Chicago Wedding Photography | Maypole Studios Photography Blog

{Tonya + Nik: Married at 63rd Street Beach House}

06.07.18

When living in a big city you tend to seek out a comfortable place, your “home away from home.” My husband and I had the pleasure of meeting Tonya years ago at the very quaint Websters Wine Bar, followed by our favorite Bluebird in Bucktown. When she (and Jamie and Johnny) opened up Rootstock in Humboldt it was the perfect fit, a cozy room with delicious food (until 1am!) and an awesome wine list. The kind of place where it takes a good 10-20 minutes to find your way to a table after saying hi and exchanging hugs with all the familiar faces. We have known Tonya long enough to see her general positive attitude and spring in her step shift to practically floating on air and wearing a smile that won’t quit. And that change happened when she fell in love with Nik…

Fast forward to an unseasonably cold day in June, their nearest and dearest wrapped in blankets but beyond happy to witness the union of these two lovebirds. It was a celebration that will always be remembered, the party continued well after the last drop of Txakoli in the Porrons scattered around the tables. We chased the sun until it set for good beyond the ivy covered walls, we dined family style at beautiful long tables, and then the wine-fueled dancing kept us warm as DJ Tess spun the tunes. There was so much joy shared by everyone that day, truly an amazing start to a lifelong celebration!

Photographers: Bethany Fritz and Madison Vlasic

Getting ready location: The Publishing House Bed and Breakfast

Ceremony+Reception location: 63rd Street Beach House, 6301 S. Lakeshore Dr

Hair / makeup: Jennifer Beyers

Florist: Field and Florist

Wedding Officiant: Marianne Fink

Event planner: Desiree Fuzak

Caterer: Katie Wyer

Dress: Vera Wang

Accessories: Wedding bands by Steve Quick Jewelers

DJ/Band: DJ Tess

First dance song: “This Magic Moment” by Lou Reed

What was the most memorable moment of your day?

The Wind! Just kidding, my most memorable moment I believe was Nik putting his jacket on me during the ceremony.

What was your favorite detail?

Favorite detail was everyone beaming with joy and drinking and dancing all night!

Funniest memory from your wedding day?

When my maid of honor told me that the entire reception plans have changed due to hurricane strength winds and that everything was going to be fine.

Any advice for future brides/grooms?

Be happy no matter what happens on your wedding day! Take things that would normally make you crazy or impatient and turn it into unstoppable love and strength in your relationship.

If you could do it all over, would you change anything?

No. Absolutely nothing…except for leaving my favorite aviators in the limo. I miss them dearly.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?

Paris and Sicily

A little history…

How did you meet? (How long have you known each other?)

We went to high school briefly together. He says I bullied him, but it’s just a weird fantasy he has I guess. We later knew each other through a mutual friend and ended up falling in love when Nik moved to Chicago several years ago. When he arrived to the city we were both going through break ups, but we quickly found much “comfort” in each others arms. It didn’t take long for us to fall in love and realize that we want to be together for the rest of our lives. Best friends, lovers and partners in this crazy beautiful life!

When did you know he/she was “the one”?

I knew Nik was the one when we moved in together and for months consistently he put me first, always considerate of my feelings, ready to do dishes before me, an overall perfect man to be with, day and night…especially night.

Describe the proposal.

We made a picnic basket with sardines, cheese and wine and rode to Lake Michigan to watch boats and get some sun. It was the day after Labor Day and the weather was perfect. He was sitting next to me on a blanket, I had just taken a big bite of sardine on cracker, when I looked to my left he had the ring box open with the most beautiful diamond ring sparkling in the sun. He looks me in the eye while I chew the sardines one more time and swallow them as is, he says “Tonya will you marry me?” My eyes fill up so quickly with tears of joy and complete surprise, an immediate YES, oh my god YES fell from my lips. It was perfect in everyway, he was so nervous and precious I will never forget that moment.

{Mother’s Day Minis}

04.29.18

We know it’s hard to believe that Mother’s day is just around the corner, let’s hear it for all of our beautiful mommas! A homemade breakfast-in-bed and those hand-written cards are pretty special, how about adding some wonderful timeless photos of the family? We’d love to create beautiful portraits for the woman that holds it all together, all generations welcome and all families of any size (even fur babies!).

Only $195

Limited Space May 5, 6, 12, 19, 20

What it includes:

*35-45 minutes of portrait goodness

*A variety of backdrops and fun photo locations (outside if the weather permits, in studio if it rains)

*Amazing photos (oozing with love and awesomeness) are ready to share with you within 1-2 weeks of your appointment

*10 Digital Downloads (all High Res, choose your favorites. Can’t decide? We also offer the full set of digital files for an additional fee)

*All images are fully edited and delivered to you digitally online

*Online photo proofs for 6 months

*Other products and gifts also available

*Pets are welcome

*This special is open to ALL families, and all ages. Love is love, come on and sign up below.

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Meet your photographer Madison!

She is the latest addition to the Maypole Studios team, an awesome all-around gal with mad photo skills. Plus she has a two year old son and a new puppy and she LOVES photographing families! She can’t wait to create some wonderful holiday memories with you

Ready to sign up??

