{the deets}

Amanda Therese {Paralegal, from Sterling Heights, MI}

Robert Edward {Special Education Teacher Aide and Coach, from Naperville, IL}

Date you met {May 16, 2008}

First Date {Rob cooked me chicken fajitas at my apartment and we watched Bull Durham}

Date you were engaged {September 14, 2011}

Three words to describe your proposal story {All the firsts}

Favorite Date you went on {with your fiancé}

He took me on a ‘Mandy date’ about 2 months into our relationship because I told him no guy really actually had treated me like I was supposed to be treated.  He brought me flowers and we went to Harry Carays steakhouse in Lombard, because it was a fancy restaurant with a sports theme.  We then went to a musical called ‘Curtains’ because he knew I liked mysteries.

Three words that describe your Fiance

Rob for Mandy : Compassionate, Beautiful, Exciting

Mandy for Rob : Funny, thoughtful, dorky

Looking forward to the wedding because

All of our friends and family from around the country get to celebrate with us.

We’re awesome because…

we compliment each other

Wedding Date & Location

August 4, 2012

Ceremony: First Presbyterian, Mt. Clemens, MI

Reception: MacRay Harbor, Harrison Twp., MI

They love love love LOVE baseball.  Probably more than any other couple I’ve every met.  Mandy’s goal is to make it all 30 stadiums before she turns 30 & I believe she only has 2-3 left.

Their wedding will consist of many baseball related things & considering on their first date they watched Bill Durham, I’d say it was a match made in heaven.

Michelle & I had a blast & we hope you enjoy all of your images!  Can’t wait to see you again in Michigan next year!

{stephanie natale}

Mandy & Rob | E-session | Chicago Illinois

Mandy & Rob met literally less than a block from Wrigley Field, so naturally it was a perfect setting to start our session.

We had one 1/2 hour inside Wrigley Field & had to work fast but we came away with some great images!

{If you want more information about having your session inside Wrigley Field, contact the management there}

This is Rob’s “Coach” shot.  The fabulous image to the left was shot by the wonderful Michelle Martin who accompanied me to Chicago for their e-session. Thanks again Michelle!

So I love this series of shots.  I often will tell my couples to cuddle in close & for the husband {or fiance} to gently lean over & appear as though he is sneaking a peek down her shit.

My hopes usually is that it is more a subtle, soft approach.  But Rob had his own idea & hey, we went with it.

Thanks Rob steppin’ it up a notch!

Our next stop after Wrigley Field was North Ave Beach, downtown Chicago.

If you enjoyed Mandy & Rob’s BLOG post be sure to leave us/them some comment love below

and

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If you are planning a 2012 or 2013 Wedding {or know someone who is} be sure to make plans to stop by the

Quality Inn & Suites in Madison Wisconsin

Sunday October 16, 2011 for a fabulous {FREE} Bridal Show.

Please note that we are 1/2 booked for 2012 already & a few months are officially closed {August & September}.  If you are currently planning a wedding, consider booking early to reserve your date & make sure that it is available.

We are actively booked for 2012 dates, especially for the months of May-July as well as 2013.

Be sure to check out our Natale Photography Facebook page & stay up to date on availability & booked dates!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

s {natale}

Wendy & Vinny

Saturday June 19 2011

Venue : The Paper Valley {Appleton Wisconsin}

W & V had an amazing day for a wedding.  It was beautiful & clear for portraits & the wedding in the afternoon.

The day was all about being laid back & celebrating W & V  and laughing along the way.  One of my favorite things about this couple & their families is that they love to laugh.

The love, the relationships & the bonds just shine through & well make my job, so much easier!  Thanks W & V for being beautiful peeps.

Thanks for having us apart of your day.  Thanks for e-mailing me back in the day & thanks for trusting your gut that I was a long lost sister.

Your family & friends were fabulous & a joy to photograph from begin to end.

I had along with me Second Shooting, the fabulous Michelle Martin, with Michelle Martin Photography.  Thanks so much, you were wonderful!

Even though W & V have seen their entire gallery of wedding images, I still wanted to {better late than never} do a BLOG post with some of my favorite images.

