Nicole & Michael | Chicago Wedding Photographer

Full of shades of purple and hints of ivory, this natural and rustic wedding embodied the natural aesthetics of Nicole and Michael’s midwest wedding. They were surrounded by the best of friends and family who love and support them.

They flew me up to Chicago for their summer wedding and it was a perfect overcast day and only 80 degrees outside, a nice break from the blazing hot summer here in Tucson, Arizona. The day started off with Nicole receiving a handwritten letter from Michael (who I’ve heard never writes letters!) that she absolutely loved and I’m sure will be a treasured piece to hold onto for years to come. They got married at a beautiful outdoor wedding venue, Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve.

Their wedding reception was held at Palermo’s Ristorante Italiano, located just outside of Chicago in Oak Lawn, Illinois, where Nicole worked for over ten years ago. I loved how she chose all of her favorite menu items to serve to her wedding guests.

A fun surprise (that I actually got to be a part of months in advance ;)) was when two Minions characters showed up at their wedding reception!! Yeah you heard right, like the single-celled yellow organisms that like to sing and dance were there! Nicole’s mom surprised them with her daughter’s favorite characters and their reactions were priceless!

They live in Kansas City and after my mom introduced me to them last fall, we clicked right away and knew we were going to have so much fun hanging out together! We did their sweetheart engagement session on one of the chilliest days of the year and I could tell that Nicole and Michael just had so much fun with each other and always made one another laugh.

You know it’s a good day when a bride writes you such an amazing review BEFORE she even sees her pictures <3 Thank you Nicole and Michael, your words mean so much to me and I’m so glad to have met the both of you! “Tina is awesome! She became part of our family from shooting our engagement photos to being there for our wedding day with our crazy friends and families! I’m sure she will be filming our future special moments too! recommend her to anyone as she travels anywhere!!!”

Thank you both so much for trusting me to capture your love and your special day!

Because when there are minions… one must have a dance party with them!! 😛