James Currie Photography

After getting to know each other through a group of friends, Dan thought he would play it cool by asking Alyssa to join him one afternoon while he ran some errands. Errands quickly turned into drinks at the rooftop bar above the Lincoln Hotel and their first date ended in a kiss. Their relationship progressed quickly over several months and Dan found himself on one knee at the Lincoln Park bridge asking for Alyssa to spend the rest of her life with him. For their engagement session, we returned to these special locations and found them in perfect Spring bloom, a fitting metaphor for their blossoming relationship. I can’t wait to photograph their Summer wedding in the city. For now, check out some of my favorites from their engagement session.

The crib went together and the stuffed animals put in place; the guest room transformation into nursery made it all seem very real.  In a few short weeks, Mike and Nicole are going to be parents. Mike runs a successful photography business himself, and has become an excellent colleague and friend so I was honored they asked me to capture this special time in their lives. Special thanks to Moses the wonder dog for making a cameo appearance throughout our photo session.

The path was marked “Closed for Winter,” but that didn’t stop Jake. Lydia had no idea what he had planned, but she trusts Jake with her life; he’s that kind of guy. They hiked over a mile through the Michigan snow to the lookout at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. If you’ve ever been to that lookout, you know what an incredible site it is looking over Lake Michigan. Lydia took in the view and turned to Jake suddenly realizing he was on one knee. “Will You Marry Me,” he said? Winter will always be the most romantic time of the year for the two of them, the reason they planned their wedding for the following January. A Winter engagement session was a MUST! Within the week after we met to talk about their wedding photography an engagement session was booked and snow was coming. I had an idea the falling snow would play a role in making their session magical, but I had no idea it would be this good. I had a blast with Lydia and Jake, we became fast friends and had a lot of laughs capturing these images. I’m so excited for the year ahead for them.

Sometimes the perfect light hits the perfect couple at the perfect time and I’m there to capture it. Erika and Britton are photography friends of ours that we’ve gotten to spend some time with recently. They are so deeply devoted to each other and their passion for each other and the work they do is so inspiring. Their love for each other is about to expand; Erika is expecting a baby girl in February. We are so thrilled to celebrate this time in their life with a maternity photo session at Kankakee State Park, where Britton proposed to Erika just a couple of years ago. Check out all the awesomeness!

Within 30 minutes of meeting him, Manoah mentioned kids to me three times and I could tell he was excited about starting his life with Rachel and building a family with her. They first met on a mission trip to Mexico and slowly built their friendship until they realized there was something more, much more. It seemed fitting that their faith brought them together and their faith is what their relationship is built on. Manoah proposed to Rachel at Buckingham fountain in Chicago which was a natural location for us to start off their engagement photo session. We had a wonderful afternoon exploring Grant park and getting to know each other. Rachel and Manoah, it was great getting to know you two as a couple, I’m so excited to photograph your Winter wedding!