Chicago Wedding Photography Family Portrait Photographer | Otto Rascon » Weddings

Perks of a Wedding Photographer – Pt 1 – Churches

ottoblogger80 — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 18:43:50 +0000

Being a wedding photographer has a lot of perks. I love having complete access to my brides as they get ready for their wedding. This allows me to take some very warm/intimate pictures between the bride and her friends and family. There’s also seeing the groom tear up as he sees his bride walk down the aisle. Those moments are truly special. But there are other things that I get to see/experience that maybe most people wouldn’t think about.

Here you’ll see some of the visual perks I get to experience at every wedding: the details of the church. These aren’t even the details you’d expect, like the flowers and decorations. The inside of most churches are works of art, and I have always enjoyed photographing them. Here are a few of my favorites taken at St. Aldabert’s Church on 17th & Ashland in Chicago.

Misuzu+ Alvin // Sneak Peak

ottoblogger80 — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:27:03 +0000

I loved shooting Misuzu and Alvin’s wedding earlier this year. They are such a wonderful couple – full of love for each other and for their family/friends. I’m looking forward to sharing more of their wedding photos. You can see photos from their engagement session in the meantime. Stay tuned.

Here is one of my favorite photos of Misuzu and from the entire 2011 wedding season:

Maureen + Matt // Sneak Peak

ottoblogger80 — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:55:50 +0000

Maureen and Matt’s wedding was a blast to be a part of. Here is just one photo from the wedding taken at Valley Lo Club in Glenview. There will be a full post coming soon with a ton more photos, along with new (and some older) weddings. I’m also going to be blogging more family shoots, as well as some other works. Stay tuned.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the wedding:

If you live in Joliet, Romeoville, or Crest Hill, then you can check out my wedding photography service page from a cool site I’ve been using called Thumbtack. You can also see more of my photos there.

Sam & Rigo // Chicago Wedding Photography // North Avenue Beach House

ottoblogger80 — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:15:10 +0000

I love Sam and Rigo. That’s all that needs to be said, but I’ll continue for the sake of detail. I photographed their engagement session last year and had a blast hanging out with them. It seemed that the laughter and joy didn’t stop the entire evening – a sign of a fun wedding ahead.

Sam got ready at her place in University-Village / Little Italy, along with her bridesmaids. The day was rolling and Sam was cool and calm – she stayed this way the entire day. Good for you Sam. After preparations we took off to the beautiful Assumption Catholic Church. It was a great ceremony and it was even better seeing Rigo and Sam smiling the entire time. These guys are so into each other!

The bridal party portraits took place at the North Avenue Beach House. It was a perfect day to be outdoors shooting near the lake. I was hoping for a lot of sun, and that’s what we got that day. I love the photos of Rigo with the red background – he was living it up. I sure hope they had a ton of fun that day – I know I did.

The reception took place at the Hyatt Regency Woodfield – Schaumburg. The lobby to this place is really cool, very retro/modern. The floral design was done by Liz Middendorf of Specialties by Liz – she did a great job as the reception area was beautiful.

Here are a few pics from the wedding – one I’ll remember for a long time:

Thank you again Sam and Rigo. I’m so honored to have shared such an important/awesome day in your lives. My many thanks to my friend and second shooter Steven Ryne. It’s always great working together with you!

Info on the venues:

Assumption Catholic Church
323 West Illinois Street
Chicago, IL 60654

North Avenue Beach House
1600 N Lake Shore Dr
Chicago, Illinois 60614
312.742.7529

Hyatt Regency Woodfield – Schaumburg
1800 East Golf Road
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
847.605.1234

By The Way: Use off-camera flash even in the brightest of days. I know it might sound a little counterintuitive, but it rocks!

Wheaton Wedding Photography // Danada House // Caitlin + Michael

ottoblogger80 — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:00:35 +0000

Second shooting a wedding is a lot of fun, especially when I get to do so

Todd James Photography

The reception was at the amazing Danada House in Wheaton. What an elegant location to be at and what a treat, as a photographer, to photograph such a beautiful bride and groom at this place. To see more of Caitlin & Michael’s wedding you can check out Todd’s photo’s on his blog. Thanks again Todd!

Here are a few pics from the wedding with permission of Todd James Photography:

By The Way: Being a second shooter is a ton of fun, but also a huge responsibility. Working with Todd was such a blast, but I know that I am there to serve him and his clients first. This was not my client but I still want to make sure that I rock it out for the main shooter.

Tabitha + Joseph // A Family Celebration – Pt. 2

ottoblogger80 — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:03:23 +0000

A Wedding All Their Own

Here is part 2 of Tabitha + Joe’s wedding just as promised. I hope that the photos communicate the fun spirit of this wedding, a wedding that was totally their own.

I really loved the non-traditional setting of this wedding – from the outdoor ceremony to the portraits shot on a hill in a nearby park. The feeling of family and friends was all over this wedding, and I loved it. You see my wife was the matron of honor, my daughter was the flower girl, and my brother-in-law officiated the wedding. So familiar faces were all over the place. It was really cool seeing Tabitha and Joe’s families come together to celebrate their wedding day.

Shooting this wedding was special for me because I have known Tabitha since we were teenagers. I couldn’t help but feel reminiscent of our teenage years! It was amazing seeing her at the alter and then think about where our lives have headed since we were 14.

So enough of my emotional babble and on to the photos. Here are just a few of my favorites from Tabitha + Joe’s wedding day:

So my many thanks to Tabitha and Joe for having me be a part of their wedding. It really is a pleasure and honor to photograph someone’s wedding, it’s one of the coolest jobs I can think of. My many thanks also go to the fabulous, and super talented, Suzy Rohan for assisting and shooting with me. I always have a blast working with her. You rock Suzy!

