Alex & Katie | Elgin Wedding at The Haight | Elgin Wedding Photographer

weddings

Alex and Katie’s wedding at The Haight in Elgin, IL was full of loving friends and family, delicious cake and beautiful details. I had been looking forward to this wedding since I met Katie at our TuesdaysTogether group in early 2017. At one of those meetings, she mentioned that she was recently engaged and looking for a wedding photographer and asked me to send her some information. I was thrilled when she and Alex booked me for their May wedding.

I photographed Alex and Katie’s engagement session last fall in Tinley Park. That’s where I first met Alex, and found out how funny he is. As we were photographing at the train station, I cautiously stepped onto the tracks just for a split second to take a shot. Alex jokingly said to be careful because they still needed me for their wedding day. We had a great time getting to know each other and we got some of my favorite engagement photos that day.

Alex & Katie’s wedding day was just perfect. The weather could not have been better, which always makes for a more relaxing and enjoyable photo time. When I arrived at Katie’s childhood home for getting ready photos, I was warmly greeted by her sister, her mom and a few of the bridesmaids. Hair and makeup were running early (when does THAT happen) and a few of the bridesmaids had already departed for the venue. We took a few pictures at the house and I did some detail shots before we all headed to The Haight.

Katie had her wedding dress and details ready for me when I arrived at the house. Her grandmother’s ring and a small heart patch of denim from her dad’s jeans sewn into her gown were just a couple of the details that held so much meaning. When I see things like this on a wedding day and get to photograph them, I am reminded just how important my job is and how these photos are so special.

Alex and Katie chose not to see each other before the ceremony, so we spent the time at The Haight before the ceremony doing photos of Katie and her girls, and then Alex and the guys. This couple has the best group of family and friends! Everyone was so sweet and fun, and clearly happy for them to be getting married. When several of the wedding party and couple’s family go out of their way to tell you thank you on the wedding day, you know you have met a special group of people.

Watching Alex see Katie for the first time on their wedding day brought tears to my eyes. I always expect for this to be an emotional part of the day, but it still hits me when I turn to see the groom eyes wet with tears. Katie was beaming as she walked down the aisle to meet her soon-to-be husband. I think the reason women are so beautiful on their wedding day has much less to do with the dress, makeup, hair and much more to do with the fact that they are so in love and ready to marry the man at the end of the aisle.

After the ceremony, we headed outside to do some family pictures. I love when families want to do a fun, silly photo and Katie’s family was one of those. After family photos, we had some fun with the wedding party before going into photos of just Alex and Katie. The area in Elgin around The Haight was perfect for photos.

Back inside for the reception, guests were greeted at their tables by a cake and a cake map on every table. Katie owns Two Whisks Bakery in Manteno, so everyone was probably just as curious as I was to see what she would do with the cake. The guests LOVED checking out the cake map to find their favorite flavor and heading to that table to steal a piece of cake. What a fun idea!

The rest of the reception was filled with sentimental and playful speeches, heart-warming first dances and then a ton of fun, energetic dancing.

Alex and Katie, thank you so much for allowing me the honor of capturing your special day! I wish you all the best in your marriage and life. I hope your wedding day was all you hoped for and that these photos help you remember all of the emotion of the day.

Vendor Team:

Photography: Karen Shoufler Photography

Venue: The Haight

Videographer: Our Wedding Movie

Florist: Town & Country Gardens

Cake: Two Whisks Bakery

DJ: Music by Design

Hair & Makeup: Brio Beauty Bar

Decor/Coordination: Rural 27

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