"Engaged? Congrats! Excited? Duh. Overwhelmed? Probs. Do yourself a gigantic favor and book Bethany right NOW. Cross it off your list and high-five your fiancée. You have just made the second best decision of the wedding planning process—the first of course being that you decided to spend the rest of your life together :)

Bethany is all of the things: incredibly professional, insanely talented and unbelievably cool. She knows how to manage a crowd (ahem, family photos), has the inside scoop on all of Chicago's coolest spots, and gives wonderful advice for all things wedding related and more.

She is genuinely in love with love and captures its truest, purest moments. Our engagement and wedding photos are so much more than pretty pictures; they are a time capsule of happiness, laughter and joy that we will treasure forever.
We cannot thank her enough and have been looking for an excuse to simply hang out with her since the very first day we met! She has my absolute highest recommendation."

"The biggest endorsement my wife and I can give for Bethany is to admit that immediately after our engagement photo session with her, we left saying (almost in unison), "how can we become friends with her?"

Bethany's professionalism, warmth and approachability made our engagement photo session such a memorable experience, and we couldn't have been happier with the photos that resulted from it. It didn't take long for us to agree that we would do whatever we could to convince her to shoot our wedding as well.

We had a small, intimate ceremony of about 35 family and friends, and by the end of the weekend Bethany was so much more than a photographer for us, she truly was a critical part of our friends and family (my family even invited her to Thanksgiving, but we aren't holding her to that).

In addition to hundreds of incredible photos, she put together a slideshow set to music that truly blew us away. She so creatively and intimately captured the memories of our wedding weekend, and gave us a gift that we'll cherish for the rest of our lives.

We're so grateful for the work Bethany did during our engagement and wedding, but much more so, we're so thrilled that we're now able to call her a friend. This goes without saying, but we couldn't recommend her more!"

"I need 6 stars, I believe people often only evaluate a photographer based on how well they take photos. However, I believe most good photos are based on the ability of the photographers to connect with and make their subjects comfortable. Bethany is an exceptionally photographer and more importantly a tremendous connector. I absolutely hate photos but Bethany's approach made me and my bride forget we where having photos and actually allow us to enjoy our wedding.

Most importantly she was reliable and did exactly what she said she was going to do when she said she was going to do it. I find this especially rare in the wedding vendor space where people often talk a good game but fail to execute. We could not be more impressed with quality of Bethany' s work; as well as the comfort level that we had with her and her staff—you will be hard pressed to find another wedding photographer that will add as much value to your event, is as creative and whom is generally fun to work with while being highly dependable.

Finally if you look at the amount of favorable feedback Bethany and her team received in a short amount of time it is clear that not only does she provide great service, she provides consistently great service."

"What can you say about a photographer who can do it all.... A LOT! My wife and I love Bethany! Photographs last a lifetime, so selecting the right photographer to capture my special moments was crucial. I did a lot of research on Maypole Studios. Everything that turned up, I liked! I knew Bethany was the one who was going to bring out the best in us and our photos. Bethany was caring, considerate, creative and attentive. She made us feel so comfortable it was like we had known her for years. Our session could not have gone any better. She was reasonably priced and even went out of her comfort zone to shoot by us in Carol Stream, which was awesome! I have to let the world know just how talented and friendly she is! Her work is flawless! She kept our session laid back and silly just as I hoped she would. It was very important that our two kitty fur children be very much involved. She was very patient with them and was able to get some beautiful shots once they warmed up to her. The quality of the pictures were absolutely brilliant, especially her ability to get the colors and lighting to perfection. As I sit here with all the photos in front of me, I am so thankful we chose Bethany to capture those moments. Memories that will last a lifetime! These pictures my wife and I will treasure! Bethany has a great eye and I would highly recommend her to other couples. She's photography at its best!!! We are so grateful for you Bethany and hope to use you again in the future!
Meow Meow from Miss Shay and Princess Zoey"

"Stop researching photographers and hire Bethany NOW! Ok but seriously—you won't find a better one than her! Where do I even begin with trying to describe how amazing she is?

