Photography by Imagine – byimagine.com 847.340.1300

Having a Chicago wedding? Got a wedding photographer in Chicago? Looking for fun Chicago wedding photo ideas that show your hometown? Here are some “signature” Chicago locations for fun bridal party photos with your Chicago Wedding Photographer.

Often times there is some time to shoot pictures after the wedding ceremony and before the reception.  That’s a great time to load up the bridal party of your Chicago wedding in a stretch limo or a trolley car and head downtown for fun wedding photos in Chicago with your Chicago Wedding Photographer.

Here are some of our favorite spots that our Chicago wedding photographry staff likes to shoot wedding photos in Chicago.

Wedding Photos Chicago Idea 1:
Kinsey St. Bridge over the Chicago River at
W. Kinsey St. and North Canal Street

Wedding Photos Chicago Idea 2:
The Chicago Board of Trade

Chicago Board of Trade

Wedding Photos Chicago Idea 3:
The Rookery Building

The Rookery Building

Wedding Photos Chicago Idea 4:
Grant Park Pritzger Pavillion at 55 N Michigan

Grant Park

Wedding Photos Chicago Idea 5: The Bean

The Bean

Wedding Photos Chicago Idea 6:
The Shedd Aquarium at 1200 S. Lakeshore Drive

Shedd Aquarium

Shedd Aquarium

Wedding Photos Chicago Idea 7:

Buckingham Fountain at Columbus Drive at Congress Parkway

Wedding Photos Chicago Idea 8:

Wacker Street Bridge

Wedding Photos Chicago Idea 9:
Union Station

Other Wedding Photos Chicago Ideas

• Lincoln Park Bridge
• The Chicago Theatre

Photography by Imagine has been shooting Chicago weddings for over 36 years.  If you’d like unique, one-of-a-kind wedding photos of your Chicago wedding, let our Chicago wedding photographers capture the magic of your special day.  See our work at www.byimagine.com or call us at 847-340-1300 to learn more about our Chicago wedding photography services.

Photography by Imagine was excited to be the Mt Prospect wedding photographer capturing the wedding of Beth & Jeremy Newman at Bristol Court Banquets in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.

Bristol Court Banquets is located at 828 E. Rand Rd. in Mt. Prospect, IL.  The property is
between Highway 12 and Route 83.  While the outside looks ordinary we were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the décor was inside.

Bristol Courts has a large ballroom that is perfect for big weddings.  They could comfortably seat up to 500 guests there.  And because of it’s spaciousness, there is plenty of elbow room for guests to mingle.

The wedding guests were really shaking it up on the dance floor and we got some excellent shots of everyone dancing.  Because their dance floor is so large, they got some good crowds out there dancing.

As a wedding photographer who sees a lot of reception halls, we appreciate when a hall goes out of the way to do little things that make a difference.  Bristol Court Banquets really worked to coordinate and decorate to Beth and Jeremy’s wedding colors.  They put sashes on the chairs that matched the bridesmaid dresses.

The food was delicious and we heard many of the guests saying great things about it.  The presentation of the food was excellent.  And being a fan of dessert tables, we appreciated the scrumptious array of desserts they put presented.

We can’t say enough about the staff at Bristol Court.  They were friendly, professional, and really gave the bride and groom the VIP treatment.  They went out of their way to make sure they night went smoothly for them.

If you are having a wedding in Mt. Prospect, you should consider booking your reception at Bristol Court Banquets.  We’d love to be the Mt. Prospect wedding photographer to capture your special day.  Contact us at 847-340-1300 to find out more about our Mt. Prospect Wedding Photography services or visit our website at www.byimagine.com .

If you are looking for a historic setting for your wedding venue, check out South Shore Cultural Center located at 7059 S South Shore Dr in Chicago, Illinois.

We were the Chicago wedding photographers capturing Shanan and Anil’s 1920’s themed wedding. The scene could not have been more perfect.  This building is rich in history and a setting for old world Hollywood Glamour.

After getting decked out in their twentie’s themed attire, the bridal party headed out to downtown Chicago for a fun city style photo shoot.  We hit the Civic Opera house – the site where they couple first met.  Then we took photos at the Art Institute of Chicago.  We even grabbed some shots of the couple kissing right on the median of Michigan Avenue.

