Liz Schrenk 11/15/25 Liz Schrenk 11/15/25

Michelle & Nolan’s Unforgettable Salvage One Wedding

Michelle and Nolan share an eclectic love of music and all things vintage, so choosing to throw their wedding celebration at Salvage One just made sense. The 60,000-square-foot vintage Chicago warehouse with exposed brick walls, expansive windows, and rich wooden floors, isn’t just a venue—it’s an experience. We knew after shooting Michelle and Nolan’s stunning engagement session at Salvage One last Fall that their wedding would be unforgettable.

Michelle and Nolan’s love story began as a classic tale of boy meets girl, but with a twist. Michelle's sister's boyfriend's brother's wife was the sister of Nolan. Confused yet? Don't worry, we were too! Their sisters thought they would make a perfect match and introduced them to each other at Frontier Days in the Summer of 2018. But, to start, they were not interested in each other at that moment. So, they said hello and went their separate ways for a year.

Fast forward to 2019 when Michelle and Nolan reconnected in the most beautiful way - through Tinder. Michelle's hands started sweating as soon as she got the notification of a new "match." She knew she had to come up with something hilarious and clever to impress Nolan, but Nolan beat her to it with a simple "Hi, Michelle!" From that moment on, they were inseparable. They started traveling together, attending concerts of all different genres, and watching sports on the couch all weekend long against Michelle's will. Four years later, Nolan decided he wanted to continue this trend for the rest of his life, so he proposed to Michelle.

Michelle and Nolan chose to celebrate their wedding at Salvage One, and honestly I’m not sure if there has ever been a venue better suited to the couple’s vibes. When we arrived at Michelle and Nolan’s place on their wedding day we found Michelle and all of her bridesmaids getting ready while wearing their favorite concert t-shirts and listening to records, and that fun, laid-back rock-star energy set the tone for the most amazing day. We were surprised to see our old friend Jaycie working her magic and doing hair and makeup for Michelle and her girls – Jaycie is Nolan’s cousin and we had no idea! She wove dainty white flowers into Michelle’s hair as the perfect boho finishing touch, Michelle looked absolutely perfect.

Once Michelle and the girls were ready we made our way to The Grove for her first look with Nolan. They shared a sweet and emotional private moment together there before riding together with their awesome bridal party downtown to Salvage One. After taking some fun wedding party photos on the second floor we made our way downstairs for their ceremony. Michelle’s brother in law served as their officiant during the beautiful ceremony; when Michelle and Nolan shared their vows with one another there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. They shared their first kiss as husband and wife and the celebration really began!

The reception space on the second floor looked incredible thanks to the amazing team at Salvage One and the gorgeous florals by the talented Flowers by Coll. Michelle had a custom stained glass motif created for the wedding that carried through the invitations and other wedding details. She even DIY’ed fun and funky cornhole boards for guests to play during the reception. This wedding was so cool that the newlyweds even had a custom concert poster produced for the occasion!

While the details for this wedding were all uniquely beautiful, it was the sense of connection and love that really made Michelle and Nolan’s wedding unforgettable. Their wedding party was one of the most fun and laid-back groups we have shot all year. It was fun to see Michelle’s teacher friends from Olive (where my kids go to school!) during the cocktail hour. As guests enjoyed dinner we were treated to several incredible toasts – Michelle’s Dad gave an amazing and thoughtful speech that ended with him gifting Michelle with her favorite snacks, a Diet Coke and Cheez-Its. Michelle later shared the sweetest dance with her Dad before Yazz Events kicked the party into high gear and filled the dance floor with revelry. It was the perfect celebration for Michelle and Nolan, we are so grateful to have been a part of it.

Congratulations, Michelle and Nolan, we love you and wish you a lifetime of happiness together!

To see all of Michelle and Nolan’s beautiful wedding photos, click here

VENDOR DETAILS
PHOTOGRAPHY
Something Blue

VENUE
Salvage One

FLORIST
Flowers by Coll

HAIR & MAKEUP
Jaycie Ganek

LIVE BAND
Yazz Events

WEDDING DRESS BOUTIQUE
Bon Bon Belle Bridal

BRIDAL SHOES
Aldo

MENSWEAR
Revelry

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

Michelle & Nolan’s Salvage One Engagement Session

We first connected with Michelle and Nolan when she scheduled an Extended Family session for her family. Michelle is a ray of light and after Christy photographed her family she had such a great time meeting this sweet couple she recommended we connect to talk about their wedding plans for next year. Well, within about thirty seconds of meeting Michelle and Nolan I was in love, this couple has such a warmth to them and a natural connection. I was overjoyed when they hired us to photograph their wedding at Salvage One for next September!!

I was so excited when Michelle and Nolan asked if I would come downtown to Salvage One for their engagement session, I always feel inspired when I am in this amazing space! I had the idea to invite Conrad to join us and shoot some film on his vintage cameras, film photography and Salvage One seem felt like a match made in heaven. So he loaded up some color and BW rolls in his Minolta TC-1 point-and-shoot, his Leica M6 and Mamiya RZ67 and went with me to shoot this engagement session on film. After he sent off Michelle and Nolan’s rolls to The Darkroom and got the scans back we were SO excited about these images, can we just shoot EVERYTHING on film please??! I mean, how stunning are all of these?

Conrad’s film scans are so gorgeous I can’t help but feel tempted to shoot every session on film now! But I think these digital images that I shot are pretty good too :) It was SO much fun to photograph these two at Salvage One, honestly this was such a dreamy afternoon!!

Thank you, Michelle and Nolan, for inviting us to share in your love story. We are beyond excited to celebrate your wedding next Fall!!

To see all of Michelle and Nolan’s gorgeous engagement photos click here

Liz Schrenk 11/6/22 Liz Schrenk 11/6/22

Margret & Kyle’s Salvage One Wedding Anniversary Celebration

In August 2021 Margaret and Kyle hosted an intimate backyard wedding for their immediate families and closest friends. It was such a great night, a highlight for us amongst the small weddings we photographed throughout the pandemic. Margaret and Kyle have a unique connection and an incredible support squad. That beautiful but unassuming summer night showed us that their friends and family mean the world to them.

We were truly excited to reconnect with these two for their anniversary celebration exactly one year later. When Margaret and Kyle came to our Studio to talk through the details for their big day we laughed so much and had the best time talking together (in fact, they helped us hatch a super fun idea for a Something Blue “wedding reunion” party bus tour next year!) Their long-awaited Salvage One wedding was absolutely perfect, we loved every moment spent celebrating this couple. From their sweet "First Look” in the south garden at The Art Institute (she surprised him by wearing a new dress, while his tux changed from green to burgundy) to their late-night twirls in front of Salvage One’s “CHICAGO” sign this was a day we will always remember. Now if only we could do it again to celebrate their second anniversary!!