hector at Millenium Park Chicago. Phyllis has a son named Nico and he came along for the session as well.  Although it was really hot, we had a blast photographing these three.  Here are our favorites!  Can’t wait to photograph your wedding in October!

Phyllis is actually sisters with Maria & Lisa! We never had the honor of photographing 3 siblings in one family.  Their family has welcomed us right from the beginning and it’s truly an honor. We love this family!  See you all soon in Italy for Lisa’s wedding!

xoxo Michele & Andy

Jackie & Kyle are engaged!  Kyle is Dana’s younger brother… These two are so in love, you can see it in the way they look and smile at each other…  So cute!  They drove all the way from Michigan for their engagement session and what a crazy weather session we had!  It was nice and hot at first and then pouring rain made us relocate to the Chicago Union Station.  Needless to say,  we had tons of fun!  Make sure you scroll all the way down on this blog post to see how much fun we really had!

Jackie & Kyle, thank you for being such sports!  We wish you guys the best!  Regards to your parents and siblings!

xoxo Michele & Andy

Just love this photo of Jackie & Kyle… So modern and has a “model” feel to it… You guys rocked it out!

aren’t these two cute?!

We asked Jackie & Kyle if they would “humor” us for this shot… Although they didn’t quite understand what we meant at the time, they really committed and made it work!  We’ve been wanting to do something like this for a very long time!!

So here’s to our first Misha Media E-Session Photo Booth!

It was a hot and muggy day when we started to photograph Erin & John at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.  But by the time we finished, it must have dropped 10 degrees cooler and it was actually chilly!  That is pretty much how Chicago weather is — so unpredictable!  We’ve photographed many times at the Chicago Botanic Garden before and it’s truly a beautiful location.  Andy and I actually had our own photos taken there along with our bridal party for our post ceremony location 6 years ago, so it’s very near and dear to my heart.  The challenge of photographing at a location that you’ve photographed before is keeping it fresh and unique.  We both try to forget images from the past and try to see it as a new location… So here’s our take on the Chicago Botanic Garden this time around…

While Erin was vacationing in Miami, John had surprised her with a ticket to meet him in Orlando and while they were in Disney World, he proposed to her during the Fireworks show at Magic Kingdom! Needless to say, she said yes in front of thousands of other Disney fans… oOo  Now that’s my type of engagement proposal!  Gotta love that mouse!  Erin & John, you are perfect for each other!  You make such a cute couple.   Thank you for a fun engagement session!  We can’t wait to photograph your winter wedding in 2011!

Join us for some Facebook Fun!

xoxo Michele & Andy

I love Daisies!  Just had to get this shot :)  Erin, I hope you like them too!

When Anna & Ron told me that they wanted their engagement session taken in Lightology, I was so excited!  Lightology was perfect for their session since photography is all about light!  So here are my favorites!  Anna & Ron, it was so much fun photographing the both of you and your cute little doggies! It was so much fun and a lot of laughs :) Can’t wait to shoot your wedding in September!

If you want unique, contemporary, and very stylish lighting, you have to check out Lightology!  215 W. Chicago Ave., in Chicago.

When you walk around the showroom of Lightology, they have these awesome quotes all around their galleries.  Loved them!

We couldn’t think of a more perfect place to paint with light!

Lightology also had this beautiful balcony overlooking the city.

Anna & Ron really wanted to incorporate their 3 dogs during their engagement session, so we went to a nearby park and snapped a few of these cuties!  This was our FIRST engagement session w/ pets!

I think “Oreo” had enough of the photo shoot… he stuck his tongue out at “mommy!”

Join Misha Media’s Facebook Page to view more photos from their session and to get more inside scoop on “behind the scenes” from their session!

Thank you Anna & Ron!  We had a blast! :)

xoxo Michele & Andy

Chicago brought them together… and Google connected us with them… but you’d think that we’ve known each other for ages even though we just met for the first time… It took us less than a minute to warm up to each other and we just jumped right into our session.    Seeing how Chicago had brought them together, it was only fitting that we photograph on the grounds of the Adler Planetarium where the best skyline shot of Chicago is…  Sadly, we won’t be their wedding photographers.  They already have a photographer back home in South Carolina where they will wed next year.  So at the end of their session, it was kind of sad saying good bye to them… But I do want to remind all of you blog followers that we do travel =D

Dat & Kim, thank you for such a fun session!  We wish you guys the best of luck and know that all of your hard work and sacrifice now will work out for the best in the end…

xoxo Michele & Andy

I can almost imagine how beautiful/handsome you both will be on your wedding day!

Please share some photos captured by your photographer :)

I’m thankful that we had clouds that day… All 3 of them!

“Show me tiger!”  LOL

Molly & Michael are high school sweethearts, but they actually went to the same elementary and middle school together!  So I guess it’s safe to say that they are elementary school sweethearts… they just didn’t know it back then :)    It’s so endearing to see couples go through so much of their lives together prior to getting married.  Don’t get me wrong, marriage is still going to be a lot of work, but I think they have a little bit of an upper hand, simply because they’ve been together a little longer than others…  Cheers to both of you!

Andy and I had a great time with both of you at your engagement session :D  Can’t wait to see you guys again in about a month for your wedding!

This image below just gives me that warm-fuzzy feeling!  Now that’s what you call a Love Hug!

’til next time…

Michele

Coronado Island is beautiful!  Lots of places to shop, a beautiful skyline of San Diego, and a nice place to just chill and walk around.  We photographed Lyn & Micheal’s engagement session there.  It was super windy that day, very much like the winds we have here in Chicago.  A special thank you to Ruby for setting up the session!  Can’t wait to go back to beautiful San Diego!

’til next time San Diego!

=D Michele & Andy

Over Valentine’s day weekend, we had the honor and pleasure of photographing Robilyn & Darell’s beach wedding.  Remember when I photographed their wedding here in Chicago? Well, this is part 2 of their wedding celebration.  They chose the beautiful Hilton Cancun Golf & Spa Resort! But before I blog on their wedding photos, I wanted to blog on their engagement session first.  As expected, we all had a blast exploring the grounds of their hotel…

The next photo needs some explaining… The staff at the Hilton Cancun was nice enough to allow us to photograph on their Golf Course and they actually brought us to this sleeping croc… Needless to say I was terrified of this gigantic thing just chillin’ on the green… I was shooting with a wide angle lens, and kept creeping up to him to get my framing… and when I finished shooting, I realized that I was A LOT closer than I thought… haha… Anything to get the shot, right?

I loved the little petal details on Robilyn’s dress!

There isn’t really a true  golden “sunset” in Cancun… at least from our hotel side, but we did manage to get a little bit of color as the sun was coming down…

I really loved shooting on the beach because we don’t have beaches in Chicago…

Thank you for the laughs Robilyn & Darell!

Many many more photos to come…

Stay tuned for a few photos from their Rehearsal… then more photos from their Wedding… then lastly, more photos from their Rock the Dress Session…

Lots coming up on the blog, so please check back! :)  or RSS feed it!