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lisa & rinaldo : italy wedding

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:00:17 +0000

If you would have told me that we’d be shooting a wedding in Italy 5 years ago, even a year ago, I would have called you crazy… It was exactly a year ago from today when Lisa & Rinaldo commissioned us for their destination wedding in Calabria, Italy. Traveling to Italy and photographing their destination wedding was truly an honor — an opportunity of a lifetime! Lisa is the twin sister of Maria who we photographed last year. (Maria’s wedding) It was also the first time we met the “P” family. Ever since the beginning, they’ve treated Andy and me like family. We knew that going to Italy would be so much fun and we couldn’t wait to spend time with them. We were full of excitement and nervousness as we didn’t know what to expect. From the time we arrived to their hometown of Cosenza, Calabria, their family took care of us from beginning to end. Not only were we able to capture Lisa & Rinaldo’s special day, but we also got the chance to get to know their close family members. Lots of laughter and good memories from Calabria.

Lisa and her siblings are second generation Italians living here in the US. We had a long talk with Lisa’s dad, Mr.”P” who proudly shared their family history and all the hardships he had gone through when he decided to come to the United States. Through their hard work and dedication, their family now runs a very successful chain of grocery stores in the Chicagoland area. I could really relate as I am also a second generation Filipino American. Without the perseverance of my parents, I, along with my siblings, wouldn’t be where we are now. We should never forget our roots and appreciate where we came from. The P’s are a tight knit Italian family that celebrates the importance of family.

Rinaldo grew up in a nearby town also in Calabria where his family owns a successful restaurant which is located on the first floor of their house. They grew up running the family business and let me tell you, Rinaldo makes the best pizza I have ever tasted, no lie!! I keep telling him to open up his own restaurant and believe me when that day comes I will be sure to let you all know.

It was there that we met Rinaldo’s parents, Mr.& Mrs. L. We had a great time getting to know them because they were so nice and welcoming. We could really see where Rinaldo gets his great personality. His parents talked about Rinaldo growing up and you could really hear the excitement in their voice as they spoke about him. They were sad and happy at the same time that he would be living in the US now but one thing was for sure, they knew he would be able to take care of himself and Lisa, there was no doubt about it.

Lisa and Rinaldo’s story is full of chance happenings, risk taking, fear of the unknown and trust. Now if that’s not LOVE then I don’t know what is!

1000+ year old castle overlooking the Sea

S?unset at the castle… love how the wind just took her veil!

I seriously wish we had a lot more time to photograph them there… I could have shot there all day!

Lisa and family got ready in their home in Calabria.

Rinaldo’s house, check out the restaurant on the main floor.

Is it me or does he look like a young Benicio Del Toro?

Rinaldo with his best men

The church located right in the heart of their town where Lisa’s grandparents and parents got married.

The whole town was watching as Lisa arrived at the church.

anticipation

a loving kiss

Nothing could stop us from getting to that castle, not even these cows blocking the road!

Thank you Lisa and Rinaldo for trusting us to capture your special day.

A special thank you to Octavio also for helping us out on the day of their wedding.

Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

oakbrook country club wedding photography | jennefer & alan

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:28:10 +0000

Sweet sweet love between Jennefer and Alan. They celebrated their nuptial by having two ceremonies. A traditional outdoor ceremony along with a Lao ceremony also known as the Baci Ceremony. It was our first time covering a Lao Ceremony and we were very excited! We love learning new cultures and different ways of celebrating the unity of two people. Congratulations to Jennefer and Alan!

Thank you for sharing your day with us. We had so much fun documenting your day!

xoxo Michele & Andy

Facebook it or Twitter it!

Jennefer and Alan started their day at the Oak Brook Hills Mariott Resort.

Jennefer actually wore three wedding dresses! A traditional Lao wedding dress along with two dresses by David’s Bridal.

Flowers by Phillips Flowers

Jennefer and Alan wanted to see each other prior to both ceremonies. Here’s the reveal…

Read more about the Lao Ceremony traditions here.