This summer has turned out to be much much busier than expected & I appreciate everyone’s patience as I take the appropriate time for each client to make sure their final galleries are a beautiful reflection of their day.

Enjoy the not so ’sneaky’ peeks

{s. natale}

W & V’s first look :

What a fabulous bridesmaid.  She wears Cat earrings in honor of the bride & her love for cats.  Way to step up your duties “Rita”.

If you liked Wendy & Vinny’s BLOG post be sure to leave us some comment love

and

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I had the pleasure this summer to attend a fabulous workshop in Chicago with the amazing photographer

Scott Robert Lim

This was the view from our room @ the Allerton Hotel in Chicago

I traveled with a few very talented  photographer friends of mine from the Madison area.

Michelle from Michelle Martin Photography

&
Mandie from Red Gecko Studio

This was Mandie & I on our “romantic” carriage ride the night before the workshop {image from my iPhone}

{Ok enough of the name dropping}

All in all we had a wonderful trip & learned a lot from Scott.  He is just full of knowledge, advice & gives so much of himself back to our community.

It was my first workshop with SRL & I look forward to more in the future!

Not to mention Chicago as a city is just lovely!

Necessary to credit these fabulous people who helped make the day happen

Dresses & Hair Accessories | Rebekah Jacobs Couture

Makeup | Barb Zanzig of BZ Artistry

Hair | Tony, owner of Hybrid Salon

These are a sample of the images taken that day, enjoy!

Thanks again Scott, it was a pleasure to spend the day with you!

A few pullbacks from how we were shooting

Love the Trolley @ Navy Pier

We ended our 12+ hour day with watching the fireworks from Navy Pier

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Jaryd & Kaleigh were able to get inside Wrigley Field for a portion of their Engagement Session in Chicago Illinois.

We started mid/late afternoon & being as though Jaryd had previously e-mailed WF & asked permission to shoot inside he was not giving up.  He went in & spoke with someone & with a small dontation to the Chicago Cubs charity we were able to photograph inside for approximately 45 minutes.  It was fantastic.  I think we all were giddy with excitement.  Whether you are a Chicago Cub fan or not, you can’t help but think this stadium is absolutely beautiful!

It was a great way to kick start a fantastic e-session in Wrigleyville.

Thanks to the Chicago Cubs for helping us out that day!

After we left WF we walked around the area & even hit up the L-train nearby.

Fun people. Fun textures. Fun times.

We just simply could not help but laugh when we were with K & J.  They are so cute together.  Laughing, making jokes & having lots of fun together.

Thanks for being up for anything & sitting on the dirty dirty floor whenever we asked.

We can’t wait for your wedding this December!

Enjoy the sneak peeks!

s. {natale}

Love it.

I imagined this shot when we were inside, in my head & this is exactly what I imagined.  It feels so old fashioned to me.

I think K just got done making fun of J here for answering his phone, mid session.  Sorry J, you deserved it

Absolutely, hands down FAVORITE of the day.

Another fabulous ring shot by Michelle b.

Nor really sure what I said here, but I love the reaction nonetheless

We thought about eating a snack here, but it was too busy.

Kaleigh, shut your hair in this shot.  It is fantastic.  {props to the train going by up above}

Good times.

Love the look that J is giving the Ice Cream man as he passes by here…

{again a big fat HUGE thank-you to the super rad second shooter :: michelle b.}

Shut the sliding glass door.  These two are frick-frackin’ adorable.

We had a BLAST shooting Chris & Crystal’s engagement session in Wrigleyville.

We started out fairly early in the morning & walked around the area surrounding Wrigley Field & found some amazing colors & textures, even a beer truck.

After trying very hard to get inside of Wrigley, we decided a Roof top view would do & WOW was it amazing to be up there & look down @ Wrigley Field.

We had a great day & ended with a wonderful lunch @ Vines on Clark st. {thanks again Chris & Crystal}

Enjoy the sneak peek & have fun in Las Vegas

s. {natale}

BTW they look this cute, naturally.  AHHdorable.

This is what happened to get this next shot.