By The Way: During the formal portraits we were invaded by a small army of gnats. We had completed about 80% of the formals. My temptation was to move to a new location, and spend more of my clients time, but I knew that having all of the portraits in the same location would look best. Stick to your vision even if there are nasty little gnats annoying the entire family of the bride and groom :)

Tabitha + Joseph // A Family Celebration – Pt. 1

ottoblogger80 — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:54:02 +0000

We Go Way Back

Tabitha and my wife, Christina, are best friends and have known each other forever. I met Tabitha when I was 16 years old, so we go way back as well. In fact, Tabitha was there the night that I asked Christina to be my girlfriend, and was also there on our first date. She means a ton to us, so it was an amazing experience being her wedding photographer. What a treat!

A Few Quick Pics

I am so excited about how well Tabitha + Joe’s wedding went. It was supposed to rain the entire day, but we were able to somehow dodge the rain. In fact, the sun came out the moment she started walking down the aisle – NO JOKE! It was awesome.

Here are a few pics from her wedding that I am pumped to share. More to come for sure!

By The Way: Let’s keep a positive outlook when it comes to weather. The most important part of a wedding is that the couple wed – plain and simple. So we must keep that in mind when the rain is pouring or the humidity is at suffocating levels :)

Jennifer + Rob // Naperville Wedding Photography

ottoblogger80 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:00:40 +0000

The Wedding Photographer Connection

I met Steven Chellappa about a year ago. Steve is my boy and a fellow wedding photographer. I shot a wedding with him earlier this year and went on a photo adventure late last year. We ht it off quickly and have fun every time we hang out.

The Long & Short of It

So Jennifer if Steve’s sister – in case you were wondering who Steve was. He forwarded her my info, she emailed me, we set up a meeting, I photographed her wedding, and now you’re reading the blog post about her wedding. That’s how I met Jennifer and Rob in nutshell.

Jennifer, Rob, and I met up at a local Starbucks and it’s safe to say that I liked them right away. They kind of reminded me of my wife and I before we married. They posses this quietness and integrity that I rarely get to see in a younger couple. They’re both crazy bright and a lot of fun to talk with. It was cool getting to know them as I listened to them share about how they met. I was excited to meet Steve’s family and spend time with them at Jennifer’s wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding and Jennifer looked amazing in her dress. I am sure Rob would agree. Shooting with my girl, Jaclyn Simpson, made this wedding even more of a blast.

Awesome Naperville Wedding Vendors

All weddings are a huge collaboration of many talented vendors. This wedding was no exception. Here are the vendors that made the wedding amazing:
• Jennifer’s hair was done by the talented Mia Sorella Salon & Boutique – Tiffany Christiansen rocked it out and was great to work with.
• Floral arrangements by Karen’s Floral Expressions – The bouquets looked amazing and were a blast to photograph.
• The wedding & reception were at the beautiful Meson Sabika out in Naperville.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from Jennifer + Rob’s wedding:

By The Way: Always be ready to think on your feet! Weddings are great events, though sometimes the day goes by a little faster than expected and thus we have to make quick decisions about locations, posing, and lighting. But remember: creativity is brought on by limitations. Rock it out!

Happy Anniversary Vanessa + Luis // 07.25.09

ottoblogger80 — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:00:44 +0000

One year Ago

It was one year ago today that Vanessa + Luis tied the knot in the beautiful Holy Cross Church. I was so honored to have been their wedding photographer and to have experienced their amazing wedding day. You can see the original post here. Congratulations to you guys. I hope that you had a great year – and here’s to MANY more!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from Vanessa + Luis’ wedding:

Laughter & Love // Elysia + Donny Married

ottoblogger80 — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:15:30 +0000

Donny The iPod Guy

It’s an honor doing what I do. Photographing my bride and groom is something I never take for granted. Elysia + Donny’s wedding was particularly an honor because they are my friends – and they are totally into each other :)

I met Donny back when I was a student at The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago where we were both Visual Communications (graphic design) majors. Donny was the first person I ever met that owned an iPod – remember how big and monochromatic they used to be? That pretty much made him the coolest person I knew at that point in my life. As time passed I got to know him and had the chance to work on a few jobs together. He’s a brilliant person, and both compassionate and crazy talented. Yes, he’s one of “those” people, the type that just get things so much quicker than most. Oh, my daughter loves him and he introduce me to Penny’s Noodles. What more can I say?

So one day I hear that he and Elysia are getting married! My wife and I flipped (not literally). You see, we had secretly been hoping that they would wed. I totally wanted to shoot their wedding and was so glad that he and Elysia felt the same. They are amazing people, the kind you just want to hang with, chat, laugh, and have meals with.

Awesome Chicago Wedding Vendors

Weddings are all about collaborations. And when each do their part, amazing things happen. These Chicago wedding vendors rock:

• Floral arrangements by the amazing fleur – Kelly and her crew did an amazing job!!!
• Elysia’s dress was custom made by Dame Couture in Evanston.
• Location: Glessner House Museum and Woman’s Park and Garden in the South Loop.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from Elysia + Donny’s wedding:

Elysia and Donny: thank you again for having Christina and I be a part of such an amazing day in your lives. Seeing you guys make your vows was so inspiring. I hope that you have amazing futures and that we have many more dinner dates. You guys rock!

My thanks also go to my friend Nick for assisting me. You rock Nick!

Glessner House Museum
1800 S. Prairie Avenue
Chicago, IL. 60616
312.326.1480
fax – 312.326.1397

By The Way: I always listen to and enjoy the vows made at the ceremony. This is what the wedding day is really all about! I know as photographers we want to capture those really cool and sexy photos after – but let’s enjoy all aspects of the wedding day.