Talk about international love: getting to know Renzhuo and Shuonan and the story of how they left China and ended up in Chicago (and more importantly fell in love!) was such a joy, and photographing that love was effortless. We are so excited to share their wedding photos and video with you in the coming months, but for now enjoy these images from our time spent at Olive Park.
Part 3 of our European Adventure (click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2):
If Granada was our place to rest and recuperate from the winter chill and the hustle of an urban setting, then the next place we visited was the answer to any sluggishness that comes with having wine at 2pm everyday and basking in the Spanish sun with a good book: the Portuguese island of Madeira. It also happened to be a ten-year old "bucket list" wish for Marianne, having spent a year in Brazil when she was 18 and dreaming of visiting one of the Portuguese islands ever since. So in early February we left the peace of our rooftop in Granada and took a tiny plane out into the middle of the Atlantic to see what adventures there were to be had on Madeira.
It's safe to say that there is nowhere on this earth quite like Madeira. It is equal parts Ireland (vibrant green and constant drizzle), Portugal (ever heard of Madeira wine or Carnaval?), and that island from the TV show "Lost" (sans polar bears). Volcanic cliffs rise almost 1,800 feet into the air (the highest cliffs in all of Europe), natural salt water swimming pools line the north coast, and centuries old stone irrigation channels have been transformed into breathtaking hiking paths through the islands interior. We set out to do a little bit of everything.
To begin, let me say that if ever you visit Madeira, it pays to speak Portuguese. And thanks to Marianne and her linguistic abilities, we were able to navigate the island via public transportation, a feat that consists of asking over and over "where exactly does this bus leave from" and getting 10 different replies. On our first day we decided to leave our AirBnB in Funchal, the main city, and take a bus as far east as it would take us, and then hike out the rest of the way as far as we could before the island tapered off into a series of progressively smaller rock formations jutting out of the ocean. It was a six hour hike in total (as seen in the first 8 images below), with rain coming in and out. Few things have ever taken my breath away so much as standing as close to the edge of these cliffs as my adrenaline would let me, and staring eastward over the Atlantic, watching the island narrow down as if pointing like an arrow towards the coast of Morocco some 360 miles away.
Our third day we traversed the entire island by bus to Porto Moniz, a small town on the northernmost point of Madeira and home to dozens of naturally filled saltwater pools, scattered amongst the volcanic outcroppings along the coast. Naturally, I brought my bathing suit and jumped in, despite the stares of locals and other tourists bundled in their rain jackets (apparently they've never been to Chicago during our winter...we know what cold is). I wasn't about to miss out on climbing around and jumping off of every little cliff I could surrounding the crystal clear pools.
All of this adventure led up to Day 5: a full day hike in the interior of Madeira, from the island's second tallest peak up to the summit of its tallest. We woke up early on the morning of the hike (you have to start early enough because by mid-day the peaks are completely covered in clouds, that's how tall they are) and joined a handful of others and our guide, ready to conquer. Now, imagine with me that you are walking down a cobblestoned sidewalk, with two thin wires on either side as handrails. But then imagine that instead of grass on either side, this sidewalk simply drops off down sheer cliffs. Now you understand what our hike was like. To go up we first had to go down, through tunnels and valleys and all the while saying to each other "this is unbelievable...this is unbelievable" and trying not to look down either side. And true to what we were told, by the time we reached the very highest peak on the island (after what felt like days of climbing staircase after staircase carved into the side of the mountain) the clouds began to roll in around and below us. It's a strange experience, looking down at the clouds as if from an airplane, as we sat eating our well-earned sack lunches.
We finally decided to take it easy on our last day on the island, with a catamaran trip to see dolphins and an early dinner and good seats for that evening's Carnaval parade down the main street of Funchal. The following day we flew back to the mainland, exhausted in the best way possible and in awe of what we'd just experienced. If you ever get the chance to visit the Portuguese islands, Madeira is a must. And if not, crack open a bottle of Madeira wine and we hope these images can at least momentarily transport you there. Enjoy! We'll share about the rest of our time in Lisbon, Portugal in the coming weeks.
It isn't very often that we get to do an in-home engagement session for a couple about to move to a new house, so it was extra special being able to photograph Rick and Kelly in their space and capture memories that will last forever. Their personalities are reflected in all of the little details of their home, and their love for each other was such a joy to be around. We can't wait to share their wedding in the coming weeks, in the meantime here are a few of our photos from our time together.
We had an absolute blast photographing Alec and Kaitlin's wedding earlier this Spring, from getting ready at the family home in Oak Park and the ceremony at the astounding Ascension Church, to the downtown reception at Bridgeport Art Center. Here are a few of our favorites from the night!
Part 2 of our European Adventure (click here for Part 1):
Paris, for all of its beauty and well-earned praise, had begun to wear on us after two weeks of January cold. And so, like birds migrating south for the winter (or all midwestern grandparents everywhere, renting condos in Ft. Lauderdale to escape the snow) we fled the city rush and the rain and headed on a whim to Granada, Spain.
You know those times at social engagements where So-and-So is talking about their recent trip to Blah-Blah-Blah and keeps insisting that you "just have to go there" and everything inside you is thinking "really? I have to?" totally unconvinced? And then there are those times when a dear friend is talking about a very life-changing trip and they start by saying "it was just...just...aaahh I can't even explain it" and you know that they're for real and start looking into plane tickets? Well, let me play the part of the Dear Friend, and let this be the latter scenario. Granada was life-changing.
