We’ll be blogging the rest of their wedding this week!
We received our pictures this week and are thrilled! I have looked through them more times than I can remember and am so excited to finally share them! It was hard, but I have picked out some of our favorites. Thank you again to Steve Koo! You are awesome!
Another one of my favorites. This is on the hill at Montrose Beach. 
Kyle’s favoriteEven after 10 years of dating, Kyle and I have never had professional pictures taken together. I was thrilled to finally schedule our engagement session and begin planning for it. I wanted our pictures taken in the city, but I also wanted a location that was unique and meaningful to our relationship. We both immediately agreed on HB or Home Bistro, which is one of our favorite restaurants. It is a great BYOB in Lakeview that Kyle took me to for our first Valentine’s Day in Chicago together. We have now been about 6 times in the past 2 years. They were extremely gracious and allowed us to come in while the restaurant was closed to use the entire space!
Since it is a BYOB, we brought in our own wine for the shoot. My fiance loves wine and introduced me to it on our first trip to France. It has become a hobby of ours from wine tastings, trips to vineyards, or drinking a bottle together on a Saturday night. We definitely wanted to include it in some of our pictures.
Next, we walked around Lakeview for a few minutes and finished at Montrose Harbor. Our first choice was Northerly Island because again Kyle and I have history there, but time did not permit. However, Montrose Harbor was a perfect compromise and we got some great outdoor pictures. Normally, the harbor offers a great skyline view, like the one below, but the night of our pictures there was a extremely dense fog.
Tomorrow, I will post photos of the reception.
One of my favorite photographers, Dennis Lee, is offering a wonderful opportunity! Get your photo taken by him for a donation.
Now that we have taken our engagement pictures, I have become obsessed with using them! Here are some great ideas from fellow knotties.
Save the Dates are probably one of the more popular ways to use your engagement photos. Here’s a sample of a picture that really fits with the layout of the postcard.
I’ve never been a fan of photo holiday cards. My main problem with them is that there is no way to prop them up on my mantle. Yet now I have my engagement photos, I want to send them out!!
The home page of our wedding website is more of a visual treat than informative. I use the page to showcase photos of us. I’ve been changing the photos on a regular basis.
Photo stamps are not cheap…but they certainly make your invitation stand out from the crowd! I’ve also seen them used on thank you cards.
Although I am not close with my Mother, her one request is for us to announce our engagements in the paper. Four of ’em. I agreed…but that was before I knew how much it cost!
In some parts of the country as well as certain ethnicities, cash gifts are given. When this is the case, a cardbox is a must. Instead of using a generic white box from Michael’s, why not DIY and use your e-pics?
Our package comes with a 6 page guest book. Our guests can sign around the pictures. Other knotties have made a book at Shutterfly, Snapfish, or My Publisher.
The cover of a CD– which can be used as a favor or OOT gift bag stufffer– can include a picture from your engagement photo.
In the past, I saw a knottie that used an engagement photo for their rehearsal dinner invitation. It was really cute!
Photofetti can be used to dress up high-boys that are used during the cocktail hour. They can also be used on the various special tables: gift table, guest book table, etc.
Table numbers that have engagement photos in the background are super popular on theknot.
A slideshow can be done before the ceremony, during the cocktail hour, or during dinner. It’s a great way to showcase many photos.
Photo coasters are one of the most popular favors for a shower, rehearsal dinner, or even the wedding. Simply print your picture on a color printer and insert into the frames.
Your wedding program is a great place to add a picture of you and your FI!
The signature mat, made popular by Pottery Barn, is widely available and has become very popular in the past few years. It’s a wonderful way to display your engagement pictures!
How do you plan on using your engagement photos?
We received our engagement photos! I love them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We met Sally on the el near our old office. We took a lot of pictures on the LaSalle platform. It’s the platform that my fiance and I used to take on our way home from work. It’s a very sentimental location.
Our second stop was 175 W. Jackson. It’s the building of my FI’s office– the place where we met. We worked on the 22nd floor next to the building management. When the manager found out that we were engaged, she gave us special permission to use the building on the weekend. We’re very grateful.
His office (I no longer work there) opens up to the roofdeck. We took some amazing shots!
Then, it was off to Starbucks. Once we started dating, we kept it a secret from the office. The one time of the day we could leave is when we went to Starbucks. If we waited until 10ish, no one would usually join us on our trip down.
Our last stop of the day was at the Art Institute. We took some lovely pictures in the gardens and outside walkways.
Honey Bee Weddings 