Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog

W Chicago Wedding by Denver Smith Photography

A. Blaire — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:30:42 +0000

Oh Chicago, how in the heavens have I never visited you before? You look so splendidly pretty, and are host to some of the most fabulous fêtes. For instance, this city chic affair by Denver Smith Photography – it’s full of gorgeous green hues and fabulous city views, so gawking over this wedding just makes me feel like I need to book a trip to the Windy City ASAP. But you don’t have to hop on a plane to enjoy all of the pretty – you can see it all in the full gallery!

Click here to see the entire gallery of images!

From Denver Smith Photography…I knew Victoria and Nick’s wedding day was going to be fun after shooting their engagement session. I just had no idea HOW fun! The bridal party was a blast, and the event itself was absolutely gorgeous! The W Hotel City Center did an amazing job executing on Victoria and Nick’s vision of their wedding, with style and class. The day began in the bridal suite with all of the bridesmaids and myself, up to my normal shenanigans. During planning, I dropped the idea of doing the First Look in the center of LaSalle Street in front of the Board of Trade. I full expected Victoria and Nick to say “uhhh no way.” Instead, they jumped at the chance and loved the idea! So from the hotel, we made our way to the location for the First Look, and while standing in the middle of traffic on a Saturday afternoon (and luckily neither myself nor my second shooter Doug getting hit by said traffic), we were able to witness along with all the bystanders on the street, the first time Nick was able to see his beautiful bride Victoria on their wedding day.

Victoria and Nick wanted a bunch of locations photographed during their formals before the ceremony. They began by doing a First Look in front of a large crowd of people and traffic in the middle of LaSalle, right in front of the Chicago Board of Trade. While not the typical setting for a reveal, it was awesome and definitely unique. She gave me a near 4 hour window to capture photos throughout Chicago. After the First Look, we began our Trolley Photo Safari, where we traveled around Chicago to various places important to the two of them and photographed the couple and the bridal party. We visited the Franklin Street Bridge, Wrigley Field where they had their names on the marquee, and the South Pond in Lincoln Park. We had a blast, and even though we had another wedding party stalking us to nearly every location, we were able to get a lot of great images! Sadly, I wanted to do a wedding party show down shot, but the other photographer with the other wedding didn’t seem to keen on it.

Victoria and Nick decided to go with our “DropTheFun” Photobooth at their wedding, which is essentially a portable studio setup that I bring along to the wedding reception. My assistant was clicking away for 3 hours during the reception, and the crowd seemed to have a blast taking the photos! And the photos…well let’s just say they were a whole lot of fun as well! (for images from the photobooth, check out: http://bit.ly/su26LV )

In addition to that, my favorite part of the day was actually the bridal party. They were a lot of fun to be with, and they kept in mind the reason everyone was there together. There was no drama, just a whole lot of fun!

Wedding Photography: Denver Smith Photography / Second Photographer: Doug McGoldrick Photography / Ceremony + Reception Venue: W Chicago – City Center / Bride + Bridesmaid Fashion: Watters / Bridal Salon: B. Ella Bridal / Bride + Bridesmaid Shoes: Nina / Groom + Groomsmen Fashion: Calvin Klein / Floral Design: Flora Chicago / DJ + Reception Entertainment: Okyne Media Lab

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Post tags: B. Ella Bridal, Chicago, Clavin Klein, Denver Smith Photography, Doug McGoldrick, Flora Chicago, Illinois Weddings, Nina, Okyne Media Lab, W Chicago - City Center, Watters
Post categories: Chicago Weddings, Illinois Weddings

Long Island Vineyard Wedding from Doug McGoldrick

Mallory — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:15:58 +0000

This Long Island wedding was so perfect, it’s hard to believe this couple ever could have had something not so wonderful happen along the way (more on that below). I mean, the vineyard setting, with grapes hanging from the trees, the delish and I mean DELISH looking menu – courtesy of Marcey Brownstein Catering & Events, the beautiful photos from Doug McGoldrick (which they won due to their interesting back story – again more below), it’s all amazing. Amazing, amazing. Click here to check out the gallery of images, and then make sure to read what Doug had to say about these two special people and their big day!

And now for a little more of this fabulous affair from Love In Progress…

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From Doug McGoldrick … This was, the wedding to end all weddings. Friday night, a welcome party at a gallery, in Green Point, Long Island, Saturday a beach cook out party, and then Sunday an amazing wedding at the Bedel vineyard. Tons of fantastic details, lots of great light, and wonderful people. Some amazing vendors put together an amazing event. Lisa and Sam (the bride and groom) where the big winners in my destination wedding photography contest, they have a wonderful back story.

Definitely, definitely read their back story. It’s completely unbelievable.

Day of Coordination: Cloud Nove Events / Hair & Makeup: Amanda, Heather’s Salon / Ladies’ Lunch Catering: The Market / Limo: Rose Limo / Photography: Doug McGoldrick & Ariane Hunter / Videography: Love In Progress / Floral and Event Designer: Zhana Marcelin / Caterer: Leslie Russell of Marcey Brownstein Catering & Event / Cake & Desserts: mali b sweets / Transportation: North Fork Trolley & Sunrise Minivan / Officiant: Rabbi Darcie Crystal / Ceremony & Cocktail Hour Musicians: Carte Blanche / Tent: American Tent Company / Reception Entertainment: Cafe Wha band leader Adam Mason / Security and Valet: Platinum Executive Security / Venue: Bedell

