Off to Colorado...

You guessed it, I am going climbing. I haven't been away for more than a weekend to go climbing since March so I am pretty excited. But that means that I won't have much access to my phone or email because I will be camping too.

I have left you with lots of pictures to enjoy so I will be skipping my impact post again this week but I will be carbon offsetting this trip and having a green campsite, which I was inspired to do from my friend Amanda Hein. I thought camping was green, but I learned some more things you can do to make it even better! :)

So I will be back on with plenty of pictures! Have a great labor day!

Carrie and David

This was a busy weekend but it ended wonderfully with Carrie and David's wedding. It was a fabulous event at Carnivale. It was simple and elaborate if that makes sense :) There was a real sense of ease and happiness between Carrie and David and I was so happy to be a part of it.

Other shout out's: big thanks to Tony Cabrera for helping out, Phillip's for the beautiful flowers, the staff at Carnivale, and David and Chris from Sounds Abound (who I recognized and couldn't figure out from where, turns out they are fellow climbers at my gym...small world, they were awesome!).

I think this picture really encapsulates the mood of the day, have fun and carefree, Carrie didn't know what to do with all that dress, she just grabbed it all and did her thing...with a diet coke in hand of course! I love this picture of David entering the ceremony, I could barely see him over the crowd :) One extra picture to show off this amazing cake that Carrie and David designed themselves, they are very artistic.

Lauren and Neil

Saturday Lauren and Neil had a traditional Jewish ceremony at Sofitel and it was really beautiful. Lauren and Neil had so much love for each other and it was very obvious and so fun to watch!

I love how just as the candle was going out, all you can see is the Rabbi and Neil's nose :)

Little Max

Last week I headed out to shoot baby Max's first photos. He is a little cutie! Looking forward to watching him grow!

Impact Tip - Local Eco-Fashion and jewelry

Yesterday I visited Pivot, Chicago's first eco-fashion boutique based on a recommendation from fellow photographer Nancy Beale of David Wittig Photography. Pivot is all about providing great fashion using a variety of fabric choices including organic cotton and wools, bamboo, recycled materials, and ethically produced cashmere. Jessa's goal with the boutique is to show people that they don't have to make sacrifices for great fashion. There are many conscious choices and she does a fantastic job of providing a variety of choices from clothes, to purses, to jewelry, to candles!

These purses actually have solar panels in them to charge your phone and other pda's
Dave and Nancy are having their rings designed from one of the local jewelry designers, Kate of Twig Designs, who is featured in the boutique. She is using all recycled materials for her jewelry. I am so excited they have chosen this route for their wedding bands. These rings will be unique and original just like them! This top sweater was made using recycled materials! Every tag on the back states why that article is eco-friendly so you can have all the background on your items :)


Be sure to head over there soon! It's in the west loop off of Fulton Market.

Blue is my favorite color

There are a lot of changes going on around here....

For one: Molly and I have updated our website to feature both of our unique styles and personalities so if you haven't been to the website in awhile, check out our new galleries and artist info page :)

For TWO: My favorite color is blue so it was doubly special when I was asked to participate in a short list of photographers from around the country called the Blue List! This is one impressive group of photographers that just happen to be wonderful people in addition so I am proud to represent my region and promote the idea that hiring a great photographer is more important than just hiring a local photographer.

So spread the word, the place to find the photographer who will capture your day with style and emotion is the Blue List!

Go check this site out NOW!

Galen and Adrian

Galen and Adrian had a beautiful outdoor wedding this weekend in her parent's backyard. They are eco-conscious and made some great choices to reduce their impact on the environment. For example, they had an outdoor ceremony, they used no pesticides in the yard, recycled paper invitations, reception at the Glen Club using free-range chicken and no red meat for dinner, they made a donation to offset the remaining carbon balance for their wedding instead of favors and donated the floral arrangements to a local nursing home. They also gave the florist two rain barrels to use rain water for watering the flowers in preparation for their ceremony. These are just a few examples of their giving spirits and the kind of event in which we are so excited to be a part.

Family Time

It's that time of year again when I head up to WI to spend some time with the family. We go to this old lodge in Wautoma, WI and there is barely a phone signal let alone internet so bear with me the next couple of days while I recoup for a bit and I will be back to help you and entertain you with my randomness and pictures soon! I will be back late on Thursday so there will be no impact tip this week except to say, spend time with the ones you love, the greatest impact you can make is to put a smile on someone else's face...share the love!

In the spirit of that, I wanted to post some pictures of some family time with one of my favorite families, I am sure all the blog followers will recognize them...these were taken in early July when I was in KY on their family farm.

Jackie and Erik

I just got home from Bloomington today where I had the pleasure of working with Jackie and Erik, a really sweet couple!

They had a great band called Front of House, check them out!



Have fun in Hawaii!

Impact Tip - What's your carbon footprint?

I can't believe I haven't posted in a week! Much apologies, such is life of a wedding photographer in the summertime :)

This week I was asked about my carbon footprint. I was of course familiar with this term but admittedly have never take the time to calculate mine. I always knew I was doing my best job to be more eco-friendly when it comes to my home, my health, my car, and my free time but I realize now I wasn't taking into account how much my traveling impacts my carbon footprint.

So without my frequent flights around the country I am below average but with my travel, I rise to average....AVERAGE! A word I really never want associated with me :) So I have decided from now on, I will off set my flights so that I can be completely carbon neutral. I am so glad this came into my life when it did, it is a valuable lesson that we can always do more!

Join me and find out your carbon footprint and if you too find your self average or above, find ways to reduce your impact and offset what you do use and become carbon neutral. These websites will help you calculate your carbon footprint and suggest ways to help!

http://www.terrapass.com/ (in the left hand margin)

And special note to future brides, this site also has a wedding calculator!
http://www.terrapass.com/wedding/

http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/ I think this one is the most comprehensive and accurate.

http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/


Check back on Sunday for an update to this post :)