Metropolitan Imageworks

And world, meet Ella Rei! It’s very heartwarming to work with wedding clients on the most exciting day of their lives (up to that point) and then just a few years later, be invited to photograph the even more exciting happening in their lives – a newborn baby!  I had a blast working with Lee and Marianne on their wedding day in 2007 and was honored to be asked to photograph their new daughter at just a couple weeks old.  Ella Rei performed smashingly for the camera and allowed quite a few costume changes as well as going along with mom and dad dressing her up in some whimsical knits. We also lucked out as although it was a typical grey January day in Chicago, the natural light in their home was just perfect for the portrait session.

Tessa and Colton were mostly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed during their very first professional portrait session with me last week! We only had to stop for two feedings, one diaper change and of course lots of snuggles with mom and dad. Both Tessa and Colton like to hold hands and play footsie, which made for some really cute images.  Newborn twins can definitely present a challenge during the portrait session but these two super stars were fantastic to pose and play with! The entire session was photographed with natural light.

Please leave comments on the blog! I’m sure Tessa & Colton’s mom and dad would love to read them to the babies!

2009 marked another fantastic year for the team at Metropolitan Imageworks and I wanted to celebrate. We’re having a contest for the Best Image of 2009 and it will be decided by a public vote!  I asked all of our wedding clients to share their favorite image from their wedding and tell me why. The consensus was that it was very hard to decide and pick just one, that’s the best response I could hope for. Fortunately, each participating couple was finally able to narrow it down.

Everyone’s invited to vote!  You can simply place your vote by leaving your name & email address and a comment at the end of the post below (one per person please). We will be verifying email addresses and IP addresses.  The image with the most votes will be made into a 16×20 canvas wrap and given to the winning couple.  Voting will be open from now until March 1st.

(Hint: Click on the image to enlarge if you need a bigger view.)

Ready? Set? Vote!

#1 – Niki & Peter – 04.25.09 – This one is my favorite because it captures the time of month that we got married, late April where the leaves still have not started coming back on the trees. Also, I like the moment it captures of just Peter and I with nature and no one else.

#2 – Eileen & James – 08.08.09 – It was 95+ degrees on the day of my wedding, and my father had been joking that he was going to wear shorts.  I kept saying that it was fine by me, but my mother told him he had to wear a full suit.  When he went to get ready at the hotel he realized that the dry cleaner had not included his pants with his suit jacket!  He would be forced to wear his shorts! I loved the AC/DC feel of the look, and his pants did show up in time for the ceremony, but heck, the man is 70 years old.  If he wants to wear his shorts he can. Since I was wearing a less traditional short dress, I loved that my father had his less traditional sport coat and shorts combo. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.  So while I adore all the pictures of my wonderful husband and me…  that’s the one that stands out.

#3 – Katie & Tom – 06.27.09 – I love it because it really shows everyone’s personality, and the spirit of the day, which was joyous and excited and ready to party!!

#4 – Natalie & Anthony – 11.07.09 – To me, this image shows a fun, happy, casual couple who are saying to the camera “we can take on the world together”.  This pose is not a standard pose and I love it for that.

#5 – Nora & Russell – 08.01.09 – Something about being in nature and the wind blowing that day, remember?  The black and white gives it an old feel and the church in the background looks great. We are not the only focus in the picture, its like nature and us are one.

#6 – Emily & Michael – 09.12.09 – This was taken right as the ceremony ended, and we turned to walk back down the aisle.  The two of us are so intimate and seemingly unaware of anyone else in the room.

#7 – Michelle & Don 02.15.09 – I like a couple of the cake pics due to the comedy factor. I think this time I’ll choose the one where I’m holding my nose as Don gets ready to feed me the cake. It’s my favorite because you can almost hear everyone laughing as I anticipate the worst. I just knew he was going to be coaxed into shoving it up my nose and I didn’t want to walk around the rest of the night with icing in my nose, and everyone thinking it was “something else”! The next pic almost goes with it because then it ended up down my dress!

#8 – Kristi & Jake – 12.12.09 – The picture captures all of the emotions from our special day. It was magical, romantic, and absolutely perfect to us. We truly felt like we were part of a fairytale, and this photo shows just that.

#9 – Jenny & Christian – 06.26.09 – This is our favorite picture because after all the planning from the flowers to the invitations to the photographer (yay Rachael!), this is what it is all really about: both of us saying our vows in front of our family and friends.

#10 – Kate & Josh – 03.21.09 – It was taken in Daley Plaza in front of the Picasso as were dancing, enjoying ourselves (and the unseasonably warm weather for March). The one word to describe this photo is “whimsical”.  Having such a beautiful photo in front of the Picasso, a Chicago icon, is icing on the (wedding) cake.

#11 – Linda & Roger – 05.24.09 – The reason we love this photo is because it captures the whole day for us and every time we see it, it brings us right back.  The light wind picking up my veil, the sunshine, having Mango there and our happiness as we look forward to walking down the aisle.

#12 – Erin & John – 10.11.09 – Our favorite wedding picture is the black and white picture where John and I are kissing on the railroad tracks at the train station. We are walking and our backs are toward the camera.  We love this picture because it has the gorgeous clock tower in the background.  It also is like we are starting out a wonderful journey together.

#13 – Dusty & D.J. – 07.11.09 – This image is my favorite because it is a piece of artwork. The colors, composition and feeling of the image are absolutely beautiful. It also portrays the tone of the day so well; complete joy!

#14 – Christina & Jon – 07.25.09 – We loved how this picture captured the action and emotion of the moment… The looks on out faces are priceless!

#15 – Rebecca & Ryan – 09.19.09 – We love this picture because there is something intimate about it, even with neither of us looking at each other or the camera.  We also like the design of the architecture behind us.  The composition is perfect and the color is soft.

