Sweet sweet love between Jennefer and Alan.  They celebrated their nuptial by having two ceremonies.  A traditional outdoor ceremony along with a Lao ceremony also known as the Baci Ceremony.  It was our first time covering a Lao Ceremony and we were very excited!  We love learning new cultures and different ways of celebrating the unity of two people.  Congratulations to Jennefer and Alan!

Thank you for sharing your day with us.  We had so much fun documenting your day!

xoxo Michele & Andy

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Jennefer and Alan started their day at the Oak Brook Hills Mariott Resort.

Jennefer actually wore three wedding dresses!  A traditional Lao wedding dress along with two dresses by David’s Bridal.

Flowers by Phillips Flowers

Jennefer and Alan wanted to see each other prior to both ceremonies.  Here’s the reveal…

Read more about the Lao Ceremony traditions here.

Once the officiant was finished with the prayers, Jennefer and Alan pay respect to the elderly.  The elderlies then start the tradition of tying a white cotton thread around the bride and groom’s wrists.  The food (hardboiled egg) and fruits symbolizes many different things in the Lao culture.

“In Laos, white is the color of peace, good fortune, honesty and warmth. The white cotton thread is a lasting symbol of continuity and brotherhood in the community and permanence. The baci threads should be worn for at least three days subsequently and should be untied rather than cut off. Usually it is preferred that they are kept until they fall off by themselves.” Pom Outama Khampradith, Bounheng Inversin, and Tiao Nithakhong Somsanith

Their cake topper was a bobblehead!

Congratulations to Rowena & RJ!  These two are so much fun!  They’re college sweethearts and met at DePaul University.  RJ has a degree in music and on the night of his proposal to Rowena, they “stumbled” upon an a capella group in Navy Pier… While the a capella sang”In the Still of the Night,” as requested by RJ,  he got down on his knee and proposed to Rowena.  Our grooms are getting so creative with how they pop the question, I seriously wish I was there to capture the proposals.

It seems that we’ve been pretty lucky with the weather here in Chicago.  The night prior to their wedding, it rained so hard that it flooded many streets downtown.  It was a very stressful ride to get downtown since they closed off the expressways and some roads, but we all made it ok.  The rest of the day was seamless and went off without a hitch!

A special thank you to our past clients Eric & Mashelle and also Vanessa Frosch for referring Rowena & RJ to us!  Also, Yazy for doing a superb job second shooting…

Last but not least, thank you Rowena & RJ for sharing your day!

Join us on Facebook for early teaser photos or if you just want to chat and post on our wall :)  and we Tweet too!

xoxo Michele & Andy

Such a fun ring shot… You should have seen the look on the bartender’s face when all I wanted were two cherries!  =D

Old St. Patrick’s Church

This little boy caught my eye as Andy was taking a photo of the bridal party.  Hope he continues photography… He was so interested in it, he avidly took pictures the whole day!

Other Vendors that we had the pleasure of working with:

Flowers by Kabloom Merchandise Mart

Music by Jay Garcia

The Dress by Enchanted Bride

Bridemaids’ Dresses: David’s Bridal

Invitations: Eagle Print Chicago

Cake by Take the Cake

Videography by Studio 2 Photography

Reception: InterContinental Chicago O’Hare

Transportation by Chicago Trolley

Congratulations Shirley & Dn. Zachariah!  Shirley & Dn. Zachariah wed at Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Palos Hills and had their reception at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows.  Lots of traditions throughout the day and tons of very vibrant colors!  Loved it!  Thank you for sharing your day with us!  We had so much fun photographing you and your guests.

xoxo Michele and Andy

JJ Orange Productions

and a special thanks to Erwin for assisting!

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…

This is why you want to capture the little ones… take a look at Nico & Jack from a couple of years ago when I photographed them…  Wow, have they grown since then!  Now, they are two little boys who love to play wtih Transformers and “Plants vs. Zombies” on the iPad!  Another fun session with these two…boys will be boys!  Thank you for allowing me to capture Nico & Jack again.  It’s always a pleasure =D

So handsome!

Boys will be boys!

Do you remember those days when we’d run just for the heck of it and race each other just ‘coz?  Oh to be young again!

This is so Nico!  Cute!

I am so happy to announce that we are now photographing High School Seniors!  We are currently accepting applicants to represent Misha Media and be our spokesmodel for their respective high school!  We are looking for fun, energetic high school seniors that can represent our company.  As a representative, you will receive huge benefits.  Please emailme(@)mishamedia.com for details.   Here’s a sneak peek of our very first high school senior session, Mandi from Bartlett High School.

Join us on Facebook and Twitter for announcements and posts.  We usually announce via Facebook and Twitter waaaaaay before it hits our blog, so come join us!

