Wedding Photo of the Week: Reception Live Band Karaoke

Today is the 5th wedding anniversary of Kristian and Claudia! Congratulations you two! Their wedding reception is still memorable to us as one of the most fun parties we've ever experienced. The bride and groom were a "rockin'" couple and incorporated the awesomeness that is Live Band Karaoke to be the highlight of their reception.  After all of the usual traditions of toasts, cake cutting and first dance, all of the sudden their reception transformed into a local live music dive bar vibe.  After the Live Band Karaoke musicians warmly encouraged the first few brave souls to the stage (Kristian of course opened the show!), soon enough EVERYONE was taking multiple turns singing, with all of the "fans" dancing and screaming with excitement at the stage.  No one was embarrassed because all of the guests treated each other as if they were the Beatles or Rolling Stones.  It was so much fun that we didn't want to leave when our time was up late that night!  This was one of our all-time favorite receptions and we wish more couples would consider this idea for their reception. Thanks Kristian and Claudia for single-handedly changing our opinion about karaoke from that day forward!

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Wedding Photo of the Week: A Rainy Day is OK

Giorgio and I find challenging weather interesting for photography.  Being based in Chicago, we really have no choice but to embrace the crazy weather changes we can have in just a matter of hours, especially this time of year.  Like they say, if you don't like the weather in Chicago, just wait five minutes.

It is a good idea to have a contingency plan for outdoor portraits in case of a relenteless downpour or severe storms, and we're always happy to help our couples with different suggestions for indoor alternatives.  However, in the case of this week's featured wedding photo, we like to show that a little rain isn't always a bad thing. And, as Giorgio says, "sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata," which is an old Italian saying for "wet bride, lucky bride."

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Katie and Ben's Wedding at Holy Name and Fulton's

Katie and Ben had a beautiful sunny day for their Chicago wedding at Holy Name Cathedral and reception at Fulton's on the River.  Vibrant pinks and greens highlighted their elegant fashions and decor.  Also, the groom's family flew in from England and helped the couple incorporate many lovely British wedding traditions into the festivities.

© Wedding Creativo Photography

The groom presented personalized pocket watches as gifts to his groomsmen, who were all sporting green ascot ties, similar to the one that was part of David Beckham's dashing Royal Wedding attire.

After the ceremony, we had fun taking creative wedding portraits of the bridal party at landmark downtown Chicago locations while making our way to the reception at Fulton's.

Note to Giorgio's photography students: notice his award-winning technique using a bridesmaid's pink flip-flop to extend his lens hood. Ha ha.

We loved all of the touches of British wedding customs including Ben's mum's fascinator hair clip, the bride's lucky wedding horseshoe, and the handmade personalized candies that the groom's parents brought for all of the guests to enjoy. Ben also surprised Katie with a traditional German silver wedding cup that they both had to drink from at the same time, but be careful not to spill for good luck. They were successful and didn't lose a drop!

THE emcee of class and impeccable music taste, Al of Okyne Media Lab, kept the party train on schedule and guests dancing all night.

Wedding Photo of the Week: Cantigny Willow

Last year we tried to feature a "photo of the day" and that was kind of overly ambitious to keep up.  So, this year we're going to try a new feature.  Introducing - - - Wedding Photo of the Week!  It could be from one of our recent weddings, or from anytime in the last two decades, but it wil always be one shot that makes our creative hearts smile.

This week's photo is from Cat and Matt's wedding from a couple weeks ago.  We love them under this majestic weeping willow tree at Cantigny Gardens.

© Wedding Creativo Photography / Giorgio Ventola

Jonah and Lauren's Wedding at Chicago Cultural Center

The landmark Chicago Cultural Center is where Lauren and Jonah held their summer evening wedding and reception.  It was a cocktail style affair with diverse international cuisine, ice-cream sandwich treats, and formal ballroom dancing, with the bride's brother even giving guests impromptu dance lessions!

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Chicago Engagement Session: Taking the Plunge

Sometimes we take for granted how lucky we are to have a public lakeshore in Chicago.  It is no wonder why it is such a popular location for portraits, but we were extra lucky to run into these guys "taking the plunge" into Lake Michigan, which was a nice visual metaphor for Wendy and Neil's engagement portrait session. 

© Wedding Creativo Photography

Defining Album Types: Matted, Flush Mount, and Digital

Confused about the differences between matted, flush mount and digital albums?  We see a lot of questions out there about the different binding styles primarily used by wedding photographers, so we provided some discriptions on our albums and display site Creativo Couture.