Asheville, NC based Destination Wedding + Elopement Photographer shares a gorgeous Machesney Park, IL Wedding + Chicago IL Newlywed Session shot in September, 2021
In 2021, Kara + Kyle entered my Annual “Win a FREE Luxury Engagement Session” Contest and I loved their love story so much (+Kara really wanted it!) — I chose them as winners! This turned out to be a solid choice because Kara + Kyle are two of the sweetest, coolest people I know! I adore them and it was such an incredible honor to have been asked to help them to document this beautiful moment in their lives!
About a month after the contest winner’s announcement, we met up to shoot their Engagement Session atop Black Balsam Mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the spring! The craziest thing happened — when we got to the top, suddenly the clouds rolled in and we were just like surrounded in clouds with no sunset or long range rolling mountain views to be had (the whole point of going up there!) LOL! We had a great time together that day despite the weather but I was sure there’s no way they were gonna hire me to shoot their wedding buuuuuut turns out the love was mutual and so they asked me to join them in Machesney Park and Chicago in September!
They had a beautiful, autumn wedding day in Kara’s hometown (Machesney Park, IL) at a gorgeous venue called Twisted Tulip with their families + friends! The day after the Wedding, we met back up in the city for a Newlywed Session, to get some of those iconic and incredible Chicago locations!
Fun story: Kara + Kyle’s first date was game 6 of the World Series (when the Cubs went on to WIN the series!!)
Things I loved about this Wedding:
- The VENUE was soooo gorgeous – a clean, bright, industrial aesthetic — I seriously loved that space! Check it out here: Twisted Tulip
2. Kara’s Wedding Planner, Kiryn was awesome! She owns: Copper Cow Inc Events and did SUCH a good job with the decor, the desert table, making sure everything ran smoothly and according to plan and the thing that I personally loved most about her was that she ran a tight ship but was simultaneously super chill, funny and relatable — If you know me, you know that I’m basically describing myself rn (LOL) and Kiryn — let’s be friends, girl!? xo
3. I loved the FLORAL — Kara chose stems that were light, clean and timeless! You can holla at: The Garden Floral here!
4. The Signage for this Wedding was soooo pretty! Check out Shannon’s Etsy shop here: Shaesu