South Shore Cultural Center was actually where President Barack Obama and Michelle hosted their wedding reception over ten years ago.  And there’s a famous picture of them relaxing all sprawled out after the event.  We re-enacted this scene with our wedding couple.

The wedding ceremony was held on site in a room with windows facing out to a breathtaking view of the beach and Lake Michigan.  In true 1920’s style the ring bearers came wearing tuxedos and top hats.  The bridesmaids wore flapper dresses.  Many of the men wore Fedoras.  Even the DJ and photographers dressed the part.

And the couple did their part to add to the excitement of the day.  The bride wore a gorgeous ballroom style gown for the wedding ceremony and switched to a sexy form fitting gown that made her look like a glamorous movie star from the time. Even the groom changed from a traditional tux at the ceremony to a handsome white tux “Casablanca style” for the reception.

South Shore Cultural center is a piece of Chicago history and recognized as a Chicago Landmark. It’s a beautiful place to have a wedding reception, a Chicago wedding photographer’s dream. The grounds feature a 65-acre park with a golf course, tennis courts, a beach, and even a nature sanctuary.  This makes for beautiful outdoor wedding photos in the summer.

The Chicago Park District has done an excellent job of restoration and maintaining the property.  Everywhere you look there are little touches that make it classy from new carpet, drapes, furniture, artwork and even floral arrangements.

If you are looking for a Chicago wedding photographer with experience shooting at the South Shore Cultural Center check out our website for more information or contact us to book an appointment. Call us at 847-244-8450 or email info@byimagine.com to setup an appointment.  On contact us on our website about Chicago wedding photography today!

Looking for Chicago Bridal Shows and Chicago Bridal Expos and Bridal Fairs??

If you are a newly engaged couple one of the first things you’ll want to do is check out the Chicago Bridal Shows to see what’s new in weddings and find top Chicago wedding vendors. Below is information about show of the bridal shows that Photography by Imagine has appeared in and ones you’ll want to check out.

The bridal shows are great to help you find the vendors you’ll need for your wedding.  There you’ll find wedding photographers, DJs, limos, florists, cakes, dresses, jewelry, honeymoon travel info, reception halls, salon services, make up artists and more.

Attending a bridal show you could literally find all the vendors for your wedding in one day.

Below are some of the Chicago bridal shows you’ll want to visit.

Bridal Expo

Bridal Expo – Their bridal shows are huge. Usually have about 350-400 brides that attend.  So be prepared for some crowds.  Their shows are hosted all around the Chicago/Milwaukee area including bridal shows at Schaumburg, IL, Milwaukee, WI, Orland Park, IL, Oak Brook, IL, or downtown Chicago.  Check here for dates and locations of upcoming Bridal Expo shows

The Great Bridal Expo – These shows give brides a great way to meet face-to-face with wedding vendors in all categories.  Great Bridal Expo does shows nationally and hosts bridal shows in the Chicago area a couple times a year. Check here for upcoming bridal show dates and locations for Great Bridal Expo.

Bridal Sampler – These bridal expos taking place once a month at various locations around the Chicago area.  They have shows in Deerfield, Lisle, and Woodridge scheduled for this year.  Check here for upcoming bridal show dates and locations for Bridal Sampler.

Windy City Wedding Show

Windy City Wedding Show – Sponsored by David’s Bridal and Keith Christopher Entertainment, this show is the brightest newcomer.  The first show was 2 days and kicked off in January 2011.  It was a phenomenal success and featured top vendors in every category.  It featured fashion shows, prizes, and over 150 vendors.  Truly a must see for Chicago area brides.  Get more information about the Windy City Wedding Show here.

Midlane Bridal Fair – Held each year in January, the Midlane Bridal Fair in Wadsworth Illinois is a great show for Lake County area brides.  The bridal fair hosts over 50 wedding vendors and features a food tasting.  Find out more here about Midlane Resort Bridal Fairs

Crown Plaza Glen Ellyn Illinois

Wedding Photographer at Wedding at Crown Plaza in Glen Ellyn

Looking for a wedding photographer in Glen Ellyn Illinois?

