Saris, Parties, & Automobiles!
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 →
Urvita & Shital’s Wedding Portraits
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 will be posting more very →
Urvita & Shital’s Hindu Ceremony & Vidaai
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!
Traditions of Baraat
Shital's Barat was one of the most fun (AKA dangerous) things I think I have ever shot at a wedding! These families were relentless during the stealing of the shoe! Shot at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare
A Real First Look
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! <3 Liesl Diesel
Walking through Fire
Fire burns. Fire purifies. We all have to walk through fires in our lives at some point. We can choose to let trials burn us, or we can choose to let them purify us. In relationships we all have trials, and as I have gotten to know Carrie and Jamil a bit more, I have had the opportunity to see how they allow →
Jamil & Carrie – preparing for Love & Style!
Meet Carrie. Meet Jamil. 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?
True Chicago-Style Engagement! Urvita & Shital!
If you follow my blog you will see that I am behind on my posts!! Not only is this because I have a normal busy summer, as would be expected of most wedding photographers, but also because of my recent move to the GORGEOUS city of Chicago! I am excited to catch all of you up with everything I have had →
Dharna & Samir are Featured Wedding of the Day on Wedding Channel!
Dharna & Samir were married on May 29, 2010 and today they are featured on The Wedding Channel! Congrats to you both for one year of marriage and for being a featured wedding, what a gorgeous day!!! <3 you both! Liesl Diesel Click here for Dharna's Preparation photos Click Here for Samir's Baraat Click here for Dharna & Samir's Ceremony Click here for Dharna & Samir's Portrait
Engagement Party for Shital & Urvita!
Last Saturday I got to photograph a beautiful engagement party for Shital & Urvita at Ashyana Banquets in Downers Grove, IL. I will be photographing their wedding on July 9 this year, and this event was a great teaser of how much fun their wedding will be! Groovey house music by DJ Aladdin Cupcake tower by Delish Cakes Thank you so much for having me shoot →
Happy St. Valentine’s Day!
This past year has been a JAM PACKED year of non-stop love and I hope all of you are celebrating by expressing your love today! I want to thank all my clients from the past 12 months who hired me to record their love! St. Valentine was martyred for protesting a ban on marriage, and his stance on love and →
Chicago Cultural Center Wedding
The final event! I had the crazy fun opportunity to work with Shahzeen & Prem for their engagement shoot, their Nikah and Nikah portrait session, the Mendi at Alhambra Palace Restaurant and finally the reception at the Chicago Cultural Center! Videography provided by Orange Wedding Films, JJ was great to work with and has uber skills with a camera! Make-up by Maliha Khan of →
Dazzling Preparation
DAZZLING preparation time for Prem & Shahzeen! I will post up more from their reception shortly! I know we go over this ALL THE TIME but I just have to remind all of you, once again, that I like sparkling things. Which is why I also love Shahzeen. Well, it's not the only reason I love her, but it certainly helps →
Nikkah Wedding Portraits Part Deux!
After Artist's Cafe and The Vermillion, Shahzeen, Prem and I stopped by the Chicago beach for some scenic shots! After a day of rain and clouds then sun beamed through and it was blue skies all around! We had such a perfect day for their Nikah, I can't wait for more celebrations this weekend with them! See you both soon! <3 Liesl Diesel
Say Less and Do More
Prem and Shahzeen were married on September 11 in the Downtown Islamic Center in Chicago, IL. Afterwards we went around the city to some locations that were meaningful to them in order to get some fun and playful portraits to commemmorate their Nikkah before the big celebration this coming weekend! Our fist stop was the Artists Cafe and then we →
Nikah Ceremony
Shahzeen & Prem had their Muslim Nikah wedding ceremony this past weekend, followed by a fun portrait shoot all around the city! I wanted to put up a preview of the Nikah, and will post up some portraits soon! The ceremony took place at the Downtown Islamic Center in Chicago, IL Keep an eye on my Fan Page for more updates! <3 Liesl Diesel
Dharna & Samir’s Wedding Portrait
There are so many fun things about cultural weddings, and Hindu weddings are so exceptional. I think one of the most fun parts of being a Hindu bride is that you get two wedding outfits, and not just one! Dharna & Samir prepared for their weddings and met up for a quick portrait session in their first outfits before the ceremony, →
Meaningful Traditions
So many things happen on a wedding day and I love to watch it all! Although I do love creating interesting portraits and catching unexpected moments at a crazy party, I feel that the wedding ceremony can be one of the most meaningful parts of the day and so I like to pay close attention. Every religion and culture has →
Samir’s Baraat!
After photographing Dharna I drove over to Samir's house to photograph the family blessings and Baraat! See more from Samir & Dharna's wedding on facebook! <3 Liesl Diesel Samir's family perform rituals before the baraat eyes The drummer led the dancing crowd! And so the dancing begins! money is transferred to →
Dharna Prepares For Her Wedding!
Dharna & Samir hired me to photograph their wedding in Streamwood, IL on May 29, 2010. You can see their Windy City Engagement session through this link! I started early in the morning at Dharna's home and truly enjoyed how she and her family let me be so close to everything from the very beginning of the day! Thank you so much →
An Exotic Affair
I think I've mentioned before that I like color? Culture? Love? Well take all of those things, mix them together, add one Liesl for a day and I'm in heaven! The family heirloom necklace. This woman was trained in the art of pinning Saris! The Baraat ceremony with the white horse It was so crowded that I almost stepped in some formidable substance to get →
Puja & Pradeep's Hindu Ceremony
Puja and Pradeep were married in Milwaukee, WI on June 21, 2009. I love the colors and textures from traditional Hindu weddings! The henna tattoo tells the story of their family tree. I had to stay right on top of the crowd during the opening cermony! I love the petals and the Milwaukee city scene in the background. Everything is symbolic during these ceremonies, →