Once the officiant was finished with the prayers, Jennefer and Alan pay respect to the elderly. The elderlies then start the tradition of tying a white cotton thread around the bride and groom’s wrists. The food (hardboiled egg) and fruits symbolizes many different things in the Lao culture.

“In Laos, white is the color of peace, good fortune, honesty and warmth. The white cotton thread is a lasting symbol of continuity and brotherhood in the community and permanence. The baci threads should be worn for at least three days subsequently and should be untied rather than cut off. Usually it is preferred that they are kept until they fall off by themselves.” Pom Outama Khampradith, Bounheng Inversin, and Tiao Nithakhong Somsanith

Their cake topper was a bobblehead!

intercontinental ohare wedding | rowena & rj

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:05:55 +0000

Congratulations to Rowena & RJ! These two are so much fun! They’re college sweethearts and met at DePaul University. RJ has a degree in music and on the night of his proposal to Rowena, they “stumbled” upon an a capella group in Navy Pier… While the a capella sang”In the Still of the Night,” as requested by RJ, he got down on his knee and proposed to Rowena. Our grooms are getting so creative with how they pop the question, I seriously wish I was there to capture the proposals.

It seems that we’ve been pretty lucky with the weather here in Chicago. The night prior to their wedding, it rained so hard that it flooded many streets downtown. It was a very stressful ride to get downtown since they closed off the expressways and some roads, but we all made it ok. The rest of the day was seamless and went off without a hitch!

A special thank you to our past clients Eric & Mashelle and also Vanessa Frosch for referring Rowena & RJ to us! Also, Yazy for doing a superb job second shooting…

Last but not least, thank you Rowena & RJ for sharing your day!

Join us on Facebook for early teaser photos or if you just want to chat and post on our wall :) and we Tweet too!

xoxo Michele & Andy

Such a fun ring shot… You should have seen the look on the bartender’s face when all I wanted were two cherries! =D

Old St. Patrick’s Church

This little boy caught my eye as Andy was taking a photo of the bridal party. Hope he continues photography… He was so interested in it, he avidly took pictures the whole day!

Other Vendors that we had the pleasure of working with:

Flowers by Kabloom Merchandise Mart

Music by Jay Garcia

The Dress by Enchanted Bride

Bridemaids’ Dresses: David’s Bridal

Invitations: Eagle Print Chicago

Cake by Take the Cake

Videography by Studio 2 Photography

Reception: InterContinental Chicago O’Hare

Transportation by Chicago Trolley

meadows club wedding | shirley & Dn. zachariah

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 06:14:15 +0000

Congratulations Shirley & Dn. Zachariah! Shirley & Dn. Zachariah wed at Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Palos Hills and had their reception at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows. Lots of traditions throughout the day and tons of very vibrant colors! Loved it! Thank you for sharing your day with us! We had so much fun photographing you and your guests.

xoxo Michele and Andy

Other vendors that we had the honor of working with:

JJ Orange Productions

and a special thanks to Erwin for assisting!

buckingham fountain engagement photography | laren & anthony : engaged!

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 06:06:57 +0000

Laren & Anthony are engaged and will be wed later this fall. They currently live in the east coast so they flew in for a few days to get all of their wedding planning done, along with their engagement photos =D! Thankfully, we had a beautiful HOT summer day for their session at the Buckingham Fountain in Chicago. Ok, maybe it was a little too humid, but that’s Chicago for ya… Laren & Anthony, thank you for a fun engagement session! Andy and I had a great time with both of you! Can’t wait to photograph your wedding when it’s about 30 degrees cooler (hopefully)!

xoxo Michele & Andy

Something that is unique about Laren & Anthony is the way they hold hands, in their own special way, that only they know how to do…

gretchen & nic

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:54:55 +0000

Gretchen & Nic are married! Their wedding was so much fun, lots of unique details, and they truly made it their own! Talk about unique weddings, it was unique from the very start! Nic had proposed to Gretchen by placing her engagement ring at the bottom of a box of their favorite wings from Hooter’s and despite it being a little greasy and ccrunchy, we all know Gretchen said “yes!” It’s truly an honor to be chosen by an artist/graphic designer to photograph her day. Gretchen is a freelance artist where she does photography and graphic design. Check out her work at Moonhouse Productions. Nic is a musician and they both love to write and produce music together. Scroll below to see what their wedding giveaways were!