Photography by Imagine was excited to be the wedding photographer for the wedding of Natasha & Gerald Mendoza at The Crown Plaza in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

The Crown Plaza is located at 1250 Roosevelt Road
 in Glen Ellyn, IL 60137. The location of the hotel makes it easy to get to for wedding guests as it’s located near I-355, I-88 and I-290. Before/after the wedding out of town guests can shop and check out close by attractions like Oakbrook Mall.

If you are having a Glen Ellyn wedding, we’d love to be your Glen Ellyn wedding photographer.  And the Crown Plaza in Glen Ellen makes an ideal wedding reception location.

The reception hall features two elegant ballrooms. The Crown Plaza Hotel staff was extremely friendly and attentive. They also offer nice group rates for wedding parties who wish to reserve a block of rooms for family. The service and food was excellent. Their reception menus feature a good variety of options with something for everyone.

Natasha & Gerald beautiful Glen Ellyn wedding at the Crown Plaza. It was a beautiful wedding day. We are thankful to you both for asking us be a part of it.

Photography by Imagine has been photographing weddings in Glen Ellyn and the Chicago area for over 36 years. We are a small family owned and operated studio.

If you are planning a Glen Ellyn wedding, we’d love to help! We shoot wedding photography in Glen Ellyn weddings at The Crown Plaza and other Glen Ellyn wedding locations.  We’d love to make your wedding a special one to remember.

Check out our website for more information on wedding photography Glen Ellyn or contact us to book an appointment to learn more about  Glen Ellyn wedding photography and learn more about how we could photograph your Glen Ellyn wedding.  Call us at 847-244-8450 or email info@byimagine.com to setup an appointment about wedding photography today!

Brides Choice 2011

We have a HUGE, exciting  announcement to share. WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Photography by Imagine as been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2011 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding Planning!

It is such an honor to be among the top 5 percent of the one million vendors in the Wedding Wire community. This award would not have been possible without the amazing couples we worked with this past year. We earned this award from the bride’s who review us and surveys from newlyweds in the Chicago area.  Thank you all for taking the time to evaluate our services and submit reviews.

The Bride’s Choice Awards are given to recognize the top local wedding professionals who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness, and professionalism.

WeddingWire gives the award to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Photography by Imagine for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that Photography by Imagine is among the very best companies for Wedding Planning within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire, Best City Weddings and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2011 Bride’s Choice Awards.

For more information, please visit the Photography by Imagine website or our WeddingWire Storefront today.

What a great way to start off the 2011 wedding season.  We look forward to helping our brides and grooms capture the magic of their wedding day!

We were the featured Brookfield wedding photographers at a Brookfield Zoo wedding.

Lots of couples go on romantic dates to the zoo, but have you ever thought of getting married there? We just shot an incredible wedding at Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois last weekend.  As the wedding photographers, we were treated like royalty from beginning to end.  It all started with Zoo wedding caterer Terry Rothamer.  He delivered every detail of the wedding with flawless execution.  He had the agenda down to the minute and made sure everything happened just as it should.

Terry Rothamer, Catering Manager at Brookfield Zoo

The day started as Terry picked us up in a golf cart for an romantic “first look” for the bride and groom by the lake.  Then Terry drove us from site to site to see the animals.  We visited the giraffes, polar bears, tigers, and dolphins.  You can tell Terry is really passionate about his job.  He knew the names of all the animals, told us stories about them and knew exactly when the animals would be out.

Next, we met the bridal party for pictures on the carousel.  We got lots of fun pictures and everyone had a blast doing this.

The ceremony site was beautifully set by a pond, with fountains, and gorgeous flowers.  And as if from a fairytale, as the bride and her father starting walking down the aisle, a goose walked right in front of them leading the way. All the guests were laughing in amazement. After the ceremony, the guests had cocktails in Tropic World.  The appetizers were delicious.  It was really cool to watch the monkeys and mingle with guests in this exotic setting.

And finally, the reception at Discovery Center was out of this world.  The tables were beautifully set with the place settings featuring the Brookfield Zoo logo.  The food was fantastic and the service was outstanding.

