Tim Tab's Blog

Nate and Cara are a Chicago couple who chose a destination wedding in Napa Valley. Cara’s keen eye for excellence in design and love for florals is displayed throughout their wedding decor. Eighty-some guests traveled from Chicago to California to bask in sunlight, drink good wine, dance to incredible music, and celebrate two best friends unite their lives in marriage.

This wedding was awe-inspiring in so many ways, and we were truly honored to capture it.

Cara’s bridesmaids were awesome. Here they are practicing where to hold their bouquets to avoid the microphone effect during the ceremony.

Cara’s sisters were so happy for her and helpful throughout the wedding day.  Their special relationship was evident during many different moments, especially this one.

Remember Mike and Lindsay? They recently got married at the Art Institute of Chicago. We love seeing our previous clients at weddings!

Cara’s father delivered a poignant, deeply meaningful, and humorous speech affirming Cara and Nate’s new marriage.

The sisters of the bride share a laugh during their hilarious maid of honor speech.

Venue: Calistoga Ranch
Reception Band: Keith Johnson All-Stars
Florist: Valley Flora
Hair/Makeup team: It’s A Date
Ceremony strings duo: Joyce Lee
Wedding gown: Vera Wang
Wedding shoes: Jimmy Choo
Bridesmaid dresses: J. Crew
Groomsmen’s suits: J. Crew

Last spring I had the opportunity to take pictures for our friends Chrissy and Seth and their awesome little guy Lucas. We shot around their neighborhood for a bit and then we went to a nearby forest preserve to get some shots of just Chrissy for her photography website. 

These two are college sweethearts and still so in love; this much was evident during their beautiful wedding day.

They got ready with their best friends and closest family at the Wit Hotel before heading to the Art Institute of Chicago for their ceremony. This incredible venue allowed for uncrowded bridal portraits on the bridge to Millenium Park with the Chicago skyline in the background, a true rarity and gem for us. They then had their cocktail hour in the McKinlock Court and their reception in the historic reconstructed Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room. The bridesmaids donned Michigan Blue gowns and the groomsmen were given University of Michigan emblem cuff links in honor of the couple’s Alma Mater. They even had the Michigan fight song played at their reception, which generated a fantastic energy and enthusiasm from all their college friends.

It was an amazing day with wonderful people spent in spaces that are so very poignant to Chicago. Here’s the story of Mike and Lindsay’s wedding day:

We’d like to acknowledged some of the talented vendors who helped make this wedding possible:

Imagine Events  - Wedding Coordination
White Lake Quartet - Strings Quartet
Style Matters DJ’s
Angela Makeup Chicago – Hair & Makeup team
Badgley Mischka from Ultimate Bride – Lindsay’s wedding dress

Jon and Sam are a couple of best friends who grew up down the street from each other, back when Sam was a tomboy.

As it often happens, friends turn into lovers and they got married this November. But before they got married, I got to meet them on the Shore of Lake Michigan in Evanston and get to know them a bit better. These two are so fun: they love to laugh, they love their family, and they love each other.  So much.

Sam should teach smiling lessons.

And, because I can’t resist, here’s just a little teaser of their wedding. Night photography makes our world go ’round.

A little plug for engagement shoots: we are now offering them complementary with every wedding package because we think they are really important. The engagement shoot is the perfect time for us to get to know all your best angles and for you to get comfortable with us taking your picture. It makes a huge difference when the wedding day rolls around. Take advantage!

Shooting this wedding felt like going to see family for Bethany and I. Megan is one of four siblings in her family, and I’ve had the honor of photographing three of their weddings.  They treated us like honored guests, and we were really blessed by that.

Now, about Carlos and Megan; they are a couple of winners. This wedding is a true example of the kind of happiness and celebration that bursts forth effortlessly from a couple who loves each other selflessly and cannot wait to be married.  Megan approached her DIY wedding with all hope, optimism, and joy to start her life with Carlos. One thing Bethany really appreciated was how Megan let her loved ones help her and celebrate her. The cook, officiant, hairstylist, florist, DJ, decorator, and owner of the Ruby Ranch wedding venue were all friends of the family who gave their best talents to make the wedding beautiful. I, for one, appreciated the delicious home-made wedding cake and Intelligentsia coffee :)

This day was marked by an outpouring of love and joy. I hope you see it in the pictures.

Like many military couples, U.S. Army Specialist Joshua and his lovely wife Meagan had to organize their official wedding day around Josh’s Army responsibilities and celebrate with their friends later. Josh and Meagan had their second marriage ceremony at the Mill Creek Golf Club in Geneva, Illinois last April.  This time with all the sentiment, tradition and decoration most couples hope for.  After all was said and done and the cake was eaten, we went to a nearby open field and took their portraits.

This wedding helped me explore my own limitations because I finally had to face one of my biggest fears as a wedding photographer: being sick on a wedding day. A high fever had me really low on energy and discouraged but thanks to multiple shots of DayQuil I was able to capture some really great photographs from their beautiful day.  And now I don’t lose sleep over getting sick on wedding days. Enjoy!

A few days before I flew down to Florida to marry the love of my life, I traveled over to Big Fork, Montana to stand as a groomsmen for one of my best childhood friends: Peter. You might recognize Peter and Carly from their Engagement shoot in Evanston.

Since I was tied up doing my groomsmanly duty during the ceremony (don’t worry, another talented gal captured the vows), I got to hone in on some other special moments surrounding this wedding. Carly got ready in her childhood bedroom and she and Peter had their first look at her house. Then they made a very important trip to visit Carly’s grandfather, who was gravely ill and could not attend the wedding.

After a stunning lakeside ceremony in Wayfarer’s State Park, Carly took us around to all her favorite spots for some photo shootings.

And then we partied.

Josh and Susie created a beautifully warm wedding on a cold, rainy day in Chicago. Here’s the story.