Remember Lauren & Stephen’s beautiful Chicago Engagement photos from last year?  Well, they’ve tied the knot!  They had a modern wedding in the city.  We started in their penthouse on the 60th floor!  What an amazing view of the city from their home.

I really loved how the getting ready was all done in their home, including the first look.  Just makes everything even more meaningful and personal.  See their first look below and you’ll know what I mean… after the cute ring bearer allowed for it.

I absolutely LOVED her Vera Wang dress!  It’s perfect on her!

Lauren went to Northwestern, so it was perfect that they chose the Alice Millar Chapel on campus to exchange vows.  We were lucky enough to take some shots around before guests arrived.

Check out the beautiful stained glass windows!

And then we headed to Millenium Park for some fun at The Bean before heading into their reception at The Art Institute of Chicago.

Chicago’s skyline:

I just love the modern space & furniture here:

How cool are those chairs?

And I love that colorful swirly wall/floor.

You can see the rest of their wedding on Junebug Weddings blog and in their real weddings.

Fun fact:  I brought Cameron with me on this trip.  One of my Chicago couple’s from last year babysat while I shot this wedding!  Big shout out to Eileen & Roland!  Cameron misses you two!  I love my couples.  <3

Photography: Caroline Tran Photography
Ceremony Site:  Alice Millar Chapel
Reception Site: The Modern Wing, The Art Institute of Chicago
Catering: Bon Appetit, at the Art Institute of Chicago
Wedding Cake: Take the Cake
Wedding Favors: Truffles from Take the Cake
Floral Design & Decor: John Hensel of Heffernan Morgan
DJ: Style Matters
Officiant: Rev. Thomas Perrucci
Wedding Favors: Truffles from Take the Cake
Dress Designer: Vera Wang
Wedding Dress Shop: Vera Wang
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Jenny Yoo
Hair: Starlight Makeup, Lillian Toma
Rings: Wedding Bands and Co. and New York Jewelers

“Does the fun have to come to an end?”

Taken in our hotel room in Chicago.

August 2011

One of my favorite engagement sessions ever was Anna & Eric’s Chicago Engagement photos from 2009.  When I flew out to shoot them then, it was my first time ever traveling alone, flying alone, and in Chicago.  A year later, I went with Jonathan to document this loving couple (who I’ve gotten to know, love, and watch grow) exchange vows.  This was a fun trip for me because just a year later, in the same city, I now was friends with this wonderful couple (who took me around and showed me all the good eats!), watch this wonderful couple tie the knot, and met this beautiful couple!  Chicago so far has been an annual thing for me and I love it!

And now on to the beautiful wedding story!

You’re going to LOVE the delicate lace detail on her veil!  The lace was actually salvaged from her mom’s wedding veil!!  so precious:

A little Chanel from the groom:

This has got to be one of my favorite wedding party photos ever:

They rented a trolly for the wedding party!

I LOVE this silhouette shot of them on the trolly:

They had such a cute cake!

Congrats Anna & Eric!  I enjoyed getting to know you these past 2 years and look forward to hearing about all your new adventures.

Yesterday morning, I got in my car and saw that the thermostat read 35 degrees.  35 degrees in LA??  I figured the reading must be wrong.  I ran my windshield wipers to remove the “condensation” on my window and realized that it was all ice!  Jonathan had to come and scrape off all the ice for me.  It’s rarely that cold in LA and totally reminded me of our recent trip to Chicago.  I was inappropriately packed… I was told to pack for the “fall”.  Ok, fall here means dress + tights + cardigan.  I now know that Chicago fall is LA winter.  I was freezing!  Fortunately, we met up with Eileen & Roland and I was able to borrow a “light” jacket from her.

On one of our days there, we were able to finally meet with the adorable Lauren & Stephen.  Up until this day, we had only emailed back and forth.  They’re so genuine and sweet that it felt as if we’ve been friends all along.

We first walked around the city, near their apartment.  Don’t let Lauren’s cute sleeveless dress fool you, it was freezing!  She was such a trooper.  It had to be 40s in the middle of the day.

We then went back to their apartment to change and headed to the beach.

I loved how her hair blew in the wind.  It was just about as windy here in LA yesterday!

The Chicago skyline is so beautiful.  I love the mixture of nature, beach & city.

I have a thing for trees…

Then we walked back to their place.  We had to go under this tunnel where I saw a saw a cool silhouette opportunity!

Thanks Lauren & Stephen for a fun day around town!  Looking forward to being back next year for your wedding!

When I typed “chicago, IL” in the opening image above, it suddenly hit me that I really shot an engagement session in Chicago!  Until this trip, I had never been out of the Pacific Time Zone in the US before!  30 minutes into the flight there, I look out the window and realized we were still over land.  I was waiting to see ocean, and then realized that this was my first time ever flying east of LA!

…

Anna actually found me from a single photo of a favor I took that was featured on Brides.com.  I think it’s amazing how she connected to that one image and followed that one image to my site.  She wanted me to bring my CA style over to Chicago.  Honestly, I was a bit nervous, but I’m ecstatic at the results!!  So I present to you when this LA girl meets Chicago:

Anna is an architect, so we started at The Rookery, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright!  They ended up being super strict and we were not allowed beyond the lobby, so we ran around the city instead…

I LOVE the bridge and tall buildings!  I’ve never seen so many tall buildings before with trains running right in between them!

We then headed to North Ave State Beach.  I totally felt at home.  The only difference is that the sun doesn’t set behind the ocean like it does in LA, but I totally love the end results!

What do you think so far?  Have I brought the CA flavor yet?  I couldn’t help but to gravitate toward my usual scenes!

And I’ve also never seen a cloud donut around a building until this trip!

And the sunset was amazing.  Definitely different than LA’s sunset, but just as beautiful!

Thank you, Anna & Eric, for such a fun trip!!  I look forward to returning next year for your wedding!