Angela Renée Photography

Hannah & Dan

admin — Sat, 19 May 2012 02:28:48 +0000

I met up with Hannah and Dan at Lincoln Park Zoo this April for their engagement session. The flowers and trees were in bloom so everything was really pretty. Surprisingly, I had never shot at Lincoln Park Zoo prior to their session. I’ve had two more shoots there since which I think is so funny since the couples all chose their location:) I can completely understand why though since it’s such a lovely spot. While I was with Hannah and Dan, we took a variety of shots around the south side of the zoo and some city views per Hannah’s request. Then, Dan got to have his turn:) He asked if we could go to Wrigleyville for a few snaps to wrap up the session so that’s what we did!

It was so nice seeing you again Hannah and meeting you Dan. I’m looking forward to your July wedding!

Amy & Joey

admin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:27:44 +0000

The first time Amy called me on the phone to inquire about hiring me for her wedding we talked for probably an hour. She’s so hilarious and full of energy. Her personality carries over in her emails too with lots of wahooooos and yaaaaays. I mostly chat with Amy but what I love is that Joey is the one that picked me. She narrowed it down to her fave photogs and Joey picked:) AWESOME. I love when the photography is really important to the guys too. And, this last year, I’ve noticed how many of the grooms have been involved in the planning and correspondence with me. It’s so great.

For their engagement session, Amy and Joey wanted some photos with their pups. I asked them to bring treats so I could get the dogs to look my way. Amy handed me a piece of cheese before we started photographing with the dogs. Who knew a slice of Kraft could get doggies striking poses:) AND, isn’t the size difference between the dogs so cute?! Amy also told me before the session she hoped that she and Joey wouldn’t ruin the photos by laughing the whole time. When I shoot engagements, I want to see how the couple interacts and laughing is adorable in photos. They laughed probably 90% of the session. Perfect.

Cannot wait until your wedding Amy and Joey! Here are some of my favorite images from your engagement session.

Jenée & Christopher

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:30:18 +0000

Here’s an adorable family wedding that was just so special to document. Jenée is the owner and primary planner at Visions Wedding & Event Boutique. I adore that she planned an intimate affair for her own wedding. The ceremony was actually on a Tuesday because it was exactly five years to the day that she met Christopher. They are a blended family of seven with the most well-behaved, funniest, cutest kids you’ve ever met:) We met late afternoon to take portraits in a local area the Jenée found and we were greeted by all of these geese in the field! AMAZING. It was lightly misting but we decided to go for it anyway. I’m so glad we did. I just love those wide images. After portraits we headed over to Hurley Gardens where we met Jenée and Christopher’s parents. They had an intimate ceremony with only their family, the officiant, and myself present.

Thank you Allan family for having me there to document such a special day. Below are some of my favorites.

Venue- Hurley Gardens
Planner- Visions Wedding & Event Boutique
Chair Prop- Casa Couture Furniture Designs

Stephanie & Erik

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:05:30 +0000

Stephanie and Erik planned their Chicago wedding while living in Seattle. They are currently completing their medical residencies but wanted a Chicago wedding since this is the city where they met. Isn’t that sweet?! They had a lovely wedding ceremony at The Shrine of our Lady of Pompeii and held their reception at The School of the Art Institute Ballroom. It’s such a beautiful venue and and even though large, still feels intimate. It was perfect for a celebration with their families and close friends.

It was an honor to photograph your day Stephanie and Erik! Here are some of my favorites.

Second Shooter- Cynthia Wang
Ceremony Venue- The Shrine of our Lady of Pompeii
Officiant- Father Fragomeni
Reception Venue- The School of the Art Institute Ballroom
Make-Up Artist- Roshana Sullivan
Hair- Erin Graham
Ceremony Pianist- Patrick Godon
Ceremony Vocalist- Josie Falbo
Florist- Jenny Anselmo
DJ- Max Davis from Style Matters
Caterer- Kenmare Catering
Cake Artist- Lauren from House of Fine Chocolates

Jane & Jon

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:03:31 +0000

Here’s a little home wedding full of heart with a lot of personal touches and DIY details. Jane and Jon were married at the home where Jane grew up in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Jane actually got ready in her old bedroom. She wore her grandmother’s wedding dress that her mother had also worn on her wedding day. You’ll see in the photos the image of her grandmother hanging on the wall above the bed (which was also her grandmother’s). There’s another adorable photo later in this post of Jane trying the gown on as a little girl.

