Sam & Jack

A Candid Chicago Wedding at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel

candid wedding moments only

Some wedding days are carefully orchestrated from beginning to end. And then there are wedding days where the couple makes a conscious decision to slow down, be present, and enjoy all the little moments – the hugs, the laughter, the stories, the unexpected things that happen when the people you love most are all in one room.

Sam and Jack’s wedding at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel was exactly that kind of day.

From the very beginning, their wedding was filled with personal details and family history. Sam got ready wearing a robe she had made from her mother’s wedding dress—a beautiful way to bring a piece of her parents’ wedding day into her own. And there was even more history. Sam’s parents had held their wedding reception at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel 30 years earlier. Thirty years later, their daughter was celebrating her own wedding in the same place.

That’s the kind of detail that makes a wedding feel like more than a beautiful event. It becomes part of a family’s story.

family dynamic and the laughter

If you spent any time with Sam and her parents, it was immediately obvious that they have the kind of relationship where teasing, laughing, and embarrassing each other are all expressions of love.

During the reception, Sam’s maid of honor told a story about when they were kids. Sam had just moved into the neighborhood, and the kids were all playing at the nearby park. Wanting to introduce themselves – or perhaps make a memorable first impression – Sam’s parents slowly drove by with the windows down, honking the horn and hooting and hollering to embarrass their daughter in front of her potential new friends.

Sam was, understandably, mortified. Her future maid of honor, however, apparently thought this was fantastic. Rather than being scared off by the spectacle, she decided that Sam’s family seemed like exactly the kind of family she wanted to be around.

Jack’s family has its own version of a very familiar family dynamic.

As the youngest of four brothers, Jack figured out early that there were certain advantages to his position in the family. Most importantly, he learned that he could apparently get away with just about anything because his oldest brother would be there to protect him.

Eventually, Jack had essentially turned his big brother into his own personal security guard. And really, what else are big brothers for?

party on the dancefloor

For Sam and Jack, the goal wasn’t to spend their wedding day rushing from one photo opportunity to the next. They wanted to actually experience their wedding.

The little moments between the big moments. And those are exactly the moments I love photographing.

Their wedding ceremony took place at St. Michael’s Church, followed by a celebration at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel. Between the ceremony and reception, we also took time for bride and groom portraits in Lincoln Park, keeping the photographs relaxed and natural rather than turning the entire afternoon into a series of poses.

Because your wedding photographs shouldn’t just show you what your wedding looked like.

They should remind you what it felt like to be there.