Liz Schrenk 7/29/26 Liz Schrenk 7/29/26

Dar & David’s Emotional Garfield Park Conservatory Wedding

Dar and David met on Bumble, where what was supposed to be a simple first date quickly turned into hours of effortless conversation about life, travel, and backpacking. By the third date, David apparently already knew he was going to marry Dar — or at least that’s the story he tells. Dar took just a little longer to come around. Since then, they’ve built a life full of adventures together, from Greece, Israel, and the French and Italian Alps to the wildly glamorous backpacking trails of the Michigan and Wisconsin coasts. Along the way, they beautifully blended their homes (and chaos) with Cow, the cat, and Ulla, the dog, and are now so excited to welcome a new little adventure to the family this September! David proposed to Dar on a hike in the Santa Cruz redwoods — in very David fashion, probably at the absolute worst possible moment — but somehow it was also perfectly sweet, real, and beautiful.

Dar and David discovered us through a Google search that turned up the blog post and photos from our dear friends Ami and Conrad’s wedding at the Garfield Park Conservatory last Summer. The first time I spoke with Dar and David over the phone I was immediately struck by how genuine and kind they were, I felt like we immediately connected and was truly excited to be a part of their wedding day.

Photographing at the Garfield Park Conservatory is always a treat, but being there just after Conrad and Ami celebrated their first anniversary was really something special. It’s just magical there, the plants and architecture and atmosphere is so romantic. Dar is expecting and looked radiant as she (and her cute bump!) walked down the aisle to meet David. He carefully covered his bride’s face with her veil and then they walked together to their chuppah. They celebrated the traditional Jewish marriage rites under their pretty chuppah surrounded by their loved ones and covered in sunshine, it was just such a beautiful evening.

After taking pictures at the Conservatory we made our way to Bar Avec for the reception. Dar’s family worked hard to incorporate her traditional Jewish/Moroccan culture with beautiful costumes and sweets (and some wild late-night belly dancing!) that filled the gorgeous rooftop at Bar Avec and made their night that much more special. We truly loved being there to celebrate with these two (and their cute little bump!) and wish them all a lifetime of happiness together!

Dar and David also asked that we take some vintage 35mm film photographs on their wedding day, we just LOVE when couples want to include that in their wedding packages! Film is so beautiful and unpredictable and just FUN, you really never know what you’re going to get! If you want to read about WHY we love film photography visit this link. We loved pulling out the film cameras during Dar and David’s wedding, there were so many fun moments when it just made sense to snap a quick film photo, we are really glad that we did! These are some of our favorites:

Congratulations, Dar and David, we love you and wish you a lifetime of happiness together!

To see all of Dar and David’s beautiful (digital) wedding photos, click here

And to see all of Dar and David’s beautiful film photos click here

VENDOR DETAILS
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY
Something Blue

WEDDING CEREMONY
Garfield Park Conservatory

WEDDING RECEPTION
Bar Avec

DJ
Toast and Jam

WEDDING RINGS
Jordan Mantzke, Modern Goldsmith

WEDDING DRESS
Jenny Yoo for Anthropologie

BRIDAL SHOES
Sezane

Liz Schrenk 10/28/24 Liz Schrenk 10/28/24

Laura & Brian’s Gorgeous Loft 21 Wedding

Laura and Brian met on Hinge in July 2022; their first date was SEVEN hours long and spilled into the early morning hours of his 38th birthday. We can’t think of a better birthday . . .

Laura and Brian met on Hinge in July 2022; their first date was SEVEN hours long and spilled into the early morning hours of his 38th birthday. We can’t think of a better birthday present than finally meeting the love of your life! Laura and Brian both say that they fell in love right away, within a year they had moved in together and were engaged in Italy on New Year’s Eve 2023.

I met Laura and Brian over Zoom and could tell through the screen that they shared a unique connection. As we got to know each other leading up to their wedding I was struck by their shared sense of humor and deep love for one another. When their wedding day arrived Conrad, Christy and I were all excited to celebrate along with Laura and Brian’s friends and family! They had the best squad assembled in their fun-loving wedding party – after getting-ready photos and a sweet First Look at the Courtyard Chicago Lincolnshire we made our way to the endlessly gorgeous Chicago Botanic Garden for photos. It was a beautiful day at the garden, we could have stayed all day taking pictures for this wedding! Laura looked stunning in her Viktor and Rolf gown and Brian could not keep his eyes off his bride. We loved shooting near the Japanese garden and exploring a bit near the rose garden before heading back to Loft 21 Events for the festivities.

When we arrived at Loft 21 we reconnected with the amazing Lauren and her team from Stunning and Brilliant Events. Lauren is a talented wedding coordinator and truly made Laura and Brian’s wedding both stunning and brilliant! The space downstairs at Loft 21 was transformed into a vision of romance by the amazing crew from La Fleur Decor, we don’t know if we have ever seen a more beautiful space for Laura and Brian’s traditional Jewish ceremony. Before the ceremony began we gathered together upstairs for an intimate ketubah signing. Their rabbi made this moment personal and it was truly something special to be in the room as Laura and Brian took part in this nearly 2000 year old tradition.

Once the ketubah was signed we moved together into the candlelit ceremony, it was an honor to be alongside Laura and Brian and their parents as they exchanged vows under the chuppah. The room was buzzing with excitement once Laura and Brian were officially married and it was time to celebrate! While the Loft 21 staff flipped the room to make it reception-ready Laura and Brian’s guests enjoyed cocktails and appetizers upstairs, it was a fun and dramatic moment when the balcony doors rolled open to reveal the gorgeous reception space! Laura and Brian chose an East Coast style reception and danced throughout dinner thanks to the energy of H.Y.P.E Productions. Once dinner was over they danced the hora and rejoiced under a surprise burst of confetti, it was truly the perfect day!