Us : walking down the street by Wrigley, in front of Bar Louie, passing by a beer truck

Dudes in the front seat of the truck : “What’s going on here?”

Me: “Oh, an engagement, why?  Do you want to let my clients sit in the back of your truck?”

Dudes: “Oh, for sure, hold on a minute…”

Now who said Illinois people were not friendly?

Super fabulous shot done by the super fabulous Michelle b.

Starting to shoot around Wrigley, good ‘ole Harry Caray

Their fav # is 21

I think my favorite image from the day

OK so we were not able to get in to Wrigley Field, but while we were shooting around the outside Michelle happened to notice that one of the rooftop buildings behind Wrigley was offering FREE tours.  Who were we to ignore that?  So we toured this fabulous building & our first stop was in the middle & was this fabulous, uber-modern suite with 25+ flat screen tvs & fabulous furniture & it appeared to have it’s own kitchen.

After we cooled off in the suite, we continued upstairs to the top & this was our view :

Then as you went to the very top & near the back, this was the view.

Love Chicago. Love this shot.  Love C & C

Another great shot by Michelle, in front of WF

{Have I mentioned how much I am in LOVE with my Fish Eye lens?}

{{ A big huge THANKS to my wonderful wonderful second shooter Michelle B.  I had a BLAST shooting with you, your the bestest }}

Lindsey & Eric were married on a beautiful Friday in the Wisconsin Dells, at the Wilderness Resort & Conference Center.  This was my first time shooting at the Wilderness & I was very very impressed.  It is a beautiful venue & things were very well organized.  You are able to have your ceremony & reception within a few feet from each other & the view is absolutely stunning!  Not to mention you are in the Wisconsin Dells, so spots for other shooting locations are endless!!

I had the very wonderful & talented Laura Zastrow along with me 2nd shooting.  It was our first time working together & I had a great time!  Make sure to check out her fabulous work! {thanks again Laura for your fantastic & creative ideas & all your hard work – especially with being preggo with bebe #3}

I think I said a million times that day, how perfect it was!  We had a relaxing morning/early afternoon of getting ready & prepared for an afternoon of shooting.  They had a late afternoon ceremony time & with them choosing to see each other before the ceremony we were able to hit a lot of fun pre-ceremony locations!  Thanks for being up for all of the ideas that Laura & I threw @ you guys – even some of them infested with mosquitos!

We had blast documenting your day & enjoyed working with your fabulous wedding party & family!

Enjoy your sneak peaks!

s. {natale}

Little powder anyone?

I’ve seen many different “Bridesmaid” shirts, but this one takes the cake!

Lindsey & Eric opted to see each other prior to the wedding.  I absolutely love love love LOVE it when B & G’s have that special moment beforehand.  I think the images we get are amazing & the emotion is so fresh & new.  This worked out perfect, especially because we ended up having the ceremony inside (due to the rain) but at least the first time they saw each other on their wedding day had this beautiful view!

I like to call this the mosquito dance.

This one makes me smile, A LOT.

Welcome to the random dirt/sand pile we found while scouting for locations

We did a similar shot like this @ L&E’s Engagement session outside my studio.  So when we found this spot the day of their wedding, I knew it was a must have!

The two fathers, moments before the ceremony

Love this end of ceremony shot!  They are ready to party!

Ok so the love between Eric & his mom was just TOO much.  Loved watching them together!

When all else fails, look in the bathroom for a great location for your ring shot

Vendor Props:

Ceremony & Reception Venue :: Wilderness Resort and Conference Center

Bridal Consultant :: Anna Powers & Nancy Wilcox {nannybydesign@aol.com}

Cake :: Anna Powers & Nancy Wilcox {nannybydesign@aol.com}

Music/DJ :: Juke Box Bandstand

Flowers :: Wild Apples Floral

Alterations :: Nonna’s Tailoring & Tuxes

Photographer Props ::

Many many many thanks to the wonderful

Laura Zastrow, from Laura Zastrow Photography {Madison Wis}

First of all a big THANK-YOU to all of the people who took the time to write in to the studio & share their story & images.  It was a lot of fun to read the entries & there were some really super sweet stories that we got in.  I’m glad I didn’t have to pick a winner, it would have been too difficult.   We had over 25 entries!  Also a big THANK-YOU to a few of my photog friends who helped narrow down the winners!  You’re the best!

