Rei C.
“I just wanted to say that your work is INCREDIBLE! We knew we made the right decision when we had that instant connection with you, but seeing the engagement pictures today just shows how talented you are. You captured so many beautiful pictures that it is so hard to pic a few. I am in love with Michael and with your work!!!!"
Mary + JT
"If you don't hire Bethany as your wedding photographer, it's truly your loss. She was referred to us by friends, and I knew as soon as we met her she would be a great fit. My husband and I are not super comfortable in front of the camera, and the thought of engagement photos made us cringe - but we're SO happy we took her up on the engagement shots already included in our package, if for no other reason than to meet her and get comfortable with each other before the big day. Bethany is warm, kind, down to earth, and brings a calming energy to what can be an otherwise chaotic environment -- not to mention, she is *extraordinarily* talented. She captured the magic of our wedding day, and the personalities of those closest to us. Friends and family have raved about how great she was onsite, and the photos themselves are proof enough. She asked thoughtful questions throughout the planning process, came to our final walk-through to meet our vendors and to work out any kinks, and delivered our photos in under a month (!). We love her. You'll love her. Hire her. And we will definitely be calling her for any future photography needs for life's big moments.”
Quinn R.
"Maypole is an absolute Rock Star from Start to Finish. I am so unbelievably happy we hired Bethany and Maypole Studios. She is an absolute rock star in the lead up to the event. Very prompt in responses and she took detailed notes on both what we wanted in photos, how we wanted to spend the time, and landmines to avoid (family drama, awkward pairings, things of that nature). She gave great advice about how to utilize time to best get what we wanted, and all of it paid off. Day of she almost functioned as a coordinator. Bethany is remarkably efficient at getting people into formations, giving adjustments, and managing crowds and groups. She also made sure to check in periodically to make sure we were getting everything we wanted, but was never overbearing. In terms of the actual product, I've never seen better wedding photos. The edits on our photos were stunning, they weren't overdone and they highlighted our best looks, our guests best looks, and captured each and every magical moment. It almost looks effortless (of course, it is not effortless. She is incredibly skilled and hardworking). She captured every moment we wanted, she captured the vibe we wanted, she took every request we made and elevated it. Finally, Bethany was a fantastic resource for my wife and I. We had a venue disaster and had to re-book a venue 6 weeks before the date, and Bethany both in emails and person was extraordinarily helpful, calming, and kind. She is a fantastic photographer, but she's an even better person. I have recommender her to friends, and genuinely hope they hire her so I can have my photos taken by her at other events. She is incredible.”
Chelsea M.
"Bethany is a WONDER! Y'all. Hire this woman! My husband and I had such an incredible experience using Maypole Studios' Bethany Fritz as our wedding photographer. We met through family friends and are SO glad we did. Bethany is absolute marvel - her kind and funny personality made us feel instantly at ease, and she is so game to collaborate on creative choices. We're both artists and wanted a photographer who captures candid moments along with everything we created for our ceremony, and Bethany was the perfect person for the role. She also made our engagement session one of a kind by traveling to House on the Rock with us! I would recommend Bethany to ANYONE looking for photos that are unique, gorgeous, creative, and full of joy - she has been nothing but incredible to work with and we are beyond grateful. At++!”
Kelsey+Mason
“Bethany photographed us for our engagement pictures & on our wedding day & we truly couldn’t have made a better decision! The photos her & her team captured are absolutely beautiful & we will treasure them forever. Our emotions & personalities seem to stand out in every picture! We also couldn’t have asked for a better person to be with us throughout our wedding day- Bethany is so kind and truly loves celebrating love. She made us feel at ease during the engagement session & had fun with us throughout both occasions. We couldn’t recommend Bethany & Maypole Studios more!
Laura+Nicole
"Let me start off by saying that my wife and I had differing opinions on the importance of hiring a photographer for our big day (luckily I won the battle 🙂 ). From the initial meeting, Bethany made us feel comfortable and confident that she was the perfect person to capture our big day. Her charming demeanor and patience helped ease my wife's mind and ultimately made it an extremely positive experience for all involved in our day. With very little direction, she exceeded our expectations and we were both amazed how she fit right in with our guests and we truly felt like she was a natural part of our wedding. Thank you for sharing your art with us, Bethany--you did an exceptional job capturing moments that we will cherish forever!”
Erika N.
"What can I say? My beloved and I hit the freakin' JACKPOT with Bethany. Our little big day was just for us and the photographer was the only one we invited. From before the ceremony to sharing cupcakes with us at our house post-wed, Bethany was a fountain of joy. She got to know our "weird" in a short period of time, captured the moments that brought us such incredible joy --moments we were moving too fast and too giddy to see -- and delivered the most personality-filled, truly US photos of our elopement that we could have ever imagined. We are overjoyed. Oh, and if you're eloping, you can't do better than Bethany's pricing -- not to mention her kindness and flexibility. She knows City Hall better than the folks who work there and ALL the great places for photos in the heat of Chicago. We found Bethany on Yelp and the least we can do is pay it forward to help YOU find Bethany on Yelp for your big day (whether it's just the two of you or 200).”
Kira + Bill
"Bethany-Freaking-Fritz! Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be able to have a person with such caliber and grace like Bethany photograph our wedding! From day one when we met, she made Bill (the hubby) and I feel like a million bucks. Her red pink hair along with her calm demeanor really made us fall in love with her! Bill and I had a tight budget to work with, but B totally took us under her wing and gave us everything we could ever have wanted. On our wedding day, she helped in so many ways. She has a very calming presence and is always smiling and giggling. Her photos are so stunning and the way she captures such teeny tiny moments unseen to the average person is remarkable…. she gets true "Miracle Shots' Thank you B!!!!”
Becky R

"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."

Nat + Jus

"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!"

Maria B.

"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!!!"

Kristy W.

"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."

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