This past weekend, I met up with an adorable family to shoot photos with them and their newest edition: 6-week-old Zayden.

Shooting newborn photos can always be a bit of a challenge, as they have a mind of their own (don’t we know it), and Mom and Dad are usually sleep-deprived and anxious. But Zayden’s parents, Vanessa and Marcquel, were as kind and calm as can be, as was his big sis, Akaylah. Plus, Grandma was on the sidelines, ready with a bottle and a bounce whenever we needed her!

I’m so happy to have worked with this little fam, and being around sweet Zayden has deepened my own baby fever. Here are some photos from our time together.

All the babies!

LOOK AT THAT FACE!

I really, really love this shot.

Hi, Dad!

Listen, Zayden: you’re family is ridiculously good-looking. So, you’ve gotta work on your camera face. Okay, buddy? 😉

This past Friday, I kicked off my wedding season by photographing Anne and David’s wedding at the Morton Arboretum. Although Chicago weather has been more temperamental than usual, we had the perfect weather for their big day.

I couldn’t have found more kind and easy-going couple to start off this year’s wedding season. David and Anne are truly a photog’s dream: they were willing to go with the flow, didn’t spend a single second stressing the small stuff, and are just about as nice and fun-loving as you will find. Anne is a physicist (hello, genius!) and is maybe the least bride-y bride that I’ve ever met. That is to say, she was a complete joy to be around, as was David.

This is the kind of couple whose wedding included a prayer requests for refugees and the world’s children. If I could, I’d photograph this wedding again and again.

Here are the sneak peeks from their day, which I hope they love!

Anne’s “getting ready” process was as sweet and simple as it could be. Only her mom was in the room, and she helped Anne slip into her dress and her shoes.

The couple chose to do a first look, which makes the whole day flow more seamlessly.

The Morton Arboretum is a beautiful venue, and I am in love with the Founder’s Room, which boasts these fantastic windows.

I DIE.

Anne’s wedding look was so understated and effortless–and beautiful!

A few shots from the outdoor ceremony:

And a few more portraits, which we snuck in right after they were married.

Heading off to cocktail hour…

I don’t usually post many photos from cocktail hour, which is usually just cramped and chaotic. But I love this shot of David and Anne, which I think really shows what that time is like for the new couple.

During their entrance into the reception, David surprised everyone by bringing out his inner cowboy!

Anne is German and wanted to integrate a German tradition. Apparently, at German weddings, they play a lot of games. This one required Anne and David to work together to cut a heart out of a bed-sheet. It was a race, and the winner–Anne–got to be carried through the heart.

And one last photo from the very end of the night, which I think so perfectly represents this adorable couple and how much they love each other.

I’ve been photographing Emmy since she was only a 1 year old–back when she was still an only child! So, it was fun to shoot photos with this family whom I’ve been working with for over 10 years.

This year, we decided to do something a little different, and we opted for a glam session in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood, which was quite the departure from our usual suburban garden shoots.

I love how these photos turned out–and I love this family! Here are some sneak peeks from our shoot: