You might remember Liz and Mark from their engagement session earlier this summer where we traipsed all over New Buffalo, Michigan and shared a fun day out while shooting engagement portraits at all the local hot spots.

This past weekend welcomed their wedding day with the most glorious weather – high 80′s in October! Plus all the lovely fall foliage and a super-size and whole lot of fun wedding party with 25 friends and family members. Honestly it was perfect!

Liz and Mark chose to see each other prior to the ceremony in an intimate setting near Marmo Lake at Morton Arboretum, with just the two of them (and Metimages paparazzi.) We then spent some time exploring the grounds by car with just Liz and Mark and later by tram with their attendants and immediate families. I like it when the party starts early!

Mark’s mom is a pastor an conducted an extremely heartfelt ceremony – complete with dancing shoulders and a lovely wrought iron coat rack. It was amazing to witness the closeness of each of their families and share in such a meaningful presentation. The celebration continued with cocktails, slide shows, emotional and hysterical toasts and a jam-packed dance floor.

Lizard & Bruiser, thanks for letting us share in your day! Here’s just a sampling of some of my favorite images:

Ceremony & Reception: Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL

Maddie and Lanie stopped by Tuesday morning for Lanie’s One-Year photoshoot. Maddie hammed it up  right away. She has grown into such a beautiful little girl from the newborn I had first photographed at just a few weeks old in 2007. Little sis’ Lanie was a bit shy at first but warmed up and shared big smiles as soon as I brought out a chair for her to sit on and stand near. Then Mom brought out a birthday cake and Lanie went to town nibbling on the frosting and some of the yellow cake. Maddie helped too.

Natalie and Joe came out to the Metimages Studio in May for Natalie’s Maternity Portrait Session and we had a blast!  Together we chose outfits, made Natalie get up and sit down and get up again (Joe helped a bit), played with different backdrops and backgrounds and overall spent a wonderful afternoon capturing an amazing time in their lives. Can’t wait to meet the little guy soon!

I’ve been photographing Alex since he was a little peanut and now he is over three years old and such a chatty and friendly and inquisitive little boy. This time he brought along his new cousin Jack and demonstrated how to be a gentleman in front of my camera.

Tori joined us again during the Metimages Studio Anniversary week!  I’m positive she remembered me from last year’s portrait session but she still teased me with her seriousness for a long time. I was able to squeak a few smiles out of her though, I am proud because it was no easy feat!

Adam is a frequent subject for me and this was his very first session all by himself (he left his big brother AJ at home this time.)  It took Adam a few minutes to warm up and realize he had my full, undivided attention!

Last Sunday kicked off the Metropolitan Imageworks Studio One-Year Anniversary!  I had clients in and out all week and will be posting some of the teasers over the next week too!

Noah brought his little brother, Daniel out for a go and showed him the ropes of how to pose for me. Mom and dad joined in for a few pictures as well.

Amanda and Dan, one of my 2007 wedding couples, scheduled some time with me last week for their maternity session.  They’re expecting the arrival of their daughter anytime between now and the next two weeks although Dan has begged and pleaded for his little girl to hang in there until after this weekend as there is a very important beer festival on his calendar.  Here’s to sending some more stay put vibes and dust!  Can’t wait to meet her!

Amanda also treated Dan to a birthday tutoring session with me and we scheduled that earlier this week.  I challenged him and quizzed him and went over some hands on shooting techniques and spent some additional time giving him tips and ideas for all the great photo moments with his new daughter. I’m personally very excited to see those results!

Here’s another example of a cute little guy I had the pleasure of photographing a couple years ago, and this time he brought along his adorable little sister!  Tommy is now three years old and Maeve is almost one year.  They were a hoot and half scooting around the studio and smiling and hamming it up for me. Days like this solidfy why I LOVE my job!

Karly, her husband and their daughter traveled a decent distance (an hour and a half) to visit my studio in Naperville for a maternity portrait session. I am so excited to be a part of this very special time in their lives. It was so much fun going through the outfit prep, chatting about picture ideas and of course doing the actual shoot with all of them.  Karly had the perfect baby bump and she is only 30 weeks along. Her husband, Pierre, was very good about humoring us and his own outfit changes and taking direction.  Their  18-month old daughter, Mikayla, was a bundle of energy and had as much fun posing for photos as playing with my dog and my shoes!

Thanks again for making the trip all the way to the Metimages studio. Can’t wait to see you all again when Taylor arrives!