After the bride finished getting ready with her mother, bridesmaids, and all of her “wing women” (just outside the doorway peeking in:), we headed out to meet Jon who was waiting in a nearby park. I adore those really wide shots of her from behind walking toward Jon and I think his face says it all as he waits. Every couple has a way that they look at one another. I see it in meetings, portrait sessions, on wedding days. These are the moments I’m always looking for and Jane and Jon are so expressive around each other. There were lots and lots of those “looks” to capture.

They had a sweet ceremony in the front yard officiated by a very close family friend and then we headed to the backyard where a tent was set up for the reception. I’ve posted a lot of details on this wedding since Jane and Jon did so much themselves in addition to the choices they made being really thought out. For instance, Jon is from Texas so there was Shiner Bock beer (of course), there were also local and Texas wines, and the wedding was catered by Smoque BBQ. Jon did the drawing for the invites and program as well as the sign, Jane’s dad made pie, and several friends contributed as well. Additionally, photography was always an important part of their planning as Jon is very interested in photography himself- which was fun for me since I got to nerd talk with him about camera tech stuff. I am honored that I was able to photograph these two and meet their lovely family and friends!

Big hugs and congrats Jane and Jon!

Second Shooter- Cynthia Wang
Venue- Bride’s parent’s home
Officiant- Father Charles Hensel
Wedding Designer- The Bride
Wedding Coordinator- Kathryn D. (friend of the Bride & Groom)
Make-Up Artist- Erin R. (friend of Bride & Groom)
Hair- Distinction Salon & Spa
Florist – DIY- Anastasia A. (friend of the Bride & Groom)
Ceremony musician – Chad C. (friend of Bride & Groom)
Band or DJ- iPod list by Groom, manned by Chad C. (friend of Bride & Groom)
Caterer- Smoque BBQ
Sweets- Pie by the Father of the Bride and Around the Clock
Decor- Paper Source, Vintage Ball jars, Wood slices from Father of the Bride, Basel Herb Plants
Print design- The Groom with hand drawn detail
Sign design- The Groom
Printed signs and Place cards- Ann E. (friend of the Bride and Groom)

Published- Style Me Pretty & The Knot Magazine

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:52:13 +0000

How exciting! A couple of last season’s weddings were recently published!

Lynn & Todd’s wedding at Salvage One was recently featured on Style Me Pretty. You can see the full post here.
This wedding was so much fun and every detail really was “swoon-worthy”. It was joy to photograph. Congrats Lynn & Todd!

Maren & Matt’s lovely wedding at The Saddle and Cycle Club was published in The Knot Chicago Magazine Spring/Summer 2012.
These two couldn’t be sweeter and it’s so great to see their beautiful day in print! Congrats Maren & Matt!

A sincere thank you to both couples for having me as your photographer and congratulations to all the vendors that contributed to these stunning weddings!

Kim & TJ

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:09:30 +0000

I realized it’s been a while since I showed an engagement session, so I thought I’d show off Kim and TJ’s session we shot in downtown Chicago this past fall. Their wedding isn’t until August but they wanted to use these images for their website and save-the-dates, in addition to a guest-book at their wedding. I also thought this would be a great session to show off a couple that’s styled well for portraits together. I love the colors for the first half of the session and that TJ wore a hat. For the second half, I thought his sweater and tie complimenting the stripes in Kim’s sweater without being too matchy, matchy. I adore the image on the bridge where you see the striped gate in the background with what they are wearing. It was so much fun having an afternoon together and seeing how these two interact. They are really easy going and silly. TJ came up with the planking photo. He suggested I do this with all of my couples:)