My husband and I met with several photographers throughout the process, but we sure saved the best for last. From the instant we sat down with her in her studio, we felt immediately comfortable with her. She has a way of making you feel like you've known her forever, which really allowed us to act natural around and with her. Having tons of photos taken of you & your significant other can be hard for some people (including my husband!), so hiring a photographer who puts you at ease is a must! Bethany did that and so much more. She took the time to get to know us and made us feel like we were the most important couple in the world. She is also the sweetest person you'll ever meet, which makes it even more enjoyable to have her around all day on your wedding day! She was so patient with my parents and my in-laws, making sure everyone was happy before she left. She also worked so well with our other vendors (some of whom were not easy to work with). It really was a pleasure to have her there all day!
On top of her being a doll to be around, her work is absolutely SPECTACULAR! The ability to capture real moments between couples is a rarity, and she does it all in the most beautifully creative way. Hiring her was by far the best decision we made. Thank you for everything, Bethany! You're amazing!"

"Let me just say—If I could give Bethany and her team at Maypole Studios a thousand stars, I would. I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for wedding photos that are so much more than just photos!!!

The whole experience with Bethany was positive, comfortable, and professional from beginning to end. We had to find a photographer in the Chicago area last minute after our original plans fell through. We are so thankful that she was able to accommodate us! All of our expectations were completely blown away. You will be very hard pressed to find another photography studio that produces such amazing work and provides such a great experience at this price point. Also Bethany's personality is so lovable and down-to-earth - she is so easy to work with. Also, her passion for her art is no secret, and she is completely in love with what she does. Forget about awkward staged-looking photos. You will not get those here. When you get your photos, you will see natural, fun, captivating photos that will truly move you when you look at them. Also, she and her team went above and beyond to work with us and make sure every detail was covered. Bethany also helped us a lot with finding the perfect place for photos between the wedding itself and the reception. We now have photos that are so beautiful, and we will truly cherish them forever.

I mean this is as good as it gets. I do not know what else to say besides this—If you are reading this review, it is time to stop looking!!!"

"If you are on the hunt for absolutely beautiful photos that not only look stunning, but can actually make you FEEL the emotions of your big day, then let me do a favor and tell you to look no further—Maypole Studios is exactly what you are looking for!

I did extensive research in looking for our photographer as I knew this was something that I wanted to be picky about. I had in mind exactly what I was looking for: I wanted to have all the classic photos, but with more of an artistic flair—stunning compositions, and great candid moments. As soon as we found Bethany, we knew right away she was the perfect fit and we could not be happier with the results. She went above and beyond our expectations and created not only stunning wedding photos, but some beautiful pieces of art—which is shocking, considering how clumsy both of us are... She even made us an animated GIF which is incredible!!! We were told by so many people that we had the best wedding photos they had ever seen—hands down. Every time I go through our photos (yes, which is often) I get to really relive the day since the photos are so much more than posed portraits - they offer so much emotion and in-the-moment candidness that I can't help but gush all over again.

But enough about the photos, let's talk about Bethany. On our first meeting, she said something that really stuck with us. She said, "Now, I am not saying you should choose me by saying this but just keep in mind that you spend your entire wedding day with your photographer, so make sure you get along." This is so true! For anyone who has ever stood up in a wedding before, the photographer is usually a total buzzkill who causes a lot of moans and groans and rolled eyes. Bethany and Jamie, on the other hand, were AWESOME! Not only did Bethany help me put my veil on in a moment of distress, she kept us on schedule and kept me calm. They kept the energy lively and were happy to go along with some of our crazy ideas – groomsmen with tuxes and zubaz, harlem shake gif (sans some articles of clothing) – and they just laughed and kept it light and fun. Bethany was such a pleasure that one of my bridesmaids went out and immediately booked her for their upcoming wedding! Enough said right there :) I hope you get to enjoy your photos and working with Maypole Studios as much as we did."

"The first thing I said to my husband when we woke up the morning after our wedding was "Hiring Bethany was without doubt the BEST decision we made in planning our wedding!". You get a lot of advice when planning a wedding, and I think one of the most helpful tips anyone ever gave me was to make sure you like your photographer on more than just a professional level because you spend a LOT of time with her/him on on your wedding day. Bethany was so incredibly personable, patient, fun and calm on our big day...and that in turn kept me calm (or as calm as I could be ;) She is so genuine and easy to work with! On our December wedding, Bethany and her assistant were even generous enough to stay a little later than planned just to make sure we got all the shots we wanted. She did a BEAUTIFUL job with our engagement photos, and we cannot wait to see the wedding photos, which I know will be amazing! I look forward to a continued relationship with Bethany and will be recommending Maypole Studios to EVERYONE!"