Chicago Nature Boardwalk Engagement Session

Alison and Blake decided on Lincoln Park for their engagement session. We really wanted to highlight Chicago in their session since after their wedding they will be moving! We started around South Pond which they had never explored before. We then head to the honeycomb to check that out and since it was a weeknight we almost had the place to ourselves. Then it was time to walk over to North Ave. I have always loved the pedway bridge and we took a few images up there too. We finished the night off right off the lakeshore path.

The National Chicago Wedding

Colleen and Andy met one cold Saturday night in February, 2013 at maybe the least romantic bar in Chicago, Mad River. Colleen was there to meet up with her childhood friend-for-life, Jessica. Jessica came to the bar with her boyfriend Rob, and Rob brought along his roommate, Andy. Despite learning that Andy was a Cardinals fan, as the night ended Colleen asked for his number anyways. Their first date was at Club Lucky in Bucktown--after a night of non-stop conversation in a cozy booth, they both knew they had something special.

April 9, 2017 was unusually warm for early spring in Chicago. Colleen and Andy woke up early and like many beautiful Sunday mornings, they decided to go for a run through the Lincoln Park Zoo. Since it was so early, all of the trainers were out with the animals. After watching the seals show off their skills, they made their way to the otter exhibit. Despite checking each and every visit, the otters were never, ever out. This morning was different. As Colleen watched a cute little otter amble towards the glass with a pinecone, Andy pulled the ring from a secret zipped pocket in his shirt. Shocked and overjoyed, she put the ring on her right hand, and they walked around the zoo the rest of the morning, floating on air.

For their wedding day, they envisioned a easy, sophisticated party that showed off our favorite city. The National delivered big time. The beautiful, lush courtyard in the middle of the loop made for a perfect ceremony spot and easily transitioned for dancing under the city lights. The lounge provided the cozy sophistication. They had passed apps and food stations from their favorite restaurants at Revival Food Hall, which is on the ground floor of the building. The whole night was perfect! 

Wedding Planner - Anticipation Events
Venue - The National
Hotel - The Palmer House Hilton
Hair and Makeup - Elana Darrus Makeup & Hair
Florals - Flowers For Dreams
Band - The Gold Coast Orchestra

St.Mary and Ivanhoe Golf Club Wedding of Casey and Chris

Casey and Chris celebrated on August 25 of 2018 with all of their friends and family at a beautiful Catholic mass followed by their reception at the beautiful Ivanhoe Golf Club in Mundelein. Take a peek at their beautiful day!

Venue - Ivanhoe Golf Club
Wedding Dress - The Crystal bride
Flowers - Joseph's 
Cake - Loven Oven Cakery
Band - Magnificent Events Enough Said

Geneva National Wisconsin Wedding of Brian + Lauren

I was so excited to work with Brian and Lauren on their wedding day and we immediately clicked from the first time we met. So much went into planning their Lake Geneva Labor Day Weekend wedding.

Brian and Lauren met on Match.com. At the time she was running her own home daycare and decided it was time to meet someone as most of my friends were in serious relationships.  Brian always jokes that he almost gave up on meeting her because she made him send me so many messages before she would give him her phone number or meet him in person (She believes it was 86 messages to be exact, all very long and detailed).  They had their first date at Village Vitner in Algonquin and actually ended up closing the place down that night. They only had week night dates at the beginning of their relationship, because it was the last few weeks of boating season and Brian didn't want to miss any time in LG, and wasn't sure that she was "lake worthy" yet. Over the winter they spent a lot of time at the lake doing fun things like wine tastings, spending the day watching sports at a local bar or just hanging around the condo.  They spend most of our summer weekends on Lake Como these days and that just happens to be the lake that they will get married on.  They had many moonlight boat rides talking about when they get married, and when the time came neither of them even mentioned anywhere else. They knew that the lake was where we wanted to be. They are excited to have all of their favorite people in their favorite place to celebrate a day that they will remember forever.  And, when they have kids they can't wait to point out Geneva National as the place where mommy and daddy got married! 

• All of the centerpieces were made by Lauren

• They have people from across the country flying in to be with them at our wedding including: Florida, DC, California, Washington, Indiana, North Carolina

• Lauren's mom will be doing all the alterations on all of the dresses, hers included and will be making the junior bridesmaids dresses

Venue - Geneva National
Hair/Makeup - SLT Makeup
Flowers/Cakes/Sweets - Gooseberries Fresh Food Market
DJ- Behind the Beats Productions

Villa Olivia Bartlett Wedding of Alex + Stephanie

I had met Stephanie and Alex at the Villa Olivia open house over a year ago now. We had an engagement session together in downtown Chicago and I could tell from then that their wedding would be an amazing day.

