Chicago Wedding Photographer | Ashley Biess Photography » Chicago wedding Photographer traveling to the Quad Cities and Worldwide.

Chicago Brunch Wedding at the Bristol

If you need to know one thing about me, here it is: I LOVE brunch. Plain and simple. But really, who doesn’t? When Lucy contacted me about photographing her Chicago brunch wedding at the Bristol, I was SO excited. Truth be told, I’ve always wanted to photograph a brunch wedding. I love the idea of a simple and intimate affair, and would love to shoot more weddings like this. We started the day earlier in the morning while family mingled over coffee and doughnuts. Lucy and Cameron kept their ceremony short and sweet, and exchanged their vows in front of their immediate family members. After a few spirited toasts, the couple and their families joined more guests at the Bristol for their brunch reception. The feast included traditional brunch-inspired cocktails and the most delicious food (still having dreams about it!). Located in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, The Bristol’s event space is perfect for a small Chicago brunch wedding. The room features plenty of natural light, exposed brick, and has a warm, cozy feel. Lucy’s choice of spring blooms looked beautiful on every table. Speaking of which, we were OBSESSED with her bouquet. Designed by the lovely Fleur du Jour, Lucy’s bouquet featured my favorites: Peonies AND Succulents. I couldn’t get enough of it! The bouquet was beautiful for a spring wedding. After brunch concluded, we had the rest of the afternoon to travel throughout the city for beautiful portraits of the happy couple. It ended up being a perfect day and we were so happy to have been a part of it! Thank you Lucy and Cameron!

May 21, 2013 - 7:27 pm

lucy - Love, love, love! You’re the best!

May 21, 2013 - 8:36 pm

Bill & Helen Mills - How very beautiful, sweet and lovely!

May 22, 2013 - 3:02 pm

Ellen and David Seagraves - Thank you for the beautiful pictures – wonderful job.

Jessica + Matt | Downtown Chicago Portraits

It was such a pleasure meeting up with Jessica and Matt for this Chicago session. They’ve been married for a few years now and wanted some new pictures of the two of them to show off in their new home. We roamed around the Art Institute, Financial District and, the always beautiful, LaSalle Street Bridge taking advantage of the classic Chicago architecture for their photos. These are some of my favorite downtown Chicago locations and I was so happy to explore them with Jess and Matt. Thank you both for a lovely session!

May 14, 2013 - 6:59 am

Ryanne - Photos look amazing! Love all the backgrounds in Chicago, especially the bridges! Very nice!

May 14, 2013 - 10:54 am

Tom Martins - Wonderful photos! Love the city feel of the artist’s work without the hustle & bustle of the city life in the pictures. You see Jess and Matt first and then the great Chicago landmarks second! Great job!!! Also shows two people very much in love!

May 14, 2013 - 3:18 pm

Linda Prozialeck - These photos are great ! Love the Chicago scenes and these two are very photogenic !
Great photography – love the scene in the financial district crossing the street.

May 14, 2013 - 7:00 pm

Peggy - Beautiful pictures!! How will you choose?

New Head Shots!

Shortly after celebrating my 26 birthday, the lovely Hannah Goering accepted the challenge of taking my head shots for my new and upcoming website. This was certainly no easy task! I spend all of my time BEHIND the camera, so becoming the subject and model was a completely new and different experience. Hannah, a good friend and talented photographer, brought her A game to make me feel at ease in front of the camera. It goes to show how having a photographer you know and trust can make all of the difference. The day was mostly filled with a lot of laughter, running around Montrose Harbor (Literally, she made me run. In heels. Yes, I fell. No, I won’t show you.), and dancing (Yup, dancing happened. See below). A big thanks to Architectural Artifacts for letting us use the space for these photos on a cold, March day. My gratitude also extends out to Beth Stock at Epoch Salon for making my hair and makeup look beautiful!

In case anyone was wondering why I don’t stick around to dance at weddings, here is your reason:

And my favorite…:)

May 9, 2013 - 10:28 am

Ashley La Fleur - LOVE THEM!! XO

May 9, 2013 - 3:03 pm

Kari - These pictures are too cute, Ashley! So happy that everything has fallen into place for you! :)

Hannah + Nick | Joliet Wedding Photographer

These two have been together for 9 years and have the pictures to prove it! High school sweethearts, Hannah and Nick, will be celebrating their Joliet wedding later this spring at the Jacob Henry Mansion. In fact, you might recognize them from Kamile and Adam’s wedding party last May. When I saw that Hannah brought along a photo from when they first started dating, we HAD to include it in their engagement photos. It was a fun now-and-then comparison. The purple and neutral hues of their outfits popped against the golden fall colors in Joliet that day. From start to finish, this session, originally featured on Style Me Pretty, was filled with love and laughter. It was a gorgeous day and we found the perfect off-the-beaten-path location, complete with a mixture of industrial ruins and that breathtaking midwest prairie grass that I can never get enough of. I can’t wait to see them again in just a few short weeks for their Joliet wedding!

May 1, 2013 - 2:59 pm

Pete Gerharz - Good Looking Pictures!

May 1, 2013 - 3:23 pm

Adam Werner - This was an awesome engagement session; amazing pics! Can’t wait to see 2 of my best friends get married 05/31/2013. Congrats Nick and Hannah. Also, props to this amazing photographer Ashley Biess!!!!

