••• PhotoDevoto •••

Stanley Cup Family Portraits

Kara — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:58:58 +0000

After shooting Brent and Kelly’s vow renewal until late Saturday night, Alexis, with Volte Photos, and I were back at the Sopel’s house in the morning. We got there before the Stanley Cup, so we could document the arrival. Brent was like a little kid when the Cup came – grinning from ear to ear.

They had planned to eat cereal out of the Cup as a family. It was so fun and surreal. We then came back later in the afternoon for the Stanley Cup party/backyard bbq. The Sopels guesstimated that they would have more than 350 guests throughout the day at the party, and it sure seemed to hit that mark. With music from Panache, 2 pig roasts and the Stanley Cup – it was a great party.

Brent had silver spoons engraved with each family member’s name

I asked Brent how amazing of a feeling it was washing the Stanley Cup in his kitchen sink. He said he’d been dreaming of the Cup since he started skating at two years old and he couldn’t believe it was in his house.

Before heading out to bring the Cup to the crowd …

Jayla manned the fun Sno-kone machine

Chicago Vow Renewal | Brent, Kelly, Paul, Jake, Lyla and Jayla

Kara — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:25:15 +0000

I got a call from a friend, Alexis, with Volte Photos , who I went to grade school with (she was at my 7th birthday party) less than two weeks before this surprise wedding in Chicago was supposed to take place. I was in NYC shooting a couple of weddings and wasn’t too excited to turn around to travel again, but when Alexis started describing the wedding to me – I jumped at the chance. And that was before she told me Brent was a (now former) player on the championship Chicago Blackhawks and we would also be shooting their family portrait while they ate cereal out of the Stanley Cup (that blog post will come later). Ummm, can you say fun!?!

Poor Jayla burned her finger on a curling iron, hence her finger in water

This wedding was a vow renewal and they were surprising all their guests, telling them they were coming to a cocktail party. Brent and Kelly have been married 10 years, and he’s done a gazillion romantic things, like renting out a hotel ballroom, renewing their vows with a string quartet, dinner and dancing – for just the two of them. (Ladies, that’s just one story – I was like can he give pointers to all the guys out there?)

But they’d never had a real full-blown wedding.

Brent gave Kelly a silver pin with a heart on it that had part of their vows enscripted on it – I know, right?!

Kelly was like a little girl on Christmas morning as she watched guests file into their backyard from her upstairs bedroom – so giddy at the surprise. Brent walked their German Shepherd, Grit, down the aisle and their son, Jake, walked Kelly down the aisle. It was such a sweet ceremony with their kids included and ended with Brent and Kelly riding their tractor down the street.

Spying on the guests, like mother like daughters :)

Kelly’s mom gave her her earrings that she wore on her wedding day

Lyla got emotional during her older brother’s speech – so cute!

Couldn’t this photo be from like 1880? It feels like another time to me.

These guys have been on the Food Network Challenge a few times and keep winning – now I know why. Yum!

The country chic style party continued under a beautiful tent with bales of hay and white couches to sit on in their backyard. Passed hors d’oeuvres, a great DJ with The Panache Group and a starry night. But from what I heard, the party really only started once the photographers left :)

Kelly and Brent – it is really wonderful to see true love. Your marriage is a wonderful, loving example for your adorable children. Thanks for being so great to work with. Congrats!

Click to view more Chicago wedding photography from Kara Pearson Photography

Chicago Wedding | Amanda and Chris

Kara — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:17:25 +0000

I’ve had the hardest time editing this blog post down to a manageable number of photos. Maybe it’s because I’ve known Chris and Amanda for almost 10 years, maybe it’s because there was a ton of emotion and laughter on their wedding day, or maybe, just maybe, it’s because their wedding rocked it!

My first inclination that this was going to be an emotional day was when I was taking pictures of Amanda getting her make-up done, and I stopped to look at her and said, “Wow.” And she started crying. Her trick to keep from crying throughout the day? To stare up at her eyebrows. It seemed to work!

Chris and Amanda got married at the Most Holy Redeemer in Evergreen Park, IL and then took a trolley over to their reception which was at The Odyssey Country Club in Tinley Park, IL. Their reception was a full-blown dance party that ended with mini-burgers and a Ryan Adams singalong. (my favorite way to end a night :) )

A big thanks to Chicago photographer, Eddie Quinones with Luzco Photography for your help! Congrats to Chris and Amanda – I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you two! Thank you for trusting me with shooting your wedding – it was a blast.

Click here to view their gallery!

Eddie’s shots of the guys getting ready:

Watching The Sox

I love that his mom made sure he cut his fingernails

Eddie’s shot:

Hottie boom body!

And let’s end with a picture of Chris and his dad singing karaoke together

Minnesota

Kara — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:30:42 +0000

I was in Chicago for 2 weddings and a couple portrait sessions, so Bryan and I decided that would be the perfect time to head up to Minnesota to his family’s cabin. The cabin is waaaay up there, like 100 miles from the Canada border, so it is total rest and relaxation when we are there. We tubed, swam, drank beer, water skiied, drank beer, had campfires, ate a lot and just had a great time. Wish I were still there…

B, my bro, and B’s cousin

Yup, that’s my dad and bro

Tucker was in heaven, he did laps around the dock for like 6 hours a day

This makes me so calm.

Chicago baby portraits | Khalil

Kara — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 20:34:52 +0000

You may remember this cutie from past blog posts last October and last January. Heather is one of my oldest best friends, and to all my besties, I give them a portrait session as their baby present – which we did in January. She wanted more as Khalil grew, so she and her husband, Darwin, hired me while I was in Chicago to shoot another session.

Khalil is a baby of a 1,000 expressions. He started walking at 8 1/2 months and is already testing his parents patience. He knows what he wants and is on the go at all times. Although sometimes he annoys his older brother, Matias, he’s too adorable to stay mad at for long. And seriously – how freaking cute is he with that curly blonde hair? He’s more tan than I’ve ever been in my life!

Heather makes motherhood look easy, which I know is not true. I am so lucky to get to watch this family grow into its own.

Click here to be notified when Khalil’s gallery is up