I am so excited to share this wedding on the blog because it is one that is near and dear to my heart. Jenna, the bride, is one of my greatest friends from college. We were in the same class and sorority, and along with all of the fun we had in college, she is one of the sweetest people I know. As we all know, it is easy to maintain a friendship when you live down the hall from each other, but Jenna is one of those special type of people to go out of her way for any friend. Every year she makes her way down to Bloomington for my daughter’s birthday, she is always available for lunch/dinner/wine in Chicago, and she always has her door open to sleep on the couch (or in her new, swanky condo ;)). She puts 110% of herself into her relationships and she is truly a treasure!

So all that being said, all of my closest friends know that I don’t normally photograph “friend weddings.” My rule of thumb is, if I was going to be invited to the wedding, I will not photograph it. However, Jenna being the wonderful person she is, has been one of my biggest supporters from the very beginning, so when she asked me, I couldn’t say no. Jenna, I am so happy you and Matt found each other and are the perfect pair. While I know that he is lucky to have you, I know you are lucky to have him too. You both complete each other beautifully. Cheers to your beautiful day and beautiful new life together. XO

Details about the day: We started out at Villa D’ Citta, a sweet little bed and breakfast on Halstead in Chicago. When Jenna told me about starting our day here, I did not realize it was going to be this beautiful!! Between the beautifully decorated rooms and the massive amount of space available, the Villa provided the perfect backdrop to begin the day. While I was at the Villa, Stephanie, my fabulous second shooter, was at Burnham Harbor with Matt and the boys. I love the photos Steph was able to grab on the boat. Jenna and Matt go out onto Lake Michigan all the time on this boat, and I’m so glad we were able to incorporate it into their big day! After cruising around taking pictures in Millennium Park and different parts of Chicago, we landed at the ceremony and reception site at Cafe Brauer in Lincoln Park. I love the “old Chicago” architecture and details of this venue, as well as the decorations Jenna incorporated into the nautical theme of the day. Everything turned out perfect!

I hope you all enjoy looking through the details of the day!

I love this photo!! It is the perfect Jenna photo! <3

After pictures at Millennium Park, Jenna surprised her dad for his birthday with a horse-drawn carriage ride to the ceremony at Cafe Brauer. I love these pictures of the Jenna and her mom and dad. So glad they got to spend a small amount of time that day relaxing on the way to the ceremony :).

When we made it back to Cafe Brauer, the outside had been transformed into cocktail hour and the ceremony space had been rearranged into a gorgeous reception! I am in love with Jenna’s choice of gold and nautical details.

How perfect are these spaces??!