May 1, 2013 - 5:37 pm

Ashley Kane - I LOVE the photos!! You two look absolutely stunning and what a great location! Melts my heart =D If I ever get married, I’m using Ashley Biess as my photographer!

May 1, 2013 - 5:49 pm

Dan Buys - Awesome pictures guys, you two look great in all of them!

May 1, 2013 - 5:52 pm

Ryan Kwiek - I’ll tell you what… There is 2 good looking humans right there. Excited for the wedding.. you guys are great!

May 1, 2013 - 6:36 pm

Kamile - Beautiful :)

May 1, 2013 - 7:17 pm

Jake Winder - You guys are a good looking couple. I really enjoyed looking at the pics, the colors were awesome. Looking forward to the wedding!!!

May 1, 2013 - 7:46 pm

Kyle Brady - Wow Nick Is Beautiful! Love These Guys!

May 2, 2013 - 4:16 am

Balzer - Excellent photos of a couple of stand up individuals and even better pair! Looks like some good trials dirt biking could be done at that location or paintballing, or even engagement photos I suppose…:). The purple is poppin

May 2, 2013 - 6:22 am

Natediz Hird - Great pictures you two! How come Nick wasn’t holding the umbrella in one of these pics?

May 2, 2013 - 12:47 pm

Mike Spain - You two look so happy, can’t wait for the wedding! I also want to know why Nick doesn’t have an umbrella?

May 7, 2013 - 6:50 pm

Dominic Leto - These pictures are stunning, simply marvelous. You two were both ripped out of a Vanity Fair spread. Bonne chance aux deux de vous!

Amy + Adam | County Line Orchard Wedding Photographer

Believe it or not, Amy and Adam’s adventure all began with a letter. Adam, a Marine, was taken when he saw a photo of Amy in a friend’s footlocker and instantly knew he had to meet her someday. He decided to write her a letter, and the rest is history. Amy and Adam’s beautiful County Line Orchard wedding was filled to the brim with love. Amy handcrafted her rustic wedding decor with many DIY projects, including the table center pieces, program, menu, cake stand, and beyond. She even found an old tree stump an carved their initials into it! The couple exchanged vows with guests surrounding them on the floor and overhead in the balcony. Adam had a little “dust” in his eyes as he read his vows to his bride. It was incredibly sweet! The rest of the night was filled with dancing and photo-booth fun inside the beautiful big barn at County Line Orchard. It was definitely a night to remember!

April 29, 2013 - 12:37 pm

Amy Creed - I fall more in love with all the pics every time I look at them :) you’re the best!!

April 29, 2013 - 12:55 pm

Debby Bailey - I just wanted to say that I wasn’t at the wedding and these pics made me feel like I was totally there. You did an amazing job, the pics are awesome! :)

Debby Bailey

April 29, 2013 - 1:20 pm

Lauren Troester - Amy, they turned out great! You guys look amazing! Absolutely beautiful!

April 29, 2013 - 2:50 pm

dad creed - l love my new daughter!

April 29, 2013 - 6:36 pm

Lori Zubke - Beautiful pictures! The love in your special day was captured beautifully in your pictures! Gorgeous bride, handsome groom, looks like it was an amazing day!

April 29, 2013 - 8:07 pm

Jackie Bailey - I love re looking at all of this pictures! It was such an amazing wedding and I was so glad to be apart of it. For all those future weddingers out there checking out Ashley’s blog wondering if they should use her…the answer is yes. You can see that she does an absolutely amazing job and she makes it so easy for all of us in the pictures! Ashley you rock, but I’m sure it made it easy when you had such a gorgeous bride and groom!!!

April 30, 2013 - 8:45 pm

Becky Barrett - What a beautiful day! So happy we got to be there. All of your pictures are absolutely perfect and capture something so special in each pic! Love them! I wish I could’ve had your photographer in TX :-)

April 30, 2013 - 8:49 pm

Steph Bailey - One of the best weddings and lovely pictures to help us remember forever!

April 30, 2013 - 8:50 pm

Alyssa bailey - Thanks for letting me be apart of your day!

April 30, 2013 - 8:53 pm

Alex Bailey - Love you Amy and Adam!

May 1, 2013 - 5:30 am

Ann Brzuskiewicz - Such a beautiful wedding and what beautiful pictures you have to remember this day by! Love you both!

May 1, 2013 - 5:39 am

Laura Bailey - Beautiful bride (and groom), beautiful day, beautiful pictures and beautiful memories!

May 1, 2013 - 5:49 am

Karen Wandersee - What a beautiful day!– for a beautiful couple! It was such a fun day. So glad we could share it with you. Love you guys!

May 1, 2013 - 10:52 am

Lori Gerken - This was the most amazing venue with every detail perfectly thought out and in place for the barn themed wedding. Amy I think you should be a wedding planner! I cried again looking at the photos.

May 1, 2013 - 3:37 pm

Donna Brzuskiewicz - Sorry commented on the “other” comments. What a great day your wedding was… beautiful!!!! Ashley what a great Photographer you are, capturing all the wonderful moments of their day.

May 1, 2013 - 4:05 pm

Melissa Bailey - Beautiful bride! Beautiful wedding! Beautiful day! And Beautiful pictures to capture all that beautifulness!

May 1, 2013 - 5:42 pm

Denise Yackus - The wedding was beautiful and the pictures are amazing!