YAZYJO | CHICAGO WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER – DESTINATION WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY » Husband and Wife Chicago Wedding Photographers + Destinations

As a wedding photographer, having your little one being a flower girl is a dream. When Chris and Sam called to let me know they wanted Annahlu to be their flower girl, I was jumping off the chair. To be guests in this beautiful wedding and having our little one walk down the isle, is more than words can explain. Here are a few pictures I captured throughout the day.

The ceremony was held at Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago.

The entire wedding was truly exquisite, where Ali Phillips from Engaging Events By Ali did an amazing job.

The reception was held in the Renaissance Ballroom at the InterContinental Hotel Chicago.

Inverness, Illinois

Ceremony and Reception: Inverness Golf Club
Coordinator: Lori Castro and Joseph Travaglio
Entertainment: DJ – Jody Litvack
Cake: Continental Bakery
Floral Design: Kiko’s Florist – Kiko

John was acting a little weird and looked really excited, I knew he was planning something. He didn’t give me much detail, he just said to get a model and a wedding dress. I got really excited and I wanted to do something special. I had an idea of the girl I wanted and how I wanted to pose her. I remembered one bridesmaid from a past wedding I had. So I called her up and she was really up for it even being a last minute thing.

The day of the shoot, we picked up Lauren and headed out to the location. Once we got near I knew it had to be something with planes, his passion. He then said ok we are here. We drove over to a particular area and there were helicopters sitting there. He then told us that he lined up the day to shoot with military helicopters since they were in town. It happened to be Marine week. He wanted to do it because of his love for flying and being in the military and all. It was a fun time! He was so happy like a little kid in a candy store.

Once inside we met some of the pilots and crew. They were excited to see us there, and were so awesome with Lauren. They ended up taking us to a secluded location on the ramp where a few of the helicopters were. The day was perfect and so were the gentlemen that helped us. Special thanks goes to Capt. Ryan Lynch, SSGT. John Tedder, SSGT. Jason Gibson, SGT. Mario Land, and SGT. Luis Menaramos with the United States Marine Corp based at MCAS New River, NC
with unit HMH 461 for giving us the guided tour and being fill-in models themselves. These guys were awesome and I was so glad we met them. And thanks to Lauren for providing the beauty and for being so awesome for doing everything I asked of her even though it was cold out. Thank you sweetie, you are such an angel! :)

Updated: We were so excited when we found out that our image was featured on the Today show! You can find it here: Today Show – Brides get down and dirty.

While I was posing the model, the guys insisted on cleaning, and I felt like it was a perfect shot because it reminded me of what John always does, clean.




And here is my guy posing with all of them

My Fav!!

I had the honor to witness the celebration of Mum and Peter’s love during a traditional Buddhist ceremony. They also had a traditional Christian ceremony and reception the week after which I was sad to miss because I was already booked. I loved the gorgeous colors and all the different outfits worn throughout the day. It was a beautiful ritual and a great day for all their friends and family members.

Mum was so happy to be able to make her Mother’s dream come true and see her little girl celebrate her and Peter’s love through their Buddhist and Cambodian traditions. I appreciated all of the details and how beautiful Mum looked. Her sisters and entire family were so sweet and accommodating. It was amazing to share this day!

Mum – I am so happy to have shot this for you! I wish you a long and happy marriage!