Today started as a rainy and cloudy day, no one would have expected today to turn into a marvelous Chicago wedding day… but Mother Nature was on our side. July 4^th, 2009 was the day that Jeannine and Brandi decided to publicly announce their relationship by declaring their love for each other in front of their family and friends. Though not yet legally married in Illinois, since Illinois does not yet offer same-sex marriage license, the couple will go to Iowa in a few days to officially marry. We found out today that Chicago will acknowledge the same-sex marriage license. Hopefully in the near future Illinois will follow suit with Iowa and allow same-sex marriage rights for gay and lesbians couples. For now, this wonderful couple is celebrating their wedding today in Chicago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day of the commitment ceremony, we met the couple at the Orbit Room located at 2959 N. California Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60618. There we met up with the bridesmaids, groomsmen, and groomswomen. Together the bridal party and the photographer drove via Limo to the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago. Once there we went to the roof, where we were able to look over the ledge without any protective shields. It was amazing to have the bridal party posed with colorful umbrellas, with the beautiful Chicago cityscape behind them. Luckily Jeannine thought in advance to purchase some lovely red umbrella’s to help protect from the rain and also to help add more flavorful color to the wedding party’s photos. We then stopped on the 11^th floor for portraits overlooking the city and well and individual photos with the moms.

 

 

 

 

Our next limo stop was in the Chicago Loop, at the Wrigley building. We walked along Michigan Avenue, and down across the Michigan Avenue Bridge. We stopped for photos along the long staircase there and then individual romantic photos by the roman columns at the bottom of the stairs. We finished off the portraits section with photos in front of the Wrigley building, 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60611-4287, and in the center crosswalk and finally a classic “Beatles at Abbey Road” photo of the entire bridal party. This is certainly a favorite hot spots for Chicago downtown wedding photos!

 

 

 

 

Just after all of the Chicago area wedding photos were complete, we returned to the Orbit Room the sun came out and dried up all the chairs. It was like a friendly sign that we could now begin the wedding. The ceremony itself was a small and cozy event, in the patio area of the Orbit Room, with only the couples closest 50 friends. Many of the guests were from the Chicago Force football team, which is actually how the two ladies met, while playing on opposing team for the International Women’s Football League (IWFL). So nice to see a few people from other events our studio has photographed.

 

The rest of the evening was spent in dance and laughter. Towards the end of the night, the fourth of july fireworks began in the skyline celebrating the couples love. It was also as if a sign of independence of non-acceptance of marriage decisions and freedoms.