Illinois
Wedding photography · Chicago
In short
Wedding photography in Chicago starts at $3,500: 8 hours on location with a photographer who works in Chicago, and 600 edited photos delivered to a private gallery within 6 weeks.
Why choose Wedding photography in Chicago?
Chicago runs two wedding seasons with entirely different problems. From May to October the question is which of the city’s outdoor portrait locations is free on a Saturday, because every one of them is shared with four other wedding parties. From November to March the question is whether there is anywhere indoors at the venue worth photographing in, which is a thing to establish months beforehand rather than at four o’clock on the day.
Worth knowing about Chicago
A winter Chicago wedding needs its portrait location decided at the venue walk-through rather than on the day, because the honest options are few and they get taken. Hotel stairwells, a lobby with a window, a covered colonnade — these are scouted and timed months ahead, and a couple who planned to step outside for twenty minutes in January will otherwise be photographed in a corridor by default.
What does the session in Chicago look like?
- The Chicago Riverwalk or a bridge
- Ten minutes from most downtown venues, and the most recognisable frame the city offers a wedding party.
- The venue’s own interiors
- Walked beforehand and identified by hour, which is the whole winter plan.
- Outside at blue hour
- Ten minutes while the room is lit and empty. Works in February as well as in July.
What does wedding photography in Chicago include?
- 600+ retouched photographs
- Eight hours of continuous coverage
- Pre-wedding venue walk-through and timeline planning
- Second photographer for ceremony and reception
- Private online gallery within 6 weeks
- Print release for personal use
FAQ — Wedding photography in Chicago
Can we get outdoor wedding photos in a Chicago winter?
In short bursts, yes, and they are often the most striking frames of the day. Ten minutes outside at blue hour with the city lit behind you works in February. What does not work is planning a forty-minute outdoor portrait session in January: the wind off the lake is visible in the photographs within about five minutes, and the indoor plan is what the day actually runs on.
How many hours of coverage do we need?
Eight covers most single-venue Chicago weddings — the last hour of getting ready through to the first dances. Add hours if the ceremony and reception are more than about thirty minutes apart, if there is a first look before the ceremony, or if you want the send-off, which by definition happens at the end and is the thing that most often pushes a day past eight.