We couldn’t help but overhear one guest after another saying it was one of the coolest weddings they had ever been to.  If you are looking for a FUN wedding that is truly UNIQUE with WORLD CLASS service, check out Brookfield Zoo.  We give five stars to Terry Rothamer too! He is hands down the most incredible wedding coordinator we have EVER worked with.

If you’d like more information on hosting your wedding at Brookfield zoo contact Terry Rothamer in sales and catering for weddings at Brookfield Zoo at (708) 688-8355.  And we’d love to be your Brookfield Zoo wedding photographers! Contact Rick at 847-340-1300 or email info@byimagine.com to ask how Photography by Imagine could shoot your dream wedding day at Brookfield Zoo.

Are you looking for a Vernon Hills wedding photographer for a wedding set at the Cuneo Museum in Vernon Hills?

If you are looking for a A-Class wedding in a one-of-a-kind elegant setting, look no further than Cuneo Museum and Gardens in Vernon Hills.  This gorgeous mansion estate was featured in the wedding “My Best Friends Wedding” with Julia Roberts.

Since we were hired as the Vernon Hills wedding photographers for this event.  We wanted to drive there ahead of time to check out the facility in Vernon Hills, Illinois.  Since it’s a unique venue we wanted a plan for how to capture the grandeur or this magnificent property for Dolly and Chris Klocek’s wedding day.

Driving up the private gated entry we marveled as we pulled up to this estate.  This mansion was once owned by the Cuneo family who owned Cuneo Press.  Inside we saw an amazing collection of antiques, paintings, and tapestries – some of which dates back to the 1600’s. It was awe inspiring to see these items up close and realize this was history right in front of us.

Vernon Hills Wedding Photographers Capturing a Picture Perfect Wedding at Cuneo Museum

As wedding photographers, we believe it’s a picture perfect place for an outdoor wedding in Vernon Hills, Illinois.  The landscaping is features breathtaking views with flower gardens and statues. Plan extra time for pictures, there are so many beautiful places to shoot you won’t want to miss at the Cuneo Museum.

In fact, there is a gorgeous arch way that made for a fun “first look” session where Chris saw Dolly for the first time dressed up in her wedding gown.

The food and service was exceptional.  And dining in the Pavilion Tent all lit up with candles was truly romantic.  We highly recommend Cuneo Museum for anyone planning a wedding in the Chicago area.

The Cuneo Museum and Gardens is located at 1350 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Vernon Hills, IL 60061.

If you would like more information on shooting a Vernon Hills wedding, we’d love to be your Vernon Hills wedding photographer of choice.  Call Photography by Imagine at 847-340-1300 or visit our website at www.byimagine.com.

We recently photographed a wedding that Balmes Flower Shop in North Chicago provided the flowers for. The wedding bouquets were gorgeous! The flowers were really fresh and held up the entire day.  From the bridal bouquet in deep shades of red to the bridesmaid bouqets of hand tied white roses, the wedding flowers were incredible with every detail carefully attended to.

Balmes Flower shop is family owned and operated.  We met Sara Jackson, the wedding coordinator there and were very impressed.  She takes a lot of time to get to know you, your tastes, wedding colors, and to determine your needs.  And they have a really nice showroom where you can sit and plan your wedding.  We give Balmes Flowers a FIVE star review!

Brides Bouquet

Bridesmaid White Rose Bouquets

We recently photographed a wedding where they performed The Tasting of the Four Elements ritual. This is a tradition that originated from the Yoruba tribes in West Africa. In this ceremony, the bride and groom taste spices from the four elements representing sour, bitter, hot, and sweet that symbolize different emotions within a relationship. The ritual is a reminder of the promise in marriage to love for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.

Each bridesmaid presented a different spice to the couple. The bride and groom had a glass of water to cleanse their palate after each spice.

The sour taste of lemon represents the sour feelings you may get from the compromises you have to make in a relationship.

The bitter taste of vinegar stands for the bitterness you feel when you experience challenges that are hard to understand in life.

Cayenne represents the hot passion in a marriage.

The sweet taste of honey symbolizes the sweet times in your relationship and the sweet rewards when you cherish your relationship.