When my now husband and I began looking for a wedding photographer, we weren't sure where to start. Luckily, we discovered Michelle Lytle Photography because Michelle is a co-owner of the wedding venue we chose. We loved Michelle's photography style as we explored her website as she offers a mix of traditional posed photographs as well as unique perspectives. She described her approach as photo-journalistic. Michelle was able to work with us to find a package that fit our budget and captured the images we would cherish.
On the day of the wedding, we met Michelle at the Lytle House (where we were dropping some items off) and she traveled with us by train to Loyola University Chicago to capture some photos of the two of us before heading back to the venue for family photos before the ceremony. At Loyola, we ran into an issue with one of our boutonnieres and -after catching the moment for posterity- Michelle helped us get it properly situated. We only spent about 20 minutes at Loyola, but Michelle was able to capture us in various poses, with a variety of backdrops as well as candid moments walking to and riding the train.
We had about 30 minutes set aside for family photos and Michelle moved everyone around with a gentle command to capture all of the posed photos we listed in advance and some we hadn't thought of. Although our ceremony and reception were all in one location, Michelle expertly captured us from different angles and with different backgrounds to differentiate each moment. After family photos, Michelle took the two of us to a unique location under the 'L' tracks nearby to capture a few more couples shots. This served the dual purpose of getting us out of the venue as more guests arrived.
During the ceremony, Michelle moved quickly and stealthy about capturing so many beautiful photos from various perspectives that when we received the photos later, it seemed like there must have been multiple photographers. After the ceremony, we had requested a photo of us with all of our friends and family, again Michelle was able to gently usher everyone together to capture a big group shot. After that, Michelle captured candid shots of our guests mingling, the table settings, and food truck set-up. Since we had only booked Michelle through cocktail hour, she found a moment as she wrapped up to congratulate us before ducking out.
Michelle captured all of the key moments of the ceremony and cocktail hour but also had a deft eye for subtle details. For example, she snapped a close-up photo of the anklet my mother was wearing, which happened to be a gift my grandfather had given to my grandmother. It was small moments like these that brought a flood of emotions as we reviewed the photos online about 2.5 weeks after the ceremony. Michelle also sent a preview of her favorite shot the morning after the wedding, which was a great surprise on the way to our honeymoon.
All of the photographs Michelle captured were processed beautifully in black and white and color and provided to us in an online gallery that is available to us forever. Michelle offers options to purchase photo books or prints, but also allows a limited number of downloads so you can do what you wish with the photos.
Michelle was wonderful to work with and the images she captured will be treasured forever. The only "regret" we have is that we decided to save some money in our budget by not booking her through our entire reception, which is the only thing we would do differently. We highly recommend Michelle for all of your photographic needs. read more