A wedding from last summer finally hitting the blog. This was my first time in a while shooting an Esplanade Lakes wedding (by Doubletree) and I forgot how cool the venue is. This venue backs up to the Morton Arboretum, so there is a beautiful wooded area that surrounds the lake that the venue sits on. From the outside it looks like an industrial office space, but the inside gets the most incredible light and has a wonderful lobby for cocktail hour. This wedding venue is a great suburban option for those looking for something a little different than a banquet hall.
A little bit about their day.
Salwa and Saad found me via a past couple who’s wedding I second shot in 2021, and I was thrilled that they wanted to work with me in 2022 because they are my kinda people. Salwa is an *Emmy Nominated* documentary film producer for the New York Times and Saad is a software engineer who loves digital design (he designed ALL of the paper details for the wedding!!) and photography. The pair loves to travel as much as I do and we immediately hit it off. They currently reside in DC, but Chicago is where home is for them so they had weddings in both DC and Chicago. I photographed both their Mehndi and Shaadi, and had the absolute best time with them, their friends and their families.
Salwa’s bridal outfits were freaking stunning, and they had an absolutely beautiful weekend surrounded by their loved ones. My favorite part of their day was Salwa’s first look with her sister, mom and dad. After losing my fiance’s grandma last week, looking back on these photos reminds me why I do this job. It is so important to capture these precious, fleeting moments in my client’s lives. I will never take for granted the photos I have with my loved ones, and I cannot wait for another season of capturing these moments. Scroll to see some of my favorites from their day.
How sweet and precious are these family photos? :’) They make me smile so big.
Moments after Salwa and Saad’s first look. So sweet.
All image © Arielle Gallione 2023
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