Liesl Diesel Photo » candid portraits

Sweetly Running Bank of America

Liesl — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:13:02 +0000

Kristine & Jonathan have a pretty fun story!

They are high school sweethearts and now they both work at Bank of America and are also into running. The real kind of running; the kind most of us look at as some kind of super hero power because they do it for hours and hours on end. This can only lead me to believe that, since they are both sweethearts, love running, and both work at Bank of America, that within a couple of years they will be Sweetly Running Bank of America!

Hey, it makes sense to me!

We started our portrait session at the Chicago Board of Trade

As we walked toward the intersection of Jackson & LaSalle I saw this light dancing back and forth between the buildings, I love it!

I love this expression!

After Jackson & Lasalle we headed to the BP Bridge

This canvas will soon be on their wall!

Bench at the Lurie Garden

You two are so wonderful, I can't wait to shoot your next big life event!!

The beginning of a dream day.

Liesl — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:44:32 +0000

Kristine & Jonathan had such a beautiful wedding, it was perfect right from the start!

Kristine prepared for her wedding day at the Fairmont Chicago

Flowers from Zuzu’s Petals

Make-up & hair by Morgan Blaul

wedding gown from Priscilla of Boston

I am a little backed up on blogging, so I will post more of there story soon!

Liesl Diesel

The view from the Fairmont is gorgeous!

Morgan Blaul puts on some finishing touches

Garter, shoes . . .

A Vibrant bouquet from Zuzu's Petals

and voila! The masterpiece is complete!

Kristine was the most elegant bride!

Nashville Wedding for Jeremy & Joy!

Liesl — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:44:27 +0000

Jeremy: God will raise up. God will set free.

Joy: Jubilation. Jewel or delight.

Joy & Jeremy: Delightfully uplifting one another in joyous love.

Joy & Jeremy wed in August in Nashville, TN. I was so thrilled when they hired me to shoot their wedding because I have known Joy since I was very young, and it also continued the awesome tradition of me photographing weddings for her family. I photographed her brother’s wedding in 2010 and her sister’s wedding just a handful of months’ before Joy’s!

Here is her brother’s wedding:

Josh & Maryanne

And here is her sisters!

Jamie & Ryan

Ceremony site: Church of The Redeemer

Portrait location: The Parthenon & Shelby Street Bridge

Reception: Amerigo

Cake: Publix

Twist Out Cancer

Liesl — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:37:04 +0000

Have you ever had to force yourself to smile to try to change your mood?

Have you ever started dancing in hopes that your spirit would rise?

Have you ever had to Twist Out Cancer?

Tiny Twister has been an inspiration to me for nearly a year, and I finally got to meet her a few weeks ago!

I found her blog through mutual friends and became enchanted by her open and real style of writing, and encouraged by her stories that are so full of hope, pain, honesty, fun.

Today is her Cancerversary.

What does one say to someone who is “celebrating” their one year diagnosis of cancer? Honestly, I don’t know what to say. All I can really say is thank you, Tiny Twister, for taking this year to encourage and inspire.

And thank you so so much for letting me photograph you.

You are beautiful.

So beautiful, in fact, that I really can’t even choose which images to blog. You can see all my favorites on facebook.

Liesl Diesel

Bob & Joanna’s Lima, NY Wedding

Liesl — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:20:18 +0000

Bob & Joanna hired me to photograph their wedding all the way out in the little village of Lima, NY at the Elim Gospel Church.

When I used to live in Rochester, NY Bob was my photo assistant, and I was so happy when he emailed and asked if he could hire me to fly out and shoot his wedding!

Enjoy their story in photos, and if you want to see more you can view all my favorites on their facebook album!

Thank you for having me come out to shoot your wedding, love you both!

Liesl Diesel

Bob was so confident and calm

I love how he is looking at her in this shot!

I know this looks set up, but their wedding party really did gather around and cheer like this, it was awesome!

sweet little bridesmaids bouquet

I loved the lively colors!

The man who owned this property was so nice to let us use it, such a cool old abandoned bridge!

Joanna, under the bridge.

The straight face!

what a beautiful couple!

But they can't hold that straight face for long, who can!

Not only did I love the colors they chose, but the decor was really fun. The vases at the tables were pink antique ball canning jars!

The sun was really pounding that day, which mean, of course, AWESOME SHADOWS!!!

The cake was shaded in a cute little gazebo!

And there was colorful candy all over the place. pretty much like heaven, I think . . .

Saris, Parties, & Automobiles!

