My niche is portrait and personal branding photography, but when your sister is getting married on a budget, you make magic happen. The day started in a frenzy. I was up past 3am doing my hair, making the bouquet, boutonniere, and flower hair accessories. I had to wake up at 5 in order to leave by 6 to get to my sister's house. We ended up leaving around 6:30am and arriving at her place by 7:20am. The wedding would take place at 9! It was a race against the clock to beat 3 faces, help my sister and mom with their hair, get dressed, and leave time for travel. But we made it! Right on time. My sister and her husband-to-be were the first in line for their Chicago courthouse wedding.
We were cutting it close, so there was no time to get location shots (honestly didn't even cross my mind). I had made a shot list the night before, but I really didn't go into this day with much of a plan. I even forgot to insert my battery in my camera. At any rate, the doors opened, and it was time to shine. With Covid-19 and the Delta variant still on the rise, the courthouse was basically empty. Just security rushing us along and telling us we couldn't take still photos. So, I took some on the fly. It was so dark, and I couldn't get the focus right, but I thought the end result was beautifully mysterious.
When we got to the office the lighting was still dim, but I took a couple shots anyway. I chose to use my EOS M100 and the 22mm f2 lens. The space was small, so this was the perfect set up. The ceremony was nothing special, just a judge in his office, a plexiglass shield separating him from the couple, and a lonely supersized McDonald's cup on his desk to keep us humble.
They said their I do's and we were once again rushed away to the exit. The rebel in me really wanted a picture of them inside the courthouse, so I quickly had them pose before we were accosted by security. As we exited the building to cheers from our crew and onlookers, I noticed a small park area across the street. This was perfect, because my sister wanted some greenery in her photos. The original plan was to take photos on the Chicago River Walk, but with the restaurant being in the opposite direction, it didn't make sense to venture out too far with a party of hungry people who were tired of walking around. So, we crossed the street and made the best of the area.
There I was in my floor length bridesmaid's dress doing my job like I always do. Getting low to get the angles, directing my subjects on how to pose, and constantly having to move back because the RF 85mm f1.2 is no joke. I shot most of the portraits with the 85mm on my EOS RP. You can probably tell by the blurry backgrounds. I shot wide open at f1.2 the whole time; after all it's not every day that I have access to a $2700 lens. I wanted to reap the full benefits of the aperture. If you've never rented a lens before I highly recommend it! I rented from BorrowLenses.com.
After exhausting my options at the park area, we walked back over to the courthouse. I wanted to get the cliché photo of the couple standing in front of the Chicago City Hall sign. But where was the sign!? I realize a building only has four sides, but it felt like I walked around at least 6. Thank goodness for cousin Fred! He was there to help me take pictures. I'm 4'11 and Fred is at minimum 7'8, so he naturally sees things up high that I don't. I completely missed the City Hall sign and was on my way to walk to the 5th side of the building when Fred informed me the sign was right in front of me the whole time. I just needed to look up.
We took some more photos in front of the courthouse, but due to my lack of planning I ran out of ideas. In hindsight, I would've gotten more pictures of the environment, a video with better attention to detail, and I would've told Fred to take pictures/videos of me for behind the scenes footage. All in all it was a good day. My sister wanted it to be an intimate affair that was simple and easy, but that doesn't mean it can't be fabulous. While planning this day, we still wanted it to feel like a traditional wedding. Hence the bouquet, the coordinating colors, and top notch photography (if I do say so myself). Mission accomplished.
Congrats again to Mr. and Mrs. Wilson.