#16 – Lisa & Todd – 07.04.09 – Among so many of our amazing photos, this one became one of our personal favorites.  It caught a quiet moment between the two of us that captured everything we are:  happy, joyous, casual, silly, giggly and absolutely in love.  The softness of the photo also portrays so well of who we are and the beautiful setting of our day.

#17 – Mandy & Anton – 05.09.09 – There were many favorites to pick from, but I love this one because it captures the water-front yet laid-back setting and our complete joy at our wedding!

#18 – Nikki & Scott – 07.12.09 – We really liked this black and white picture because it not only included the whole bridal party, but it captured everyone’s excitement on our special day!

#19 – Lauren & Jeffrey – 08.01.09 – It captures the pure bliss I was feeling on the most wonderful day of my life – so far!

#20 – Nicole & Don – 06.05.09 – Seeing that Don was up to his usual shenanigans, Nicole selected the perfect “Teacher Look” to let him know that Rachael wanted us to pose BY the Kangaroo, not IN the kangaroo.

#21 – Ashlea & Cody – 06.20.09 – This is my favorite picture because I think that it shows off walking off into our new lives together and the lighting and my dress look amazing!

Thanks for participating!

Rachael & the Metimages Team – Victor, Elizabeth, Kira & Ariel

Getting three siblings under the age of five to smile in the same general direction AND  at the same time is no easy feat!

Take 1

Take 39

Take 562

So I changed tactics and GOT IT!

Their littlest sister calmly waited for her turn to join the group.

Everyone performed perfectly for their individual shots!

Skylar

Billy

Zoe

Meghan

(Since they say the youngest doesn’t get as many pictures as the older kids . . . )

Thanks for bringing them all over!

What a handsome little man! It’s amazing to me how babies can change in such a short amount of time. Last time I photographed Jacob he was a newborn and now three months later he is engaging and smiley and serious and has such personality. He even stayed away the entire session. For those who are curious, there is nothing faux about his hawk, it’s all natural (with a little bit of bedhead mixed in!)

I can’t wait to see what his six month session brings!

Last weekend I had my third portrait session with Annie , who just turned one. As always she was a delight to photograph albeit just a bit more mobile this time around. She sure loves posing for the camera! So does her dog, Beacon!

Things have a funny way of working out, and the way things worked out for Erin and John allowed me to be a part of their special day and capture the imagery.  I wouldn’t have had it any other way.  October 11th was a significant day as not only was it Erin and John’s wedding day but it was also Erin’s parents 28th wedding anniversary! (This should hopefully make it very easy for everyone aka the guys to remember.)

Erin and John met at a high school football game and their love blossomed through high school and the college years and also as they settled into a new home and new jobs in Minnesota.  The high school sweathearts had their ceremony in the church Erin attended growing up and also where she was baptized as a baby. They each processed down the aisle with their lit baptismal candle. Talk about special meaning.

Although fall in Chicago can be hit or miss, Erin and John lucked out and had moderate temps and a stop for outdoor pictures at the local train station after the ceremony.

In my line of work, I see lots and lots of brides (and I like to admit that at Metimages we only photograph stunning brides) but there was something extra with Erin – she has this ear to ear grin that truly does envelope those around her and light up a room! Once she got out to the dance floor (way to coax your wife, John) the party really started.

I also wanted to take a moment and remind Erin and John how much fun I had with their wedding party and I would like to personally call dibs on the next weddings!
Ceremony:  Annunciata, Chicago, IL

Reception:  Georgio’s, Orland Park, IL

View full gallery.

Introducing Gemma, and yes she IS as sweet as she looks. Last fall I had the privilege of photographing Gemma’s mom’s maternity session.  This time, it was all about Gemma and I was so excited to finally meet her. I didn’t have to wait that long as Gemma arrived 2 weeks early and that will say a lot about her personality.

And as if you couldn’t tell from the photos, mom and dad are in love.

See you in three months!

I had an amazing year photographing Ezra & Zora at each milestone from birth to their first birthday and I am very excited to continue more sessions with them over the next year as well!

Here’s a reminder of how tiny they were as newborns. And how well they posed together.

And now here they are as grown up one year olds!

They even posed (in their own way) with the grandmas!

See you this summer!

Sometimes you have a dress bride. Sometimes you have a hair bride. Sometimes you have a shoe bride (see previous post). And few and far between you sometimes get a food bride.  If I had to sum up the food at the reception it would be – flowing, flavorful and oh my goodness – there’s more?!  Food is one detail that Courtney emphasized at her wedding reception and not one guest (or vendor) was unimpressed. From the passed hors d’oeuvres to the cocktail room with the gourmet seafood hors d’oeuvres stations to the main reception room with the fresh sliced proscuitto, breads, spreads and veggies to the three meal choices which included bone-in fillet as an option to a delicious wedding cake served for dessert and ending with the fabulous spread of sweets, fruit and delectables at the chocolate fountain.

I was surprised and stuffed after dinner and made a comment to the bride and she simply smiled and mentioned that she didn’t want anyone to be hungry.  Not a chance of that at all!

Earlier in the day Courtney and Miguel had a beautifully sweet ceremony at Old Saint Pat’s and their son Ezra stole the show as he was wheeled down the aisle in a wagon for the processional. After the ceremony the wedding party and I attempted a quick stop at Olive Park but our plans were foiled by precipitation so we headed over to Union Station instead and beat the mad rush of wedding parties. I think there were two other wedding parties in the Great Hall when we arrived and no less than 10 with two more trolleys pulling up as we made our exit.

Courtney and Miguel’s wedding day was a long time coming for me, as we originally met and finalized the contract in the fall of 2007!

Ceremony: Old Saint Pat’s, Chicago, IL

Reception: Venuti’s, Addison, IL