Back in May, we got the chance to capture Stephanie and Reno’s incredible wedding at Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Chicago, IL.  We had an absolute blast with this wedding and wanted to share the amazing experience with you fine people.

So come.  Join us on this journey as we relive the day we had with this amazing bride and groom!

Wedding at the Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel

One thing you should know about Stephanie is she’s a social media maven. She founded and runs a social media agency called Socially Steph here in Chicago. So capturing detailed photos that were super social-media-centric was important to her! They hired us because of our documentary photography approach to capturing honest, real moments, and all of the little details in between.

Now, it can be incredibly challenging to capture the right level of energy on a wedding day if it’s just not there. And it’s not something you can really fix in post. But we didn’t have to worry about that AT ALL with Stephanie and Reno. You can just see that energy emanating off of them and their guests in these photos. It’s always wonderful when that happens because you just know that when you get the images back to the editing room, you’re going to be working with magic.

Stephanie and Reno’s smiling was contagious throughout the day. The two of them just ooze honest, real, joyous smiles, right?! You can almost FEEL their happiness! No amount of posing or clever camera tricks can capture that. It’s all about looking out for the perfect moment and capturing that moment on camera. This is something we strive to do with every shot at This Is Feeling. 

There was also a moment while Steph was getting ready where she was reading a love letter that Reno had written her.  Let’s just say things got emotional and Steph’s mother stepped in to give a little motherly support. There were waterworks on the couch and it was super touching.

And we can’t write about this wedding without talking about Roscoe, the amazing little pooch that Stephanie and Reno absolutely adore. They wanted to include Roscoe in the wedding photos, and the only time they could make this happen was after the ceremony. They actually had a dog sitter hang out with Roscoe at the church while they were saying their vows. As soon as the ceremony was over, they darted over to Roscoe to grab a few photographs outside of the church with their little pup.

Steph was a little freaked out about the weather that day. It wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t the best either. Reno really wanted to get some rooftop photographs on top of the venue. So, we waited the rain out until the coast was mostly clear, but it was still drizzling a bit. We convinced Steph to just cut loose and go with it, and we’re so glad we got her and her wedding party out on the rooftop, because the sun was just as eager as us to get out and show it’s awesomeness. We got a ton of incredible photographs.

I think we’re all in agreement here at This Is Feeling when we say we were absolutely LIVING for the confetti during those photos! It gave us some truly epic shots! We always get worried about confetti because it’s such a mess. But, Stephanie and Reno were thoughtful enough to get biodegradable paper confetti, not the plastic stuff, so we didn’t feel so bad when it was literally flying EVERYWHERE!

All in all, this was such a fantastic wedding to be a part of.  Everyone had a blast at the reception, dancing the night away and celebrating the love Stephanie and Reno share. We had an amazing time and we want to thank Stephanie and Reno for hiring us as their wedding photographers. You guys really are a magical couple and we’re so glad we were there to capture all of these wonderful memories. Shine on, you crazy diamonds!

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Featured Chicago Wedding Vendors

Venue & Reception: Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel

Florist: Little Shop on The Prairie

Wedding DJ: Jo Jo & Company

Hair & Makeup: SLT Makeup Artistry