Sunday Southern Days

When starting my new job with the Chicago Marriott Naperville , we decided to beef up our photo portfolio for marketing purposes. I got to gather with some great business partners at Tamara Hair + Makeup , Just Love Me Photography + Design , and Andrews Garden to pull together all the components of our day. We had three fabulous ladies, Ashley, Carol, and Julissa -- real women -- model for us. They let our crew tease, poke, prod, and twist them all day to get some of the most amazing shots highlighting the work of everyone involved. Here are some of my favorite shots of the day:

We had the honor of hosting Arianna and Ryan's rustic-and-vintage inspired wedding at the Chicago Marriott Naperville on July 12. Arianna and her team of family and friends had some beautiful DIY projects with their burlap-wrapped centerpieces, expansive candy buffet, and hand-crafted shutters to frame their dessert buffet. Here are some of our favorite pictures from their special day: Inspirational sayings greeted guests on their escort cards, nestled onto pine cones. Guests were invited to "sign a leaf" in lieu of a traditional guest book. Tiny, hand-wrapped burlap roses add great touches on centerpieces of smooth stones and pine cones. The bride's father created the shutters as a custom backdrop to their dessert buffet. He also created the multi-tier cake stands for the cupcakes. Gray paper straws stayed with the vintage theme.