In my many years now as an unmarried wedding photographer, one of the most common things people have said to me is “you must have SO many ideas for what your own wedding would be like someday after seeing so many!” I usually laugh and respond with something simple about knowing what not to do rather than what to do, and though it sounds and feels a bit like a stock answer at this point, it remains very true for me. What I mean by that is, I’ve paid more attention to the things that bring people stress on a wedding day and thought about how to eliminate those things, rather than centerpieces or clever photo booth backdrops or hashtags or cake tables. But every so often, I photograph a wedding wherein the couple naturally demonstrates the what to do quite clearly, and I see them laughing and enjoying and grabbing one another’s hands with giant grins as they walk together, and in those moments, I think to myself, “these two right here – these two are doing it right.” Jackie and Peter are one of those couples.
The two of them spent the morning of their wedding together along with their bridal party – rather than separate hotel suites and coordinating times to make sure they didn’t accidentally cross paths and see each other, they stayed in an airbnb in Logan Square together, and their wedding party then came over for lunch and drinks. The guys gamed in the bedroom while the ladies did their makeup at the kitchen table, and Jackie and Peter laughed and hung out with their friends, sharing quiet smiles with one another amidst the chatter at the island in the kitchen. They showed me the wedding bands that Peter had made himself (!), and Jackie beamed in his direction as she talked about her soon-to-be husband’s talent. The ladies then got dressed in the living room while the men did so in the bedroom, and Jackie and Peter saw each other in their wedding day duds for the first time on the street outside the home.
Their friends then gathered their jackets and flowers and bags, and they all walked together on this sunny October afternoon to Jackie and Peter’s wedding venue. We stopped at Palmer Square Park along the way to snap a few photos of all of them before they continued on, each comfortably rocking a pair of Converse shoes. It was easy and light and laid back in the way that the afternoon of your wedding day should be, and one of the groomsmen spotted a bottle of bubbles in the Little Free Library box on Belden and excitedly blew them toward his friends, because it was their wedding day and why not? They greeted family members upon arrival to Revolution Brewing, and there were hugs and photos and a subtle excitement in the air. For the rest of the evening, Jackie and Peter were in it in every possible way. They cheersed their beers – not for photos, but for fun – and they read the vows they had written and they pinky sweared in front of all their loved ones and they went on a brewery tour with their guests, and they really looked at each other, and they giggled through a cake cutting and laughed out loud at their friends’ toasts, and they danced and mingled and ate delicious food and hugged some more. During every second of their day, they were not only enjoying themselves, but they were also continually looking at each other like this day was just the BEST thing, and that’s because it really, truly was.
Venue + Catering: Revolution Brewing
Florist: Flowers for Dreams
DJ: Toast & Jam, Alice
Dress: David’s Bridal