Here are some of my favorites from Kim and TJ’s portrait session. Cannot wait to shoot their wedding at A New Leaf in August!

this one’s for TJ

Jennifer & Aaron

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:59:10 +0000

Jennifer and Aaron were married in a civil ceremony at the Chicago Cultural Center. I can’t even tell you how much I was looking forward to photographing their day. I loved the sweetness of it as well as being able to have full access of this gorgeous building to take photos. We started with some portraits before the ceremony then went downstairs and waited to be called in. It was so exciting! The couple stands on a little stage under a flower arch (that I totally think adds to the charm) and a judge marries them with their closest friends and family present. After the ceremony, the couple exits and everyone claps and cheers for the newlyweds. It’s awesome. I might just go there on Saturdays to be a clapper because I loved it so much. After, we spent a little time taking more portraits and then we were off to their afternoon reception at Osteria Via Stato. The food there is fantastic and the space has a rustic feel that’s really cozy for a small reception. There were a few speeches and then just a celebration with lots of wine and laughter. A perfect day. Congrats Jennifer and Aaron!

Ceremony Venue- Chicago Cultural Center
Reception Venue- Osteria Via Stato
Flowers- Best Florist, Ukrainian Village
Hair- Christine Conley, Village Cutting Room
Print Design- Jennifer (the bride)

The Boys

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:45:08 +0000

give it a sec to load. these are so much fun. i’m going to have to shoot more images in a series just to make these little animations:)

Julie & James

admin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:49:37 +0000

It’s been a busy, busy year and I am FINALLY getting around to blogging again. I can’t wait to blog all my couples and their days! As I wrapped the season (just two weeks ago), I thought about how great of a year it’s been and how I have met so many incredible people. Each couple has been amazing and it’s so much fun to capture their wedding and all of the details but even more simply to photograph how they love each other. I’ve spent time with them helping to plan the day (the photography:), have gotten to know their stories, and have met their families and friends. So I know how important it is to capture not only the big moments but all the small ones too. Thank you to all of my couples who are the coolest, hippest, funnest, uncouplezilla clients ever:) You are the best and I can’t wait to show you all off!

When I met Julie, she told me how she loves black and white photos that look like film so that’s a bride after my own heart right there. I think about shooting weddings with film and I just might one day. But, I do work to create images that more like film and less digital and super crispy. It’s my look. And, Julie totally gets it. I have a feeling she’s gonna want her whole album in black and white. And, I totally get it. I asked my own wedding photographer to give me mostly black and white. So from the start of our conversation, I knew that the photography was really important to her.

Julie and James were married at the Osthoff Resort in Wisconsin. The Osthoff is so charming and it was a perfect little getaway not too far from Chicago for their guests. Their day was overcast but the rain held off until just after their ceremony. We shot some formals inside then ran back outside for some couple’s portraits in that GORGE light that you get just after the rain. Julie asked if she could wade in the water for some pics–uh, yea, bonus bride coolness points right there. We were going to try it but since her dress had a full skirt I didn’t love how it hid the bodice when pulled up so we decided to have them walk onto the pier instead. I really love those shots. Sometimes that’s how it works, you try something different than you had in mind and get something even better. Wedding days are like that. A photographer works fast and is constantly making decisions based on light, backgrounds, crowds, whatever. So you just have to let go of what doesn’t work and make something that totally works:) After we finished all of the portraits we headed to the party. Both Julie and James danced all night with their family and guests. The dance floor was hopping as well as their photo booth. They win for the most pics taken in my photo booth ever! I will be posting about my photo booths soon and some of those pics will be on the blog. But for now here are some of my favorite images of James and Julie’s day.

Second shooter- Cynthia Wang
Ceremony & Reception Venue- The Osthoff Resort
Officiant- Irene Jones
Flowers- McGinley & Baker, Elkhart Lake, WI
DJ- Midwest Sound
Make-up Artist- Jennifer Costantini, Salon Blonde
Hair Stylist- Irene Jones, Salon Blonde
Cupcakes- Bettersweet Bakery, Plymouth, WI