Drum roll please….

Love {You} Forever Session

We actually had TWO winners.  We had a split decision & I just decided to go ahead & provide the session to BOTH couples:

Winner #1 :: Lisa & Matt {Janesville, WI}

Winner #2 :: Melissa & Brandon  {Madison, WI}

{Please note that if you entered the contest & did not win I will still honor a 25% off a Love {You} Forever session booked for the month of June/July.  Please contact the studio for more information}

Destination Wedding Photography Contest

Our winner for this contest is getting married in Mexico in January of 2012.

Congratulations :: Emily & Jason

Again, Thank-you to everyone who participated in these contests & I look forward to working with many of you in the next few months!

Happy Weekend

S. Natale

If you have been following Facebook & the BLOG you know we are currently running TWO contests & they are ending on MONDAY MAY 31st 2010

Make sure if you’d like to nominate someone for the love {you} forever session or the destination wedding giveaway to do so prior to Monday!

The winner will be notified by Monday June 7th

Feel free to pass this on & share with friends & family!!

*love {you} forever session contest  (click here to see the previous blog post)

QUICK NOTE:  Many people have asked about these sessions.  Basically they are a session dedicated to couples!!  Long-term couples, married couples, couples celebrating their anniversary {wedding or dating}.  I wanted to offer a session to those couples that maybe wanted to celebrate their relationship, love & have some fun doing so!  You can nominate yourself and/or another couple.

*destination wedding contest click here to see the previous blog post)

“Crash our Wedding” event 2010

We had a great turnout & an amazing evening!

Thank-you to everyone that came & supported the event & to all of the wonderful Wedding Professional’s that helped put this all together.  It was a PLEASURE to work with you all!

This is one of my favorite images from the night!

Bridal Gowns : Sandy @ Fair Lady Bridal Shoppe, Janesville, Wis.

Flowers:  Brad @ Floral Expressions in Janesville, Wis.

Beautiful scenery: Shelly @ The Janesville Country Club

Complimentary Champagne, SWAG bags & great appetizers from the Country Club were some of the things our guests were able to enjoy while mingling with our Elite Wedding Professionals.

Brian from The Paper Deli Store designed & printed the fabulous invitations.

Wonderful tasting cake from Paige @ Cake Connection

Our “Brides” getting ready with their gowns, shoes & finishing touch: Wedding Day jewelry from the Diamond Center

JukeBox Bandstand did a wonderful job DJing the event

Anasazi was there doing a live demonstration of Bridal hair & Make-up

The Diamond Center brought a small selection of wedding rings so that guests could try them on.  They also allowed all of us to wear jewelry for the night to showcase more of their beautiful jewelry.

Brad : You are fabulous, period!

The floral arrangements that you had out for display we’re absolutely stunning.

Drum roll please….

CONGRATS to Dan & Sarah on their engagement!!!

Here is how the story goes:

Sarah was set up to “win” flowers.

Dan asked her to marry him {so adorable}.

She said yes.

Everyone clapped.

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

Brenna, Marketing Director for the Diamond Center

Thank-you for your wonderful vision on this project!  You rock!

After the proposal, Dan & Sarah snuck outside for a few minutes alone.  I happened to spot them out there & was able to capture a few of these candid shots.

After the sun went down behind the trees, we did a short, small impromptu engagement session out on the greens @ the Country Club.

The Janesville Country club has some amazing views & spots for beautiful wedding images.

Michelle & Brady were standing @ the alter which was set up so the guests could see how beautiful it would be to have not only your Reception @ the Country Club, but the ceremony as well!

Thanks again M & B for the help!  Hope you had a great time!  I look forward to shooting your wedding in a few short weeks!

Then at the end of the night, we drew a name for the Grand Prize, valued @ over $7,000!

CONGRATS to Andrea & Andy!