Gretchen & Nic are married!  Their wedding was so much fun, lots of unique details, and they truly made it their own!  Talk about unique weddings, it was unique from the very start!  Nic had proposed to Gretchen by placing her engagement ring at the bottom of a box of their favorite wings from Hooter’s and despite it being a little greasy and ccrunchy, we all know Gretchen said “yes!”  It’s truly an honor to be chosen by an artist/graphic designer to photograph her day.  Gretchen is  a freelance artist where she does photography and graphic design.  Check out her work at Moonhouse Productions.    Nic is a musician and they both love to write and produce music together.  Scroll below to see what their wedding giveaways were!

Gretchen & Nic, thank you so much for sharing your day with us.  Hope you had  a great honeymoon in Chile!  You guys are awesome and we wish you the best!

xoxo Michele & Andy

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“Liquid light” as my mentor would say… Love this shot of them!  I’m not gonna lie, I kinda did the “happy dance” shortly after taking this shot =P

Gretchen, you are stunning!

My very first bird cage veil bride… and she really really rocked it! Doesn’t she look like Catherine Zeta Jones?

Wedding preparations were held at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago

Gorgeous make up by Heather Lim for the bridesmaids and Tracy Pantoja make up for the Bride

Invitations by Janice Baria of Sealed with a J

Flowers by Raul Buendia… awesome job!

Handsome groom!

They tied the knot at St. Peter Catholic Church in Skokie

When Nic went to kiss Gretchen for their first kiss, he thought he had to take off Gretchen’s veil… it definitely brought on some laughter from everyone… this sequence was so cute, I had to include all of it!  They’ll never forget their “first kiss,” that’s for sure!

Bridal party fun!

All of these shots were on their wedding day, after their ceremony…  If you want photos, give us time, and we’ll give ya lots!  Scheduling is key!

Their reception was at the Zhou B Art Center

Gretchen & Nic made and produced this mixtape for their guests!  How cool is that?!  I added a link for all the young’ens out there who have never seen a mixtape before… this is goin’ waaaaay back!

Their cake toppers were Halo figures!

And Sweet Mandy B’s cupcakes

They had matching shoes that had custom artwork painted on them of Easter Island in Chile, their honeymoon destination…

Other Vendors that we worked with:

Special Thanks to Erwin Delfin for helping out with photography

Music that kept the guests dancing through the night by Roberto Monastero

Invitations, paper goods by the talented Janice Baria of Sealed with a J

Transportation provided by US Coachways

Hot dog cart by Woody’s Special Events

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 Mae Jane & Kenny!  What do you get when you mix LA + Chicago?!  Mae & Kenny!!  There’s that saying that you’ll never meet your future husband/wife at a nightclub, these two are the exception to the rule… but who’s rule is it anyway?!  Getting to know our clients is one of the most important things to us, and when we met Mae & Kenny, we were so touched by how sweet and loving they are towards each other.  Their excitement about planning their wedding and all of the hard work that they’ve put into it really shined on their wedding day.  I couldn’t wait to see their vision.  All throughout the week, we had rain and severe thunderstorms.  I really didn’t know what the weather would be like on their wedding day, but come Saturday morning, these two were blessed with a nice hot summer day.

Mae & Kenny, we hope that you had a fun and relaxing time in Fiji!  Thank you so much for sharing your day with us!

xoxo Michele & Andy

They did this same jump from their engagement session and it was fitting for them to jump on their wedding day.  Kenny, you rocked out the Jordan jump!  Loved the shadow that you casted while jumping!

Mae’s wedding gown was custom made by Franics Libiran.

Mae & Kenny got ready at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare and this was were their reception was held.

Mae’s gave Kenny a Movado watch for their wedding!

They wed at St. Mary of the Lake

4200 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago

Moments before their ceremony…

Mae, you are a beautiful bride!

The photo on the right was the ceiling of St. Mary of the Lake… gorgeous!

These little ones were so adorable!

We had  a quick stop in front of the Cubs marquee… on game day… it was the Los Angeles Angels vs. our Cubbies!  How fitting… but let’s not talk about the result of the game…

As a California girl, Mae wanted to add a bit of Cali so we stopped by the beach…

Beautiful reception!  Loved the uplights!  Future B&G’s: really consider having uplights and draperies in your reception… it really makes a huge difference!

Cake by Oak Mill Bakery

Music provided by DJ JayFunk from Kiss FM.  He kept the dance floor busy all night long with great music and entertainment!

Immediately following their first dance, Mae & Kenny surprised everyone with a Jabbawockeez number… everyone loved it!

A special thank you to Erwin for assisting us the whole day!

And to other vendors for making the day a success!

Amy Dresser of Hyatt Regency O’Hare

Avis Limousine

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