Posted Oct 27, 2009 / by Kevin / in Weddings / 1 Comment
"Hi Kevin,
Petar and I have had the opportunity to meet with a couple other photographers and we choose you! If you'll still have us. We were very impressed with your professionalism and personal style and would really enjoy having you as our photographer!!"
That was the acceptance letter. Short, sweet.
My response? SURE! I will still have you as my client. Why not.
Mandy & Petar have been together a LOOOONG time. No, I am not kidding. They have been together 5 years longer than the national average length of a marriage. Already. WHOA! 12 years. (insert tilted head here) And if you haven't noticed yet, they are young.
They didn't meet in the US. They met in Canada at a soccer tournament, even though they both lived 10 minutes from each other on the South Side of Chicago. (again, insert tilted head here)
Posted Oct 19, 2009 / by Kevin / in Weddings / 3 Comments
Sixteen months away from her wedding, Michelle wrote me requesting information about my wedding photography services. My first reaction was, "Obsessed." But then I realized it wasn't obsessive at all, but planning ahead to beat the rush of bookings. So she was SMART. Still, in February of 2007, my main concern was getting through the last part of winter. Not summer of 2009!
She came over to check out my portfolio and to meet the man who would possibly be trailing her around like a puppy dog for 7 hours on her wedding day. From the minute she walked in to my office, Michelle was all smiles. We hit it off quickly, but honestly, she was so easy-going, full of smiles and laughs, I had a feeling she gets along with everyone. If you ever feel pressured or stressed, call Michelle and have lunch with her. I promise, you will forget everything.
Nearly a year passes, and we don't speak. Not unusual. But, as she was my first booking for the following year, and it was so far out, might she want to ask a lot of questions?
Nope.
Posted Oct 12, 2009 / by Kevin / in Weddings / 3 Comments
Jina & Tim met at their job 6 years ago. With a lot of mutual friends, they found themselves becoming closer and closer. The beauty of their relationship is it occurred organically. There was no huge bar make-out session, or Vegas rendezvous. These are two people who had no idea their friendship would grow into marriage.
Nice, eh?
Tim is a middle-school social worker, and Jina now works for one of THOSE judge shows at the NBC Tower downtown. I love working with people who have odd jobs like this. I have shot about 4 Oprah employee weddings. It is neat getting the inside scoop of how these places operate and tape.
Plus, I get a tiny bit of dirt. And we all love dirt.
Posted Oct 05, 2009 / by Kevin / in Weddings / 4 Comments
On October 2, 2008, Laura LoGerfo filled out my Web Contact Form requesting info about my wedding photography services.
Her emails taught me a lesson about judging the form's answers too quickly. Ah, lessons.
Normally, when someone mentions "some wine bar" for their reception site, and is only having about fifty people attend the event, I automatically think, "no way they are going to hire me." Normally those requests are followed by, "our budget is only $500."
But one thing caught my attention. She had some truly nice words in the "additional info" section that stuck with me for quite a long time. She wrote, "we live in washington, dc but we're getting married in chicago, because we absolutely love and miss that city. the pictures you've taken really resonate with me in terms of showcasing the beauty of chicago and the beauty of the couples ... the urban context really shines through nicely."
OK. Forget the compliment. She contemplated my images. This is a woman who is coherent and knowledgeable about the arts, and knows the difference between a picture for a postcard and a picture worth your wall. Wow. Thank you.
Seven weeks later, they both come to town. We meet. They hired.
Fast forward nine months: August 29, 2009.
About Kevin Weinstein
Kevin is dedicated to his art and takes immense pride in capturing your story through a lens.
His goal is singular: never go for cliches, but catch the split seconds in between. A notorious fly-on-the-wall (ask guests who accuse him…
¶ @cococello was AMAZING. gave a toast and you were at the very top of the list of people to thank!... ¶ Shit. My zipper was down? Trying to recall when I went to the bathroom so I can estimate how many hours I embarrassed myself!... ¶ Throat and feet message please. Oh. God.... ¶ @pictagejim thank you SO much for the wonderful gift for the grand opening of the studio today! http://twitpic.com/29tcre... ¶ My mothers advice when we met up last night @ the studio. "Kevin. Always remember to put the toilet seat down." Thanks ma! I forgot that 1!... Read more of Kevin's Tweets
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