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{Ashley: Gorgeous Momma-to-be}

03.14.18

Not every expectant momma out there feels like a million bucks during their pregnancy, especially as they approach the third trimester. But it’s a chapter in life well worth documenting, and sometimes a portrait session can be just the ticket to remind you how beautiful you truly are. I mean, shouldn’t every pregnant woman feel like a goddess?? There’s a little person springing to life inside of you… that’s pretty freakin cool! So even if your back hurts and your ankles are crazy swollen (and you hate those TV shows with women gracefully stroking their bellies with far away looks of total happiness- because, who does that?), indulging in a maternity photo shoot can still be pretty fun (I promise!).

Ashley was cute as a button (IMHO), and I absolutely love that she wanted embellish her photos with some fun fashion and even a little sass. A little black dress with that cute belly bump, PLUS an adorable flower crown AND a super rad leather jacket??? BOOM! Totally awesome. We had planned for some photos inside the Lincoln Park Conservatory because Spring was still on it’s way, most of the outdoor areas were bare and brown. But Mother Nature surprised us with the perfect patch of blue flowers across the road, and knowing that Ashley was expecting a baby boy we were thrilled. They might be some of my all-time favorite portraits! We even let Jason star in a few photos (he does have great hair, after all). Congrats to these two, your new chapter as parents is going to be amazing.

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{Elysa+Alex: Winter Love!}

03.03.18

What do a slice of pizza and Jafar have in common? Nothing, unless these things happen to be a part of your Halloween costume AND the person that notices your genius turns out to be the person you’re going to marry!
“Alex and I met at a Halloween party that I hosted. Alex was invited because he worked with my roommate at the time, and soon-to-be bridesmaid, Mallory. The party was a mash-up party, so people’s costumes had to be a mashup. I was dressed as pizza ratatouille and Alex was a rasta-jafar-ian.”
We had a pretty good amount of snow this winter in Chicago, planning portrait sessions on Mother Nature’s schedule was a bit tricky. When our scheduled date for engagement photos included a fresh couple inches of snow we decided to embrace it. And I am so glad we did! Elysa and Alex ignored their frozen limbs for some adorable photos in the snow with their dog Albie, but we warmed up plenty at the Garfield Park Conservatory afterwards. Not only is this a fabulous location all year round, but it’s also where they got engaged (which means it’s extra special). Heads up to my photog friends… walking into a conservatory after taking photos in freezing snowy temps outdoors requires patience! (It took a good 25 minutes for my lenses to stop fogging over!)
After we got our fill of wonderfully warm, jungle-like backdrops, we made our way to the new and ultra-swanky Bellemore for a much deserved cocktail. Oh, and some pretty awesome final photos too!
Elysa: “I knew Alex was the man I was going to marry the day I told my mom about him. Alex was considering moving to California for a job, which I knew but he didn’t know I knew, and when I told my mom that I was dating Alex but that he might move, I burst into tears, which is not an abnormal reaction for me, but it is when the relationship is about two weeks old.”
Alex: “I knew Elysa was the love of my life when we had been seeing each other for a few weeks and major decisions in my life regarding my career and place of residence were no longer difficult decisions. If a decision would mean we could spend more time together, that was the right decision.”

Isn’t she gorgeous??!

From Elysa and Alex: “Our favorite part of engagement session was playing in the snow and having you as our photographer. You made us feel comfortable and, most importantly, attractive!”

Location choices: “We chose Skinner Park for the first part of the engagement photos because it is right across from our apartment, it had a beautiful layer of fresh snow, and we could bring our dog, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (aka Albie).

We chose Garfield Park Conservatory because that is where Alex proposed. It is also one of my absolute favorite spots in the city. It is absolutely gorgeous.

We chose the rooftop of The Madison at Racine because the view of the city is stunning. Chicago is the absolute best city in the world! Also, my best friend and soon-to-be bridesmaid Marilyn lives there, so it was easily accessible.

We chose Bellemore because the interior is SO pretty and we wanted a place to get a bit classed up.”

Thanks Elysa and Alex for being so awesome, I can’t wait to celebrate with you next year at Salvage One!

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{Allie+John: Riding into the sunset}

02.14.18

In this line of work I try not to play favorites, I really do love ALL of my couples! And I thoroughly enjoy making each and every engagement session unique and fun. But this one….. well, c’mon!!! A gorgeous couple, an adorable frenchie named Mabel, in-home cocktails, a vintage yellow scooter, throwing back some “champs” in the west loop, and so much more. What’s NOT to love??!!!

Allie and John are up for anything, and as we made our list of ideas for their engagement session we just kept going… so many places and things to do! I can hardly believe how much we squeezed into this photo session, we didn’t take ourselves too seriously and the results are just plain F.U.N. I’ll be sharing their wedding photos very soon, but for now here’s some engagement photo awesomeness:

This one if they ever have their own sitcom, haha!

Rebels.

Drink up!

A well-deserved cocktail at Beatnik to finish things off. Love this spot!

Congrats again Allie and John, it doesn’t get much better than this!