Offbeat Wedding at A New Leaf - Images by Giorgio Ventola
Creativity was set for warp speed for Elaine and Steve's wedding! We started out the day with a first see at the Belden-Stratford , followed by a fun walk through the zoo where we were lucky enough to have the carousel all to ourselves, before dashing off to A New Leaf for their cocktail-style wedding and reception. With a the groom's binary code ring, brides antique-styled green gemstone ring, totally awesome wedding sneakers, the ceremonial handcufs, wedding pies (instead of cake) by Hoosier Mama Pie Company , with pie topper made by the bride and groom, reception farmer-style auction, rad tunes by Toast and Jam DJs , and so much more....it was a blast!
© Wedding Creativo / Giorgio Ventola Inc.
Rakhi and Mitul's Indian wedding was a colorful and lavish affair at Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. All this month we are featuring favorite pictures from past years for our studio's 30th anniversary.
© Wedding Creativo / Giorgio Ventola Inc.
Today we take a look back to the late 1990s for Anthony and Sara's wedding. All this month we are featuring favorite pictures from past years for our studio's 30th anniversary.
© Wedding Creativo / Giorgio Ventola Inc.
For the 13th, we feature a picture from a lucky day we had during Candice and Bob's wedding a few years ago. After their traditional Philippine Catholic ceremony, we stopped at the lake for some bridal party pictures before heading off to their reception at Chicago Marriott Schaumburg . A big summer storm was approaching, so it was very hot and humid. We thanked our lucky stars when this popsicle vendor strolled up. The whole wedding party swarmed him and dug in their pockets to find enough change for sweet relief. He was kind enough to give the bride and groom a couple frozen treats "on the house." Thanks popsicle guy....wherever you are! We also finished with the bridal party portraits and got everyone on the shuttle bus right before the downpour of rain came, so we turned out to be double lucky on this day.
© Wedding Creativo
Community and family are paramount to Bruce and Ayanna. It seemed like their entire church parish turned out for their ceremony, and their large families danced all night at the reception held at the Magnificent Mile DoubleTree . Ayanna has kept in touch over the years with updates on her growing family (she's a mommy now), and I even had the opportunity to meet her Girl Scout troup and teach them photography out in Millennium Park.
© Wedding Creativo
Vida and Jay have one of those enduring love stories. This Lituanian-born bride actually began her relationship with the groom 12 years before they finally tied the knot at the Lake Shore Country Club in Glencoe, Illinois.
© Wedding Creativo
Jen and Jim's wedding was very sweet and I remember their first dance was to Queen's "Your My Best Friend," which is still one of my all time favorite selections for the first dance.
An old Airstream RV was parked near their reception at Silver Lake Country Club , and we stopped for this classic favorite moment.
© Giorgio Ventola Inc. Wedding Creativo
Today's photo comes from Allison and Tom's wedding, which took place outside behind her parents home in St. Charles, Illinois. "Back yard" just does not seem appropriate since I remember that it was so vast it more like a forest! I will never forget that their minister got stung by a bee while performing the ceremony, but she did not show any reaction at all...I was amazed by her level of concentration! This was a fun shot with the bride and her bridesmaids in the "back yard" forest.
© Giorgio Ventola Inc. / Wedding Creativo
My partner Giorgio is kind of like Peter Pan. He is not really into celebrating birthdays and anniversaries in what I think is his own magical way of staying perpetually 18 years old. While our years of experience is one of our biggest assets in this line of work, Giorgio is usually embarrassed for me to talk about time. We are forward-thinkers, continually pushing ourselves to be modern and progressive artists, so I understand why he always prefers to look ahead to the future rather than dwell in the past. However, I do think it is rather significant that Giorgio established our studio in May 1980, and we (I joined him almost a decade ago) still continue to grow and explore new and exciting work every day.
To kick off our Daily Photo features looking back thoughout the years, please enjoy one of our favorites from the 1980s. This was our very first "signature" image when we first expanded our studio onto the World Wide Web in spring 2001. A big thanks to all of our clients, past and present -- we literally could not have come this far without you! And, of course we are looking forward to all of our new clients' weddings and portraits this year, and we hope, many more years to come.
To Giorgio...cento anni di felicità! Baci, Sarah :-)
© Giorgio Ventola Inc. / Wedding Creativo
early 1980s bridal portrait
Thanks to all of our couples for a wonderful 2009 that was filled with magic moments.
All images @ Giorgio Ventola Inc. / Wedding Creativo
On a bright sunny winter day (how lucky! Chicago has so few this time of year), Mike and Laura had an early afternoon ceremony at the Palmer House Hilton . Afterwards we took the "El" train to their reception at Quartino Ristorante where everyone enjoyed the wedding cupcakes.
All images © Giorgio Ventola Inc. / Wedding Creativo
Christina and Clay's late autumn wedding was a candle-lit soiree held at the Hyatt Regency Woodfield in Schaumburg. The couple incorporated creative lighting, lots of music and lush vibrant colors, which represented their lives working in the music and entertainment industry. It appears talent runs deep in the family, as one of the bride's young relatives is probably the best Michael Jackson impersonator ever!
All images © Giorgio Ventola Inc. / Wedding Creativo
As a couple of the LDS faith, Jeff and Rachel began their photography coverage after the ceremony. They live in Utah, but had their wedding here in Chicago, the home of the bride's family. Having lots of pictures around downtown Chicago was a must for the out-of-town bridal party, and even on this chilly day, there was plenty to see around Millennium Park. We even got a few shots on the ice-skating rink before being chased off by the security guards. The bride's mother is a commerical stylist, and is starting to branch off into event floral design. She made all of the wonderful floral arrangements and table centerpieces on display througout the reception at the Wyndham in Glenview.
All images © Giorgio Ventola Inc. / Wedding Creativo
Red and gray were the colors of the day for Caryn and Jason's outdoor fall wedding at the Loyola Park lakeshore. Caryn enhanced the fall colors by having her mother "import" autumn leaves from the trees of her parent's Michigan home, which were used to make the isle for the ceremony processional. The bride's burgundy pashmina and the groom's matching burgundy ascot and grey suit were fabulous tones for a crisp autumn wedding day.
All images © Giorgio Ventola Inc. / Wedding Creativo
Holly and Mark exchanged vows and also a bit of their American and Danish cultures at their fall wedding along the Chicago River at Flatwater , which has one of THE best views of the skyline and classic iron bridges. The lucky couple left for Denmark shortly after their wedding.
All images © Giorgio Ventola Inc. / Wedding Creativo
