So excited to be offering all my clients 2 session dates and locations for my Fall Mini Family Sessions this year! I have limited availability left on both Oct dates so please reach out to book your date as soon as possible. Can’t wait to see all my past family clients as well as meeting new ones this year.

When we first sat down to meet with Natalia and Eric at a local Starbucks I could immediately just feel the energy and excitement they had for each other as we listened to their amazing wedding day plans. Natalia and Eric’s wedding was one for the modern day storybooks set along the Romantic and natural backdrop at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago on a perfect sun filled summer day. Voted as one of Chicago’s most breathtaking wedding venues- The Museum’s Reception space is unique and so beautiful with floor-to-ceiling windows indoors as well as a breath taking outdoor private terrace with stunning nature and city skyline views. They started the day with the best first look on the prettiest tree lined street in the Gold Coast right outside  The Public Hotel. Followed by the stunning wedding ceremony at the couple’s alma mater campus of Northwestern at The Alice Milar Chapel. The stained glass windows in the chapel surrounded the entire ceremony in a kaleidoscope of warm vivid color.

We had a blast touring the couple and bridal party around to some of the most scenic and beautiful locations around Chicago including some favorites like The Nature Boardwalk in Lincoln Park, Chicago History Museum and along the grounds of their amazing venue.  Natalia and Eric enjoy opening up their home for entertaining and love incorporating themed bar menus for their guests to enjoy themselves. Their wedding was equally as welcoming and truly felt like a big, warm, and embracing celebration for all their guests who had traveled near and far to celebrate such a joyous day.

To make the day even more amazing (if that was even possible) we had the honor of working with some of the most talented and creative Chicago wedding vendor (and friends) to help make their Romantic Art-Deco inspired wedding come to life. Eco-Friendly Wedding Planner– Naturally Yours Events brought their vision to life while helping to keep their day sustainably friendly. Fab Flora curated and designed a perfect selection of the most colorful blooms for the day. And our friends from Old North Film Co. created a wedding film for Natalia and Eric to help them relive their wedding day moments all over again.

Thank you both for inviting us to photograph your extraordinary love story and have the best seat on the house the entire day! We wish you much love and exciting travel adventures ahead! xo

Ceremony: Alice Millar Chapel

Reception: Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Wedding Planner: Naturally Yours Events

Florist: Fab Flora

Catering: Food for Thought

Bakery: Scafuri Bakery

Videographer: Old North Film Co.

DJ: Cage + Aquarium

Lighting: Atmosphere Events Group

Bridal Dress: BHLDN

Bride’s Accessories: Mignonette Bridal

Bridesmaids Dresses: Brideside

Bridal Hair + Makeup: Debra Petrielli

Groom’s Suit:Blacktie Formalwear

Invitations: Minted

Jeweler: Stanley Brown Jewelists

Transportation: M&M Limousine

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This sweet family of four- The Milnes Family met me at one of my favorite parks in my neighborhood of Logan Square. I love the mix of backdrops that Humbolt Park offers which includes small ponds with lily pads, lush trees lined alongside winding walking paths, and a cute boathouse with great architecture. These cuties just rocked their photography session- I hope to see them again next year!

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Living only a few blocks away from this oasis in the city made for the perfect backdrop for Susie + Bill’s sunset Engagement session last week. We pretty much had the run of the place making it feel that much more intimate. I loved incorporating the mix of city landscape with all the lush greenery this scenic Lincoln Park spot provided for our session. These two had nothing but eyes for each other and I can’t wait to celebrate with them next month!

Sarah and Greg’s Classic Summer Wedding set in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast at the beautiful historical landmark Germania Place was a wedding unlike any other. So many personal details went into the making of this wedding starting with the sweet gift exchange the couple gave each other before the ceremony at The Renaissance Hotel– followed by the interactive sermon (SO fun!) given by Father Mike Gabriel at the second oldest Roman Catholic Church in Chicago Holy Family Church.You could just feel the love and support from all 200+ guests from the start of the ceremony leading into the reception. It meant the world to Sarah and Greg as they had many guests who traveled near and far to gather together to celebrate with them for their one special day on August 27th.

The weather was perfectly sunny and kept the Bride, Groom and Bridal Party in high spirits as we ventured around the city in a Chicago favorite “Marilyn Jean” Trolley. I love when couples trust me enough to lead them to the best locations that this city has to offer including the uber pretty Cancer Survivors Garden in Maggie Daley Park. Followed by my favorite The South Gardens at the Art Institute. My fav and most fun DJ- Alli Klein from  Toast and Jam curated the best playlist for the evening and helped to created some very special moments for Sarah, Greg and their families while keeping the dance floor packed and pumping all night!