Nestled in the foothills of Spain's Sierra Nevada mountains and an hour from the Mediterranean Sea, Granada is a fascinating clash of European and Arab influence, having been conquered and held by the Moors for seven centuries and then re-conquered by the Spanish kings. Terraced gardens and secret courtyards lie scattered throughout the older parts of the city; there is a constant sound of running water from the fountains and reflection pools around every corner. And above it all looms the Alhambra, a fortress and royal palace fit (quite literally) for kings, and conveniently the view we woke up to every morning and went to bed looking at every night from our Airbnb rooftop patio. For 8 days we basked in the Spanish sun, enjoyed tapas and wine during afternoon siestas, wandered through the winding streets of the old district, and watched flamenco in the very neighborhood it originated in. Below are some of our images from our time in Granada, and if ever we go missing for a month or more this would be the place to start looking. ¡Adiós!
It's hard to escape the fact that Matt and Clarissa's engagement shoot felt a little like something out of a German fairytale (or for the more modern reader, see "Twilight"), just without any big bad wolves at the end. But why would we want to? Her flowing maroon dress, a sprawling pine forest, the sun setting in the background, all of it made for an absolutely magical evening with a lovely pair of people. We hope you enjoy the images below, and if you ever get a chance to visit the Morton Arboretum do yourself a favor and continue driving the loop on the eastern half until you find this section, it's our all time favorite.
Part 1 of our European Adventure:
Bonjour! A few weeks ago we shared a blog post detailing our time in the Pacific Northwest, and our need for a general "life processing" time. That month launched us into 5 full months of living life as nomads: from friends' houses to our parents' basement to Portland, OR, and finally on to Europe (and many an AirBnB therein). We took what we could fit in a backpacking pack and our camera bags, bought a one way ticket to Paris in early January, and left the U.S. knowing that we had nothing demanding our return before March. Little did we know that France would simply be the beginning of it all.
What more can be said about Paris than has already been said a million times over? It is a magical city, a city where you constantly feel as if you're wandering through the most elaborate movie set ever, a city where even in the cold and the rain of early January there is still something entirely captivating in the air. For us, France will forever be a particularly romantic place, as it has been exactly four years since I (Andrew) proposed to Marianne on the side of a mountain, looking out over the French countryside. And so we spent the first two weeks of our New Year wandering down cobblestoned side streets, reading or playing cards in countless cafes, and exploring parts of Paris previously unknown to us. Quite simply, we adventured.
Here are a few of our favorite images from our time there, we hope it can momentarily transport you to the City of Lights. And if you should ever find yourself actually transported there, here is a list of some of our "Paris Favorites" for your enjoyment (please note, we're leaving off all of the obvious items, e.g. the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, etc.):
To rest: Le Jardin du Luxembourg, or the gardens inside the Palais Royal. Becuase there are those days when you just need to sit and feed the birds.
To refresh: This list wouldn't represent Marianne well enough without mentioning Juice It, or Season. Because you're going to need fresh squeezed juices and acai bowls to offset all the crepes you'll be consuming.
To read: "A Moveable Feast" by Ernest Hemingway. I did my best to find (and frequent) the cafés he talked about in the book, it's a fantastic way to see and experience Paris.
To imbibe: In the mornings, there is Ten Belles for coffee (tiny atmosphere, but if you're actually in it for the coffee then this is the spot). And in the evenings (or all night for that matter) do yourself a favor and have a cocktail at Bespoke (I did my due diligence and explored a lot of Paris's craft drink scene, this was by far the best).
To explore: the best wandering we did (outside of the obvious areas of Paris) was up near the Canal Saint Martin. Fantastic shops, best food and drink, and way less tourists with fanny packs and huge maps out. But if you want those tourists...there is nothing like bringing a bottle of wine to the steps of Sacre Couer to watch the sunset.
For more ideas, you can check out some of our work (here) that was featured in a Paris city guide for Design Sponge, in collaboration with our dear friend Jonathan Randall Grant.
I tried starting this blog post a number of different ways, but all I kept thinking was this: with friends like these, who needs models or styled shoots? Holy cow.
Alex and Nina are two of the most genuinely lovely people we know and to have the privilege of calling them friends, let alone getting to photograph their engagement (and wedding, which we'll share soon!), is a singular honor. There is no amount of directing that can make up for two people who not only love each other, but moreover actually like each other as well. Most of the session we simply had to say "just go stand over there and flirt with each other" and...well, you can see for yourself. We hope you enjoy these images from our time together at the Garfield Park Conservatory and all its tropical splendor.
Last fall we decided to run away from Chicago for a few months. Our lease was up on our apartment, our wedding season was drawing to a close, and the wanderlust was just getting too persistent to ignore. So in November we put our things in boxes, sold our car and anything that wouldn't fit in storage, grabbed our cameras and headed to our favorite place on this green earth: the Pacific Northwest. And it was life changing. It's so easy, living in the city and through the pell-mell dash known as "wedding season," to lose touch with yourself (I know, that sounds super "feely" but bear with me), and when you're married to your business partner, it's easy to lose touch with each other as well. And so we decided to get far enough away, for long enough, to look back at our life (and to look at each other) and just breathe.
It was glorious.
What we found was that 1) we love each other more than ever, and 2) we love what we do and are so excited to keep doing it, all the better. So here's to breathing, here's to running away to green spaces, here's to the crazy, lonesome beauty of the PNW, and here's to living a life we love. We hope you enjoy some of our photos from our time there, we'll be posting more of our journey in the next few months and getting back into blogging our weddings from 2016! It's been an incredible start back here in Chicago, and we can't wait to share it with you. Until then, soak in these beauties (and if you ever want somebody to talk your ear off about where to go/what to do in Oregon/Washington, we are all yours).
Here's one of our final weddings from the 2015 season, and what a fantastic way to finish! One of the most beautiful celebrations of the year, Bjorn and Natalie's wedding was an honor to be a part of. We love it when both the bride and the groom have amazing, loving families who play a big role in the day, and their wedding was a true celebration of two lives coming together.