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Adam Mason, American Tent Company, Ariane Hunter, Bedell, Cafe Wha, Carte Blanche, Casual Elegance, Cloud Nove Events, Doug McGoldrick, Grapes, Heather's Salon, Jewish Wedding, Long Island, Love In Progress, Marcey Brownstein Catering + Events, New York, North Fork Trolley, Outdoor Ceremony, Platinum Executive Security, Rabbi Darcie Crystal, Rose Limo, Sunrise Minivan, The Market, vineyard, Vineyard Weddings, Vintage Chic, Wedding Cinematography, Wedding Photographers, Zhana Marcelin
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog

Celebrating Our Little Black Book Photographers

Eddye — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:05:03 +0000

For most of you, this has probably been a hectic, but hopefully happy week! It’s hard to get everything done and still enjoy the ‘reason for the season’. It’s one of those things that I have to force myself to do. Stop. Breathe. Just enjoy the moments.

And so, from me to all of you … our readers, our Little Black Book members … my wish for you this weekend is to find peace and to celebrate love!

award winning photography by adrienne maples

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award winning photography by johnstone studios

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award-winning photography from angela stott

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award winning photography from q weddings

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award winning photography from carla ten eyck

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award winning photography from genevieve nisly

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award winning photography from doug mcgoldrick

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award winning photography from raznikov photography

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award winning photography from wayne yuan

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award winning photography from david murray weddings

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merry everything … to everyone …

enjoy the simple moments

and stay safe!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Adrienne Maples, Angela Stott, Award Winning, Carla Ten Eyck, David Murray Weddings, Doug McGoldrick, Genevieve Nisly, Johnstone Studios, Q Weddings, Raznikov Photography, Wayne Yuan
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog

SMP Loves…Doug MCGoldrick!

Abby Larson — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:04:27 +0000

And his new, recession friendly offer! Doug is gifting brides who have been hit by bad economic times and have been laid off from their job, 1 free hour of shooting to their photography package. A gift of around $425. Just think how many memories you can capture in an hour. To see more details and pics of doug’s GORGEOUS work, check out his blog and his website.

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Post tags: Doug McGoldrick, recession
Post categories: Featured

Real Wedding: Liz and Graham, II

Abby Larson — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:09:34 +0000

When I was a kid, I used to go to a wedding and see these massive, over-the-top huge centerpieces and I would think…wow, this is a fancy wedding. Well, it’s funny how much my tastes have developed and changed through the years. Now, I see a wedding like this and think…wow, this is a great wedding. The bride is stunning her simplicity, the decor is modern and chic and the centerpieces, well, they are perfect. Totally approachable, totally sophisticated.

Doug McGoldrick is the photographer behind this modern soiree. Which only makes the event seem sweeter and more unique. The best part (well maybe not the best part but a fun detail nonetheless) are the doggie table cards! So cute, the perfect touch of whimsy.

More to come!

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Post tags: Doccie Table Cards, Doug McGoldrick, Modern
Post categories: Contemporary, Wedding Photography

Real Wedding: Liz and Graham

Abby Larson — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:59:49 +0000

I found today’s featured wedding when I was gleefully looking through Doug McGoldrick’s blog. I say gleefully because not only does he have some great weddings up, his descriptions of the events are so perfect. Completely witty. Anyway, I took one look at this cake and HAD to see more.

So, Doug was kind enough to send over images WAY too late last night. And here they are!

From Doug (from his blog)…

Liz and Graham had there ceremony at Bond Chapel at the University of Chicago and their reception at Northerly Island. Greg Christian did the catering and it was a wonderfully run event by them. I’ve had a few weddings with Larkspur Florist in the past and they seem to always do a great job using lots of local varieties, which fit in well with the prairie restoration out at Northerly Island. John from Beep Media provided really fun tunes through out. During cocktail hour they where playing lots of space age jazz which is always lots of fun, Beep always puts on a great show. Liz and Graham where a great couple who had a beautiful day for a perfect event.

I have a few more pictures from the table settings at this wedding, which were completely gorgeous.

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Post tags: Beep Media, Bond Chapel, Doug McGoldrick, Doug Photo, Greg Christian, Larkspur Florist, Northerly Island, University of Chicago
Post categories: Contemporary, Wedding Photography

SMP Loves…Doug McGoldrick

Abby Larson — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:00:45 +0000

But who doesn’t, really? Doug’s work is just that gorgeous. Bottom Line. He manages to capture the beauty in the detail without sacrificing the unbelievably real emotion in each shot. Just take a quick peek at Doug’s portfolio to see what I mean. Oh and guess what…he is hosting THE BEST contest right now on his blog. Definitely check it out if you are interested in potentially winning a free wedding photographer!

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Post tags: Contest, Doug McGoldrick
Post categories: Featured

Real Wedding by Doug Mcgoldrick

Abby Larson — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:12:56 +0000

Since same-sex weddings are becoming more and more mainstream, I thought that I would share a few of my favorites today. One of our little black book photographers, Doug McGoldrick, sent me this gorgeous wedding and the cake alone was enough to send me over the edge…

I looooove the discs that are hanging from the ceiling…they add a modern sensibility to the affair. I also think that the huge banquets style tables with the tall centerpieces lining the center are just gorgeous. Dramatic, but in a tailored and sophisticated way. Here are a few more pics…

Doug McGoldrick is an incredible photographer and if you aren’t already familiar with his work, definitely check out his website. It has tons of gorgeous eye candy that can serve as inspiration for so many types of affairs.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Doug McGoldrick
Post categories: All Real Weddings, Contemporary, Real Weddings, Wedding Photography