Not only was this day filled with heartfelt speeches and toasts from family members and dear friends of the couple but I could feel that Sarah and Greg were as excited to be celebrating and even more excited to begin their lives as a newly married couple. Thank you both for inviting Joe and I to photograph all the sweet details, tears, laughter, and love- we are truly honored! Cheers to you both as you continue to celebrate all the beautiful milestones in your lives together. xo

Head over the Borrowed & Blue blog to see Sarah and Greg’s amazing celebration featured today as well!

Ceremony: Holy Family Catholic Church

Reception: Germania Place

Wedding Coordinator: Macrina Oscampo with Germania Place

Florist: Friend of the Groom

Catering: Kenmare Catering

Cake/Sweets: Mariano’s

Videographer: RAC Visual

DJ: Alli Klein from Toast and Jam

Bridal Dress: Alvina Valenta

Bride’s Shoes: Nina New York

Bridal Shop: Dimitra’s Bridal Couture

Bridesmaids Dresses: Adrianna Papell

Bridal Hair: Salon Soca

Bridal Makeup: Deanna Lewis

Transportation: Premier Trolley and Limo

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These last few months have been a whirlwind of celebration and wrapping up another beautiful wedding season all while preparing for my biggest and most important role yet- motherhood! And I couldn’t be more excited or ready to welcome our little baby lady. I like to think that she’s already shown a few sides to her personality already like keeping most of her playtime activity during the day and letting me sleep restfully at night. Along with her resistance to punctuality- today is actually her due date (40 weeks- YAY I made it!)  She is however showing no progress or interest in making her grand debut. Which has just given Joe and I more time to enjoy our cozy nights in together.

Thank you to the many special people in my life who have filled me with so much gratitude and blessings over the last 9 months. Our baby is truly lucky and blessed to be entering into such a loving community of family and friends. Including my sweet friend Karina of Metts Photo for capturing these beautiful photos of me and baby a few weeks ago at Humboldt Park. Oh and for indulging me in my craving for pizza after our photo session 🙂 And to my family for always making me feel like the luckiest lady- I am thrilled and honored to be entering into motherhood. I can only hope to be as devoted, caring, and selfless as I have seen my 2 sisters be in raising their kids. With so much to learn, love, and laugh about I cannot wait to see what motherhood teaches me and our family.

To say that I loved putting together our baby girls nursery would be a gigantic understatement. I pulled inspiration from a few different place starting with Rifle Paper’s Wildfire wrapping paper, nature, bold happy patterns and by tapping into the girliest side of me. For those who know me well- I’m not a pink girl at all- never really have been. So taking the leap to paint the nursery this dreamy peach/pink shade- Whispering Peach was a big deal for me. But I loved using this color as a foundation to creating a calm, playful and pretty backdrop for many new memories to be created in. I am so excited to be sharing photos and DIY links/inspiration to all the many projects I had the joy in creating for her. My intention in everything I make by hand is that it will live on long past her infancy and be loved for many years to come.

(1): This IKEA egg chair (that I believe is no longer sold at the store) can still be found on Craigslist– which is where I found it a few years ago for $20. I recovered it using an old IKEA bed sheet as my fabric. I’ve used this as my desk chair for many years and now has a new life and purpose in the nursery. I crocheted this sweet baby blanket over the last few months and loved how it turned out. The only thing I changed was adding a more girly scalloped edge to finish it off.  Using 100% cotton yarn was important to me as I suspect I will be washing this blanket many times over.

(2): I spent many nights cutting out these petals and leaves before putting everything  together to create this whimsical nature inspired mobile. I took inspiration and the petal patterns from the book Paper to Petal. However instead of using paper I decided to use felt for its durability.

I had so much fun picking out the felt colors for this project. I wrapped a 14″ wood embroidery hoop with satin ribbon that I had left over from our wedding and used the same ribbon to hang from a small white hook mounted to the ceiling.  How sweet would it be to wake up to this view every morning 🙂

(3): I created these wall hangings using the Charlotte Stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils and an inexpensive canvas drop cloth from Home Depot. The matching wood frames where a thrift store find that I simply sanded lightly and painted using a cream colored chalk paint.

(4): The dresser/changing station is from buybuy baby. And while I loved it for its clean lines and that it matched the crib I thought it could use a little more love and a dose of playfulness. So I added (what might be my favorite shape)  scallop edges using this tape onto the  3 front drawers and completed the final look by adding these fun Target feather drawer handles.  A complete transformation with little investment!

