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 8/7/25 Liz Schrenk 8/7/25

Ami & Conrad’s Dreamy Garfield Park Conservatory Wedding

I first met Conrad when he was just seventeen years old, finishing high school and willing to come alongside my burgeoning business to help me photograph weddings and edit photos. Little did I know then that I was meeting my best friend, someone who would help carry the weight of this business in ways I could have never imagined. Conrad is the most loyal, steadfast and supportive person I have ever known and I truly cannot imagine how Something Blue Photography could exist without him.

I first met Ami in 2019, not long after I left the hospital following my traumatic MS diagnosis. I was using a walker and felt vulnerable and weak, but Conrad invited me and my husband on a double-date with his new girlfriend Ami. Meeting Ami was a revelation, and for all the love I have for Conrad I knew after being with Ami for just one night that my friend had found his forever person. I knew that night that we had just met Conrad’s future wife, and I couldn’t be happier for my friend.

Ami and Conrad share an easy and peaceful connection that is rooted in shared respect and an appreciation for the good things in life. It has been so wonderful to be friends with these two over the years, they are like family to us and I am so thankful for all the memories we have together.

When Conrad was planning to propose to Ami he had the idea to pop the question in Paris, because truly what could be romantic than that?! He set the bar high and picked the most gorgeous ring for Ami, and Christy and I decided that we could use their proposal as the perfect excuse to get away to Europe for a week to photograph this moment for our dear friends. We tried to be sneaky and plan the proposal with Conrad over text and FaceTime but Ami caught a glimpse of us seconds before Conrad popped the question – even so it was the most beautiful and romantic moment watching Conrad ask Ami to marry him with the Eiffel Tower in the background. We celebrated together with wine and cheese (and pickles!) under the Eiffel Tower, and then woke up super early the next morning to take more pictures while the sun rose over Paris. Christy shot one of our favorite photographs EVER as Ami and Conrad happily strolled together along the Trocadéro while a flock of birds took flight all around them. This trip and these moments will forever be so special to us, we are so grateful for the opportunity to have celebrated Ami and Conrad’s proposal in Paris with them.

Ami and Conrad decided to take their time planning their wedding and over the next two years they chose to celebrate their marriage quietly with family and friends around the country. The last stop of their wedding celebration tour was Chicago, and they chose the gorgeous Garfield Park Conservatory for their wedding ceremony. Ami looked beautiful in her simple sheath from Anthropologie while Conrad chose a crisp brown suit and a floral tie that we jokingly said looked like upholstery from a vintage Grandma couch – they both looked amazing and very “them.” Their first look was so sweet, Conrad was so happy to see his beautiful bride and from that moment on they did not leave one another’s side.

The talented team at Flowers for Dreams set up the most gorgeous chuppah to serve as the perfect backdrop for Ami and Conrad’s ceremony. Ami’s Dad David served as their officiant and had us all laughing and crying simultaneously as he lovingly spoke about his daughter and new son during their ceremony. Finally the moment arrived and Ami and Conrad were officially pronounced husband and wife, we were just all so happy for them!! After taking pictures in the Conservatory we celebrated with an intimate dinner in Logan Square, and the next day we came back downtown for another round of pictures before enjoying their bigger party at Lonesome Rose. All along the way we felt so happy for Ami and Conrad and grateful to be a part of these beautiful celebrations!

The only way we could really properly capture Ami and Conrad’s wedding weekend was by shooting with film cameras, Christy and I had lots of fun snapping 35mm shots of each big moment throughout the weekend! I’m sort of obsessed with how these all turned out, I just love that film is having a moment right now!

We love you so much and wish you a lifetime of happiness together, Ami and Conrad!! Thank you for sharing your wedding memories with us!

To see all of Ami and Conrad’s beautiful wedding photos, click here

VENDOR DETAILS
PHOTOGRAPHY
Something Blue

CEREMONY VENUE
Garfield Park Conservatory

FLORIST
Flowers for Dreams

WEDDING DRESS
Anthropologie

SPECIAL THANKS
Quality Time Bar
Red Hot Ranch

Liz Schrenk 1/21/22 Liz Schrenk 1/21/22

Abby and Andrew’s Intimate Garfield Conservatory Wedding

Abby and Andrew met in college, they were both Physics majors and found they had an undeniable chemistry ( ugh, sorry! xD ) As they grew closer together and moved forward forging their careers it quickly became apparent that their lives were intertwined and marriage was on the horizon. Together with their friends and family they celebrated their love at the beautiful Garfield Park Conservatory last December.

After we met Abby and Andrew for some portraits in the Conservatory, we were joined by their amazing friends. This crew came in and brought so much JOY to the celebration, if only every wedding party could be such an amazing hype-squad!! We loved being with all of these amazing people to celebrate Abby and Andrew’s love story, it was the most perfect day!