Liesl Diesel Photo » headshot

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 . . .

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

Urvita & Shital’s Hindu Ceremony & Vidaai

Liesl — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:44:58 +0000

Urvita & Shital had their ceremony at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, IL.

Beautiful Ceremony room was prepared by Ravi’s Mandaps

Hair and make-up by Jaya Baxi

Event Coordinator – Oliveaire

View their First Look

View Shital’s Barat

View their engagement session!

View their engagement party!

Ravi did an enchanting job with this room!

Shital is escorted by Urvita's family into the ceremony room

I loved the bridesmaids' saris!!

Urvita sits above the crowd on her palkhi. No shoulder or bouquet of flowers to hide her emotion!

The veil is dropped so Shital can see his beautiful bride!

after the ceremony the family gathers for the Vidaai

Urvita's mother in law looks on as Urvita says goodbye to her mother and is welcomed into a new family

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.

Jamil & Carrie – preparing for Love & Style!

Liesl — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:03:27 +0000

Meet Carrie.

Carrie models her elegant Nicole Miller gown, with a touch of vintage, by a colorful painting in the ladies power room at Zed451

Meet Jamil.

Jamil and the boys sport their Hendricks Park suits, with bouts made by Carrie!

Jamil & Carrie both have style, taste, hospitality, and the ability to listen, not just speak.

I truly felt like a guest at their wedding!

Their wedding was at Zed451, and Carrie got ready there in order to keep the rainy morning off her dress!

Who knew a bathroom could look so cool?

peacock theme!

yes, Carrie made these!

I loved all the children at their wedding!

No, I was not encouraging him. Promise.

And so it begins! I love the tension in this photo, right before the big line up for the ceremony. I will post ceremony photos very soon!

Chicago Cultural Center Wedding – Xue & Wen!

Liesl — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:35:23 +0000

Xue & Wen were married on September 24, 2011 at the beautiful Chicago Cultural Center.

The architecture of this building is so beautiful, I love shooting there! It was a rainy day, so we shot everything indoors!

Congratulations to both of you! Thank you so much for choosing me to document your ceremony!

Liesl Diesel

Xue & Wen wait in the lobby! This is moments before their ceremony!

I loved the detail on Wen's dress!

Wen walks down the aisle!

The ceremony was in the Gar Memorial Hall

I love these windows, what a great view of the Chicago skyline from the ceremony room at the Cultural Center!

These two are so adorable!

Engagement Portraits at The Center at High Falls, Rochester, NY

Liesl — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:00:32 +0000

Todd & Elisabeth might have one of the coolest proposal stories you have ever seen.

You have to check out the video of how Todd popped the question!

I shot their engagement session at The Center at High Falls, Rochester, NY

See all my favorites on facebook, and their proof set on Pictage!

So happy for both of you, can’t wait to see you again soon!

Liesl Diesel