Meghan McCarthy

Jill And Michael: Westin Chicago-Itasca Wedding

My last wedding of 2019 was one for the books – but that’s to be expected when your bride & groom’s biggest goal for the night was to enjoy the night and party with friends and family all evening long!

I’ve known Jill since we were in college together – she was my childhood best friend’s roommate at Illinois State – so when she reached out to talk about all things wedding, I was overjoyed to meet her for brunch and discuss details. Fun fact, we actually ended up moving our first wedding meeting to a Mariano’s because the brunch place was too packed 🙂 Throughout our coffee/wedding details/catch up date, Jill talked about how amazing her relationship with Michael was, how much she was truly looking forward to the year ahead of celebrating being engaged and ready to jump head first into wedding planning.

I met Michael during their first engagement session (which was extremely cold!) and I was so incredibly impressed with their agile attitude about walking around their Wicker Park neighborhood to capture adorable ‘just engaged’ moments that they could cherish for years to come. It was so incredibly cold that we did the engagement session again at Lincoln Park – hello beautiful Chicago summers!

Flash forward to wedding day, and walking into the gorgeous Westin Chicago Northwest hotel in Itasca – I was completely blown away by the atrium-style lobby spaces, white canopy tent reception space and beautiful natural light.

It may have been a gloomy day outside, but you would never have known that from the smiles and energy coming from the bridal suite! Jill and her girls were finishing getting ready when I walked in, shared a whole bunch of hugs and jumped into the day.

After a teary first look between Jill and her dad, and then with Michael, we braved the cold and took portraits outside near the Westin, and prepared for an epic evening of celebrating. The greenery on the bridesmaid’s Azazie dresses brought out the breathtakingly beautiful florals highlighting in Bonnie Bee Flowers’ custom bouquets. The fall/winter colors truly popped throughout the evening and were a true joy to photograph.

After the short, sweet and lovely ceremony, cocktail hour bustled in the expansive lobby atrium, then everyone moved into the elegant white tent reception space – complete with a three-tier white cake by the talented Lovin Oven Cakery.

The celebration continued with fantastic speeches and a packed dance floor all night long. Basically, it was an epic way to end my 2019 wedding season!

To Jill & Michael – thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be part of your wedding story – from engagement photos around Wicker Park & Lincoln Park Zoo, to your amazing wedding celebration. I truly enjoyed every moment and wish you both a lifetime of happiness together!

Xo Meghan

meghan mccarthy photography | chicago photographer