Liesl — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:41:32 +0000

Saris, Parties, & Automobiles!

This was the apparent theme at Urvita & Shital’s reception at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare.

Urvita, along with all the lovely ladies, changed into their beautiful evening Saris.

Their family, along with all their guests, enjoyed food and dance at this outrageous party.

The groom, along with his speechless bride, received as a wedding gift, a new automobile!

No, not ONE automobile, one EACH. I felt like I was photographing the Oprah show!

If anyone deserves such a generous gift it is these two. It is so clear how much their family loves and supports them.

Room, including flowers, linens, lighting and mandap by Ravi’s Mandaps.

Music by DJ Sachin

Cake – The Baking Institute

Wedding Coordinator – Oliveaire

Sari – Taj Sari Palace

Ravi works her magic on this room!

The tones were romantic and clean

The cake was perfectly designed to go with the room's decor

Made by The Baking Institute

The detail was simple and intricate

simple and elegant flowers designed by Ravi

intricate ice sculpture

LOVE place card holders

Shital & Urvita!

Urvita does a spin to wow the crowd!

The ceiling lights reminded me of a butterfly :) symbolic as they start a new life!

Shital respected his wife despite many people calling out for a kiss!

This is right before they find out they each have a brand new car!

Shital tries to regain composure as Urvita hugs her father!

And the party begins!

and the dance floor is PACKED!

DJ Sachin has a great light set up!

View all my previous posts from their love story!

Engagement Party

Engagement Portrait Session

First Look

Baraat

Ceremony and Vidaai

Wedding Portrait Session

Liesl Diesel

Urvita & Shital’s Wedding Portraits

Liesl — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:23:03 +0000

Urvita & Shital hosted an all day event for their wedding at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Rosemont.

In the morning I took some portraits of them in their traditional red and gold wedding clothing. The mosaic tile at this Hyatt, combined with the gorgeous sky dome ceiling, made my morning portrait crunch time easy and beautiful!

I had to put them in front of this glittery wall! As my assistant put it, they simply look like movie starts! <3

stunning jewelry set

such an elegant design

Such a looker!

one of my favorite shots from the whole day! I love hands!

Shital is one of the most stylish guys I think I have ever shot.

The dome skylight ceiling made a fun background for the formal portraits

And of course it helps to have stunning subjects as well!

And the entire party!

After the morning ceremonies, Urvita & Shital changed for the evening reception

Another mosaic wall in the Hyatt! love it!

reflection off a black marble bench

Urvita's bridal henna

her gorgeous evening updo!

Shital donned a white tux for the evening, that man is always dapper!

love to the fourth degree!

sexy gold shoes and henna!

After evening portraits they headed up to the Ventana Sky Deck for the cocktail hour with their guests

what a character! love her!

Cheers!

I will be posting more very soon from their evening reception.

View all my previous posts from their love story!

Engagement Party

Engagement Portrait Session

A Real First Look

Liesl — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:50:49 +0000

All the posing in the world could not have produced this perfect first glance. This is the first moment Shital saw his beautiful bride on their wedding day, right before we shot the family portraits.

You two are simply amazing. I will be blogging your story soon!

Liesl Diesel

Shital sees his gorgeous bride from a distance as she is surrounded by excited friends and relatives

A sweet gesture from Shital sums it up. Urvita was a knock out, portraits will be blogged soon!

MacGregor Downs Wedding, Cary NC

Liesl — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:17:50 +0000

Congratulations to Kim & Caleb!

We had quite a surprise storm during their wedding, but of course the sun broke through and made some amazing light for everyone to enjoy!

Thank you for choosing me to photograph your wedding!

Liesl Diesel

Venue - McGreggor Downs

Cake – Sweet Memories

Tent – Classic Party Rentals

Shot for Shane Snider, one of the coolest dudes on the planet.

Wedding of the Day Strikes Again! Shahzeen & Prem at the Chicago Cultural Center

Liesl — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:10:06 +0000

Wedding of The Day Strikes Again!

Shahzeen & Prem were married at the Downtown Islamic Center in Chicago, with the reception at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Once again The Wedding Channel has featured my clients for their wedding of the day!

View Shahzeen’s Mendi

View their Nikkah at the Downtown Islamic Center in Chicago

View their Lakeside portrait session

View their downtown Chicago portraits

View their urban graffiti wedding portraits

View their reception preparation

View their gorgeous wedding reception at Chicago Cultural Center

Love you both, you deserve the best and I am glad you found it in each other!

Liesl Diesel