Here are a few of my favorites from Halley and Josh’s engagement session. I met the couple a few weeks after Valentines Day to discuss their wedding photography options for their upcoming Gallery 1028 ceremony and reception, and during our meeting, they mentioned that they would like to incorporate their dog Minnie in an engagement shoot. Hearing the name Minnie, I had to assume their dog was a petite dog, but I was thrilled to learn that they had a blue Great Dane. For the engagement shoot, they made the smart decision to incorporate their dog for a portion of the shoot, so I was able to focus on both the couple as well as the couple with their dog. I am very happy to have met Minnie and I cannot wait to photograph her as the ring bearer at their wedding ceremony.Halley wore a polka dot dress with an orange belt she picked out for this shoot from Anthropologie, red heels, and carried orange balloons. Josh wore a simple blue button down shirt and jeans.
Reasons why their wedding is going to rock:
They are such a fun couple to work with!
They have a super cool dog that they say is blue.
Their wedding is at Gallery 1028, one of my favorite Chicago wedding venues.
and Calihan Catering…… mmmmmm.
They will have Style Matters to DJ their reception.
For their shoot, some DIY props such as cutouts of their first intials and a heart were made.
During the outdoor summer ceremony overlooking the ocean, Claire and Andrew exchanged vows amidst perfect weather.
They incorporated unity sand into their wedding ceremony with sand from various significant locations. 
Being that their destination wedding was in Newport, there were plenty of sailboats that afternoon.
Claire’s father who speaks Mandarin Chinese, made a toast which was his first speech in English. He did a great job with no mixups and happily welcomed Andrew into their family. 
Claire’s sister Claris came all the way from Taipei to share such a happy occasion with her sister.
Andrew’s father also gave a toast to the newlyweds.
Both Andrew and Claire were ecstatic on their wedding day and their smiles were contagious to everyone in the room at their reception.
As an asian bride, Claire integrated Chinese tradition by changing into a qipao. The bridesmaids changed into red qipao, while the bride blended eastern and western tradition, choosing a white qipao.
The cake was perfect for a destination wedding, using a beach theme integrating shells and adirondack chairs.
Alexa had ordered a personalized and custom made hanger for her wedding gown. As of this posting, I believe there is an 8-10 week waiting list on the 
The bride and bridesmaids wore 
The groom and groomsmen wore custom made light green neckties from Etsy seller 
The guys got ready in a room that had a set of antique vintage keys, probably to open the doors of all fifty nine rooms in the mansion.
Perfect for a seaside summer wedding, navy blue and white letterpress invitations were made locally in Massachusetts by 
Alexa and Andrew had such a modern color palette of navy, hot pink, and celery green. 
The mother of the groom made these fun table overlays!
The bride and groom were each in a sorority and fraternity and this was incorporated into the bridal bouquet. 
One of my favorite decorations from the wedding was the pinwheel theme. Guests found their name and table number on the colorful pinwheels which were arranged in a tray of white sand.
Alexa made a pink and white houndstooth card box complete with a navy blue bow.
Rather than use a traditional guestbook, the newlyweds invited their friends and family to add wishes, predictions, and words of advice on note cars which were pinned onto vibrant DIY frame cork boards.
Before their multicultural Jewish and Christian wedding ceremony, the bride and groom had their ketubah signing amongst close loved ones.
Guests were seated for the wedding ceremony in anticipation of the beautiful bride.
Alexa was walked down the aisle by her parents. She wore a 
The day could not have been more perfect. I anticipated hot and humid weather but I was proven wrong and so happy for the best weather of the year.
The Italian rose garden is really a secret garden, it is surrounded by walls and sunken into the ground a bit. Surrounded by trees, it is one of the many locations for photography at the Crane Estate. The bridal party at this wedding wore blue dresses and beige suits, similar summery colors that you will find if you look at this link for some of my 
I am a big fan of knowing what time the sun sets ahead of time, so that on a wedding day, if time permits, we can get photography with dreamy lighting.
At the Crane Estate, there is a half-mile-long man-made Grand Allée grass lawn that provides sweeping views of the sea. You can’t really ask for a better wedding ceremony location in my opinion. The Grand Allée is framed by classical sculptures and Norway spruce and pine hedgerows. Grand in scale, it is modeled after the beautiful Italian and French gardens of Renaissance Europe, and is the only known landscape masterpiece of its kind still in existence in North America – and one of just a few remaining worldwide.
The pinwheels were making appearances all day!
Andrew and Alexa had menus artfully designed, with rounded corners, signature colors, and fonts to match the atmosphere of their wedding.
After an indoor dinner, the party continued on the patio overlooking the sea, where Alexa and Andrew cut their cake. 
The first dance and parent dances as the sun was setting were about as magical as you can imagine.
Following the dances, there was a brief hora dance. Its one of the main reasons I love photographing Jewish weddings.
The Boston area band at the wedding was called The Return. 
This shot of the venue at night was hand-held. Every photo in this set was taken with available light. I enjoy the challenge of photographing in low-light venues. As the sun went down, this wedding reminded me of destination weddings held on the beach, because it had the same challenge of photographing outdoors under a night sky with little light available.
