September 8, 2018

Marisa + Shane’s Chicagoland Wedding Photos | The Haight, Elgin, IL

Marisa and Shane’s wedding was my first as an official Chicago wedding photographer!! Since moving here last summer, all of my weddings have been back in Iowa since that’s where I was living when I booked most of my 2018 weddings. What a wedding to kick things off in Chicago (Elgin, IL to be exact) though!

At the end of every wedding, I like to reflect on the events of the day and choose my favorite moment. For Shane and Marisa’s, I had a few that stuck out. The first was their first look; I had Shane waiting for his bride in a little brick alleyway near The Haight (their BEAUTIFUL venue for the ceremony and reception). When he saw her, the look on his face was just filled with happiness and adoration. He pulled her into a hug, getting a little teary eyed, and they just hugged and whispered to each other. Then they exchanged letters before Irene, Marisa’s sister and maid of honor, brought over Maison: Marisa and Shane’s six month old son. Maison is just about the cutest little guy I’ve ever seen and has the best head of red hair.

My other two favorite moments of the day were: 1) seeing Marisa and Shane whispering and laughing to each other during the ceremony in front of all their friends and family. 2) witnessing Shane’s family help their grandparents out of their wheelchairs at the reception so they could dance together for the Anniversary Dance (they were out there the longest as they have celebrated SEVENTY—yup, 7-0—YEARS of marriage).

Keep scrolling to see these moments and others from their day!

Venue: The Haight
Photographer: Marissa Kelly Photography
Couple: Marisa + Shane Smith