Alex and Stephanie's wedding at Villa Olivia in Bartlett was filled with so many happy tears and laughter. Instead of the traditional unity candle or sand ceremony, they poured each other a shot of tequila and aguardiente antioqueño to take which I just loved. Their first dance was beyond magical and there was even a dress change for the reception!

Enjoy the photos from their beautiful summer wedding!

Venue- Villa Olivia Bartlett
DJ - Mixwell Events
Video - Monica Medina
Second Shooter - Lauryn Schalk

Virtual Staging and Illinois Real Estate

Virtual Staging 

So I have been doing real estate photography for a little over 2 years now and have always been curious about virtual staging and who it would benefit. This can be a really cost-effective way of staging a home if you don't want to spend as much as traditional staging might cost. 
Redfin reached out to me to share this wonderful article to show just what staging can do and it is below

As more home-sellers turn to virtual staging, we have to ask: Is it really worth it, and does it compare to traditional staging?

According to the National Association of Realtors®, 77 percent of buyers’ agents say that staging makes it easier for buyers to visualize themselves living in a home. As many as 38 percent of sellers’ agents say that they stage all their clients’ homes before listing. Since the benefits of staging have a direct impact on listing performance, virtual staging was developed to give the same benefits that are looking for an alternative to traditional staging.

To determine whether virtual staging is a viable alternative for you, you have to know what it is and how it compares to traditional home staging.

What is Virtual Staging?

Virtual staging, like traditional staging, is decorating a property to showcase its best features and qualities in an effort to make it more attractive to buyers.

“I have always explained to my sellers that buyers will imprint on the first photos they see of a home and will develop their first positive feelings and attraction to a property at that time” describes Jen Williams, Redfin Market Manager in California.

But like the name implies, virtual staging is done with a computer. There’s exactly zero real furniture, area rugs, potted plants or other décor involved. Professional virtual stagers digitally insert decorative elements in high-resolution photos to show empty rooms’ full potential.

What Homes is Virtual Staging Best Suited For?

Virtual staging won’t work for all homes – in many cases, traditional staging is a superior choice. However, it can be a huge benefit if it’s done properly in:

• Vacant homes
• Homes with outdated furniture
• Properties with tenants in them, which leave the homeowner little control over the space’s appearance

If you still occupy your home and you can stage it to make it as appealing as possible to potential buyers, whole-house virtual staging isn’t for you. (You can still virtually stage some rooms if you and your agent think it’s appropriate, though.)

Virtual Staging vs. Traditional Staging

Virtual staging is usually a lot cheaper than traditional staging is. Here’s a quick glimpse at what you’re looking at:

• Virtual staging costs somewhere between $39 and $199 per room, depending on the contractor you use, your location and the amount of space you need staged.
• Traditional staging can cost several hundred dollars per month, depending on the stager you use, how much furniture you need to rent, your location and the number of rooms you need staged.

Price isn’t the only sticking point, though. Each method has its own pros and cons that you’ll have to consider, particularly if you’re trying to sell an empty house.

Pros and Cons of Virtual Staging

Virtual staging can help sell a home faster and for more money – but only if it’s done right. You still need to hire a professional who knows how to take good photos for virtual staging, and you need to work with a reputable company with a great portfolio of completed work.

Check out these side-by-side lists of the pros and cons of virtual staging to help you make the right choice:

Pros of Virtual Staging 

• Can help you showcase an empty home’s best features

• Is cost-effective when compared to traditional staging

• Attracts prospective buyers’ attention online

• Offers you the opportunity to stage any number of rooms

• Allows you to stage flex rooms in multiple ways

Cons of Virtual Staging

• Becomes more expensive when you need to remove furniture or items from photos

• Can be difficult to use when the house is occupied, unless you have previous listing photos

• Furniture and décor only exist in the virtual space – buyers will never see it in person

Pros and Cons of Traditional Staging

Traditional staging, which successful real estate agents have been using for decades, doesn’t always require a professional stager. However, it does require an eye for detail and the ability to create a space that appeals to the widest possible range of buyers.

Check out these side-by-side lists of the pros and cons of traditional staging to help you decide whether it’s a better choice for selling your home:

Pros of Traditional Staging

• Gives buyers real-life perspective when they tour the home

• Prevents buyers from having to tour a completely empty, vacant home

• Appeals to buyers’ sense of imagination

• Makes spaces appear larger and enables prospective buyers to gauge size

• Helps your home stand out in buyers’ memories after they leave

Cons of Traditional Staging

• Can be expensive, and you’ll keep incurring costs until the home sells

• Requires stagers to bring in furnishings, décor and other items

• May be unnecessary, depending on how quickly homes are selling in your market

Common Virtual Staging Mistakes

The biggest mistake a seller can make is hiring a virtual staging company that’s not good enough. Virtually staged photos should be exceptionally realistic – so real, in fact, that buyers won’t know they’re computer-generated unless someone tells them.