(5). Creating this faux taxidermy Elephant head was such a fun sewing project. I loved how easy this pattern was to follow- perfect for a beginner like me! The only thing I added was mounting the head onto an unfinished wood mount found at Jo Ann Fabrics.

(6). Crochet Cactus- what else is there to say? I’ve added to my collection over the past year and now they have a permanent home in the nursery. To get started on building your collection check out the easy to follow pattern at Little Things Blogged– thanks Tanya 🙂

(7). This stuffed fox pattern by Miranda Winslett was so easy to make- again great for a beginner. The hardest part was picking out the fabric combination. I can’t wait to make more of her patterns.

(8). Okay- so not really a DIY but I wanted to share the link to these clear bookshelves which are actually greeting card displays. I choose the 30′ long ones to fill a small nook behind the door. I love how they don’t take up any visual space and really help the book titles pop off the wall. I have to thank Sarah a recent client of mine for this find- she had them in her nursery and was where I first saw them 🙂

If you’ve made it this far then you really LOVE DIY’s as much as I do! Thanks so much for taking this nursery tour with me. And if you’re wondering what’s on the other side of the wall in the nursery- its my office! More on that at a later time. But for now wish me luck 🙂 Happy weekend friends! xox

Summer in Chicago is finally here and my Chicago family sessions are officially in full swing. The clouds parted just in time for my photo session with The Barkers last week. It was so great to meet them at the South Pond in Lincoln Park while all the trees were at last in full bloom.  And little Ava was the center of attention sporting her adorable jean jacket, espadrilles and the best smiles that had us all laughing out loud. There is nothing quite like summer in the city with family!

Love is all around today- can you feel it?  I like to think that love for each other should be celebrated on a daily basis.  It’s the little things that add up like daily hugs and kisses in the morning with your loved one or cooking dinner together while sharing a bottle of wine. Or my favorite when Joe folds my laundry or makes the bed in the morning- haha- these little nuggets of daily love are what keeps love alive and a daily celebration of appreciation! May you celebrate with your love(s) today and for the rest of the year! xox

Thanks for joining me for my newest monthly blog series I like to call- Friendor Spotlight. Every month I will be highlighting a different Chicago wedding vendor to add to the creative conversation, inspire, showcase the many talented ladies + gents in and around Chicago and to encourage others to lead with love and intention everyday.

Please welcome Emily Talsma of Emily Rose Flower Crowns to February’s Friendor Spotlight series. I met Emily last year while shooting her brother’s wedding in Chicago. She was in the wedding party and the bride was wearing one of her custom flower crowns. I knew right away that she was someone I needed to connect with and I’m sure glad I did because after our first coffee meeting we found out that we are neighbors and in fact only live about 2 blocks away from each another!

Q: Where does your inspiration come from?

Emily:  I am so inspired by my grandmother, Evelyn Ruth. She wore red lipstick every day, wasn’t afraid to be bold in her style (hello, high heels and fur coats!), and was kind to everyone. I feel a little bit of her genes in me every time I prance around in a flower crown. Also, I’ll never forget the words Jodi of Giving Tree Photography said to me when I was first starting my businesses: “Always be a little kinder than necessary.” That inspires the heck outta me. I want to be kind. More than successful, I want to be kind.

Q: What pushes you to keep creating your best work?

Emily:  When I was getting married, I could not find a flower crown that I liked (or really any at all!) and felt like I had no choice but to make my own. When I make my crowns, I make them with my future clients in mind and try to create things people would actually want to wear on their wedding day – crowns that are aesthetically beautiful and tasteful but are also high quality. I make sure my crowns won’t fall apart + choose nicer flowers that look real in photos because that’s what I would want!

Q: If you could give your younger self one piece of advice what would it be?

Emily:  Don’t be so hard on yourself.

Q: When you need to unwind/get away/escape where do you go and what do you take with you?

Emily:  I’m the weirdo that unwinds by cleaning or creating something. It’s weird because my job IS creating stuff so it’s sometimes hard to separate work from “life” (but I guess that’s not a bad problem to have, right!?). As far as “getaways”, Michigan will always have my heart. Beautiful uncrowded beaches + wineries with free tastings + the nicest folks around? Count me in.

Thank you so much Emily!  If you would like to connect and learn more about this wildly talented lady feel free to reach her here:

Instagram: @emilyroseflowercrowns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Emily-Rose-Flower-Crowns-340167592828844/