Kali & Matt Engagement Photos Lincoln Park & North Avenue Beach Chicago

You don’t have to ask me twice to head to Lincoln Park and North Avenue Beach in Chicago – my happy place – for an engagement shoot! That’s where I photographed Kali and Matt, and it was an absolute dream session in every way.

We started at Lincoln Park and Zoo with Kali, Matt & Clark their furry baby. 

Kali & Matt used two outfits. One  with Kali in a skirt and Matt in a jacket, and one more casual with us both of them in jeans.

We headed to the North Avenue Beach at around 3:00PM  just when the sun was setting, which made the light especially golden & soft, and the lake Michigan waters a rich turquoise.

I asked Kali few questions to find more about the couple:

Location

• Since Chicago is our home and where we met, we knew we wanted to incorporate some of the classic city locations with our engagement photos.

How did you two meet?

• We met at a bar in Chicago. Matt had gone to Marquette with one my friends and so he came over to our table to say hi. My friend introduced us and we hit it off. I remember her whispering to me at some point “He’s a good one.” Turns out she was right 🙂

How did the proposal go?

Matt got my friends to get me out of the house for a few hours and when I got back to our condo, he had rose petals and candles everywhere. Our dog Clark came over to greet me and he had a sweet, romantic note tied around his neck. After I finished reading it, Matt got down on one knee and proposed and of course I said yes! Afterwards, we celebrated with a nice dinner and later we went out “for champagne and dessert” which turned out to be a surprise engagement party with our friends and family. It was perfect.

Where are you getting married and where is the reception? Why did you choose these locations?

• We are having both the ceremony and reception at the Brix in Carpentersville, IL. It is a gorgeous venue right on the Fox River with tons of windows and exposed brick – we fell in love with it right away. Overall it offered an urban loft feel with the affordability of the suburbs.

Any tips or advice for other couples about to have engagement photos taken?

• If you choose to include any of your furry friends, definitely bring someone else along to help. My mom joined us for our shoot and it was a HUGE help to have an extra set of hands to hold our dog for the shots when it was just the two of us. I’m not sure we could have managed it without her there.

How was your overall session experience?

• It was great! Doru was fantastic to work with and was very helpful in coaching us on how to position ourselves without feeling super awkward. He definitely had an artist’s eye when came to finding different photo opportunities throughout the session. I’m excited to work with him again on our wedding day.

I have no doubts that it’s going to be a beautiful day full of sunshine, love and joy! 

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