“I probably knew I was in love with Joe, before he knew he was in love with me,” Erica tells me on the morning of her wedding day. She is surrounded by friends, loved ones, family, and soon-to-be more family. But most of all, she is surrounded by love and smiles and laughter. I don’t think there is a better way to describe the entire than that, “surrounded by love and smiles and laughter.”
Joe gets dressed with his groomsmen, his friends, his confidants, and his dear family in the same hotel, but far enough away that he isn’t chanced to see his lovely bride to be before the ceremony. Joe is confident and looking amazing, but we can see his nerves building up in the best way. Those butterflies…
Erica slips into her dress and you can visibly see her own butterflies. It’s hitting her that today is her wedding and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bride so happy and ready to get the adventure rolling!! The day ends in a blur of lovely moments, smiling family and laughter from every corner.
Being able to photograph and film for a couple and their amazing families is an honor – but even more than that, we felt like family the entire day and a couple of us even ended up tearing up at Erica’s father and mother’s toast. It was like seeing old friends finally tying the knot, and really it kind of was. Over a year ago, we got to spend the day with Erica and Joe doing some amazing photos + video (even playing with some smoke and lights at night in the middle of a forest). A year flows by fast, and here we were at the end of the night. We were honored to be a part of their amazing day and their amazing love. And as we are packing up, of course we stop to go run out and dance with the bride and groom (because that’s our thing) and we leave, looking back over our shoulders, smiling to ourselves at the love and laughter filling them both.
The amazing wedding day team:
Venue: Penthouse Hyde Park
Church: Church of the Holy Family
Planning: BW Studio + Events
Video + Photo: For Love Films
Florist: The Flower Firm
Catering: Catering by Michael’s
Entertainment: DJ Lee Michaels
Hair & Makeup: Kylie Jordan
Hotels: Gwen Hotel
Transportation: Windy City Limo
Please enjoy Erica + Joe’s wedding film (and be sure to click on that 4K option so you can see the film in gorgeous quality, you won’t be disappointed!).
Be sure to check out some of the photos and film stills from their day below:
You can check out Erica + Joe’s teaser films here as well…
Version 2