Gretchen & Nic, thank you so much for sharing your day with us. Hope you had a great honeymoon in Chile! You guys are awesome and we wish you the best!

xoxo Michele & Andy

Join us on Facebook!

“Liquid light” as my mentor would say… Love this shot of them! I’m not gonna lie, I kinda did the “happy dance” shortly after taking this shot =P

Gretchen, you are stunning!

My very first bird cage veil bride… and she really really rocked it! Doesn’t she look like Catherine Zeta Jones?

Wedding preparations were held at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago

Gorgeous make up by Heather Lim for the bridesmaids and Tracy Pantoja make up for the Bride

Invitations by Janice Baria of Sealed with a J

Flowers by Raul Buendia… awesome job!

Handsome groom!

They tied the knot at St. Peter Catholic Church in Skokie

When Nic went to kiss Gretchen for their first kiss, he thought he had to take off Gretchen’s veil… it definitely brought on some laughter from everyone… this sequence was so cute, I had to include all of it! They’ll never forget their “first kiss,” that’s for sure!

Bridal party fun!

All of these shots were on their wedding day, after their ceremony… If you want photos, give us time, and we’ll give ya lots! Scheduling is key!

Their reception was at the Zhou B Art Center

Gretchen & Nic made and produced this mixtape for their guests! How cool is that?! I added a link for all the young’ens out there who have never seen a mixtape before… this is goin’ waaaaay back!

Their cake toppers were Halo figures!

And Sweet Mandy B’s cupcakes

They had matching shoes that had custom artwork painted on them of Easter Island in Chile, their honeymoon destination…

Other Vendors that we worked with:

Special Thanks to Erwin Delfin for helping out with photography

Music that kept the guests dancing through the night by Roberto Monastero

Invitations, paper goods by the talented Janice Baria of Sealed with a J

Transportation provided by US Coachways

Hot dog cart by Woody’s Special Events

anderson japanese botanical garden engagement photography | patty & dennis : engaged!

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:43:21 +0000

Congratulations to Patty & Dennis! We had their engagement session at the beautiful Anderson Japanese Botanical Gardens. Patty wanted to have their session at a Japanese Garden so she “googled” it and found this location. I never knew that there was such a place in Illinois. Definitely a hidden gem in the city of Rockford, IL . Dennis and I have known each other ever since we were little and I can’t believe he’s getting married! They make such a cute couple =D. We can’t wait to photograph their wedding in 2011!

xoxo Michele & Andy

More photos on Misha Media’s Facebook Page!

Below is their Misha Media Photo Booth! Patty and Dennis held signs written in their native language (Tagalog – A Filipino dialect, and Korean) which means “I love you”

hyatt chicago ohare wedding photography | mae jane & kenny

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:10:11 +0000

Congratulations to Mae Jane & Kenny! What do you get when you mix LA + Chicago?! Mae & Kenny!! There’s that saying that you’ll never meet your future husband/wife at a nightclub, these two are the exception to the rule… but who’s rule is it anyway?! Getting to know our clients is one of the most important things to us, and when we met Mae & Kenny, we were so touched by how sweet and loving they are towards each other. Their excitement about planning their wedding and all of the hard work that they’ve put into it really shined on their wedding day. I couldn’t wait to see their vision. All throughout the week, we had rain and severe thunderstorms. I really didn’t know what the weather would be like on their wedding day, but come Saturday morning, these two were blessed with a nice hot summer day.

Mae & Kenny, we hope that you had a fun and relaxing time in Fiji! Thank you so much for sharing your day with us!

xoxo Michele & Andy

They did this same jump from their engagement session and it was fitting for them to jump on their wedding day. Kenny, you rocked out the Jordan jump! Loved the shadow that you casted while jumping!

Mae’s wedding gown was custom made by Franics Libiran.