Other mistakes many people make with virtual staging is:

• Failing to provide prospective buyers with photos of empty rooms as well as staged rooms. Buyers may expect the home to look the same as it does in its listing photos, so provide both.
• Choosing virtual staging that makes the home look worse, not better. You have to be careful not to overdo furniture and decorative elements in staged photos.
• Using virtual staging when it’s unnecessary. Replacing furnishings and decorative elements in photos when they’re perfectly fine to begin with can be a significant waste of time (and money).

Could Virtual Staging Help You Sell Your Home?

Virtual staging can be a tremendous asset when you’re selling a vacant home, or one that has wild-card tenants or outdated décor. It allows prospective buyers to view the right vision of the home – not an empty, cavernous space, but one that’s comfortable and easy to live in.

Have you used virtual staging to sell a home? We’d love to hear your story and how it worked out for you, so please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Written byAngie Bersin on July 27, 2018 for Redfin
 

Spring Wedding at Old Orchard Country Club with John & Erika

John and Erika wed on the most beautiful spring day May 12, 2018. John got ready at his and Erika's home while Erika got ready at her mom's home. Since we had a late spring this year, all of the trees had their beautiful blossoms on them at the time of their wedding. They shared their first look at Gallery Park in Glenview and then went to St. Edna’s for a beautiful wedding mass. This was the perfect spring wedding.

After mass we headed to the Old Orchard Country Club in Mount Prospect to celebrate the night away. There was so much love in the room for John and Erika which was so evident by all the people there to celebrate with them.

So please take a peek at their day and enjoy and a huge thanks to their amazing planner who helped the day run ever so smoothly, Jennifer Henderson.

Thanks to the following vendors who I worked with on their wedding day

Wedding Planner - Jennifer Henderson A Fresh Event
Hair - Pure Salon
Makeup - Makeup by Maricris
Church - St.Edna
Reception - Old Orchard Country Club 
Flowers - MC&Company
Wedding Cake - Central Continental Bakery
DJ - DJ's For You, Benny Aguilera
Invites - Quintessence Papers

Professional Headshots in Lake in the Hills

Last week was a week full of headshots, from a few individuals coming to my home to me packing up and heading to the City to work with some larger companies. I love helping people with having a wonderful representative photo of themselves. Amy came to me looking for a modern take on headshots, so we did a few on grey and then stepped outside for a few as well!

Headshots at Lake in the Hills Home Studio

I absolutely love having people come to my home studio for headshots. Besides a standard classic image of yourself on grey or white, we can also head outside to get some foliage for a more natural light look. Carrie who I have known for 8 years or so reached out to me to update her headshots, which I was happy to do. We did some in her glasses along with some without. Take a look at her session below and contact me if you are interested in your own headshot session.

Best Chicagoland Engagement Photo Ideas

If you want your pictures to really showcase your story, I have some ideas to help you plan the perfect engagement session. Let me help you prepare for your session, Think of the answers to the following questions:

Where did you first meet?

If you want to add some sentimental value to your session, tell me about how you first met. If it was at a local place, we can stop by during your session and recreate the scene. Did you meet in Chicago? I love being able to incorporate the Chicago Skyline and other iconic Chicago landmarks in your session.

What do you like to do together?

What kinds of activities do you enjoy doing together? This will help us to create memorable photos for you. Do you love riding your bikes together or racing model airplanes? Do you go to the park and push each other on the swings or playing laser tag together? What about riding around Chicago on your Vespa together. What are your hobbies and we will try to incorporate them.

What are your common interests?

By informing us of your interests, we can add a more personal touch to your photos. Are you both fans of the same sports team? Are you really into comic books or video games? Do you work in the same profession?  This couple below had bonded over one of my favorite shows "How I Met You Mother" at St.James Farm in Warrenville.

This couple bonded over "How I Met Your Mother" So we incorporated the iconic yellow umbrella

Do you have any pets together?

If so, they make a perfect addition to your session. I welcome your pets in your e-session. We will just need to plan for someone to come along to help wrangle them, such as a friend or family member. Here we had went to one of my favorite spots, South Pond which is in Lincoln Park in Chicago. 

Do you have ‘a spot’?

You know that place where you always wind up going on date night? Where was your first kiss? What is your favorite hang out spot? Tell me your favorite go-to locations and we can check them out to see if they would be good spots for a photo shoot. The image below we had went to Downtown Oak Park which is just 15 minutes outside of Chicago since that is where they both had lived and under that is one of the most beautiful suburban locations Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva.

There are just endless engagement session ideas that we could incorporate when we work together. Please contact me for booking and chatting about your engagement or couples session. We can talk about tons of different Chicagoland location and the Chicago suburbs alike!