Mae & Kenny got ready at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare and this was were their reception was held.

Mae’s gave Kenny a Movado watch for their wedding!

They wed at St. Mary of the Lake

4200 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago

Moments before their ceremony…

Mae, you are a beautiful bride!

The photo on the right was the ceiling of St. Mary of the Lake… gorgeous!

These little ones were so adorable!

We had a quick stop in front of the Cubs marquee… on game day… it was the Los Angeles Angels vs. our Cubbies! How fitting… but let’s not talk about the result of the game…

As a California girl, Mae wanted to add a bit of Cali so we stopped by the beach…

Beautiful reception! Loved the uplights! Future B&G’s: really consider having uplights and draperies in your reception… it really makes a huge difference!

Cake by Oak Mill Bakery

Music provided by DJ JayFunk from Kiss FM. He kept the dance floor busy all night long with great music and entertainment!

Immediately following their first dance, Mae & Kenny surprised everyone with a Jabbawockeez number… everyone loved it!

A special thank you to Erwin for assisting us the whole day!

And to other vendors for making the day a success!

Amy Dresser of Hyatt Regency O’Hare

Avis Limousine

rookery chicago wedding photography | antoinette & rod

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 04:01:21 +0000

Congratulations to Antoinette & Rod! It was torrential rain the morning of their wedding day and it looked like it was going to rain all day. After getting ready at the Club Quarters in Chicago, it stopped raining the minute Antoinette stepped foot outside and the sun was shining! We had a lot of time after the ceremony to photograph the bridal party, and all we were hoping for was no rain…and it worked! All we needed was that small window of opportunity… Believe it or not, it started pouring the moment we stopped shooting! These two were blessed with one of the most beautiful spring days in Chicago. Antoinette & Rod, thank you so much for sharing your day with us. It was truly an honor to photograph your wedding! Hope you had a fun and relaxing time in Greece!

To our faithful blog readers: We hope that you like our new and improved blog! Layouts are better, more photos, and much more fun to view! We hope ya like it! And as always, comments are welcome or even a “like” via Facebook is good too!

xoxo Michele & Andy

Beautiful dress and gorgeous flowers by Watters and Vale of Enna

Stunning Bride…

Make up by Tina Salazar

Handsome groom

Invitation by Designers Fine Press

They wed at the Madonna della Strada at Loyola University of Chicago… their alma mater… it was the perfect place to get married in since they met in Loyola!

Bridemaids dresses by Anna Elyse Bridesmaids

Antoinette sporting out her Christian Louboutin’s

Love this city… love that it’s windy… it makes for great photography!

The Reception was held at The Rookery in Chicago. This venue is GORGEOUS!

Antoinette is very detail oriented. She did many DIY details for her reception =D!

Their beautiful place cards, reception menus, and church programs were all designed by the talented Lele Designs

Favors by Voges Haut Chocolat

Antoinette & Rod had San Miguel beer for their reception. For those of you who don’t know, San Miguel is the number one beer in the Philippines. They had it imported as a special surprise for their guests!

Did you see the groom’s cake?! It’s a snowboard! Made by Amy Beck Cake Design

A nice moment during their first dance…

A fun filled day with great collaboration from a team of vendors! Special thank you to Nick for assisting!

Tara and Brittany of Lola Events

Music by Roberto Monastero

Catered by Jewell Events Catering

Video by Rogie of RAC Visual Imaging

chicago wedding photography | angelica & javier

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:29:19 +0000

Two hundred of their closest friends and families were there to witness their 10 year vow renewal… Congratulations to Angelica & Javier! They are so full of energy and very out going, especially Angelica :) They have been blessed with 3 beautiful children. Being able to profess their love for each other in front of their children, family, and friends is something that they will always cherish and remember. Thank you for choosing us to share in your celebration. xoxo Michele & Andy

Fierce!

St. Hedwig

2226 Hoyne Ave

Chicago, IL

Transportation provided by A Dynasty Limousine

blessing of the rings…

captured during the prayer to Mary…

just loved the light!

Angelica wore a gown by Pronovias