Sally was not a part of our original wedding plans, but nothing about our day was what we planned!…read more We live in Chicago and were scheduled to get married in Atlanta, GA on March 28, 2020. When it became clear around March 13th that we would *not* be traveling to Atlanta to get married, I started googling "elopement photographers in Chicago" and found Sally. At the time, she was one of the few photographers in the area I found who advertised that she shot small weddings and elopements, and she had beautiful portfolio shots of these smaller weddings alongside more traditional, larger weddings.
Originally, I reached out to Sally to see if she could photograph and elopement on our original date here in Chicago. And then, when it became clear that we would be facing an imminent shelter in place order, we moved everything up a week, and got married at noon on March 20th, and Governor Pritzker announced a shelter in place order starting that evening. So, first of all, Sally was incredibly easy to work with under the most challenging circumstances. If she can handle shooting an elopement in the middle of a pandemic on a week's notice, I can't imagine how great she is under "normal" circumstances.
Day of, we were stressed to the max (remember how everything felt in March? Yeah, try getting married during that!), and Sally and her husband were reassuring, joyous, and kind. They radiated joy and excitement for us, which helped my husband and I both relax. Sally ran with every idea we had, from shots in front of the Wrigley building to holding hot dogs at Portillo's. She went overtime with us, and traveled to multiple locations all over the city to make sure we had the shots we wanted.
We got our pictures back and were totally blown away. They were GORGEOUS. She captured so many details we hadn't even thought to ask about, and she made me and my husband look great. Her style is crisp, clear, and journalistic, but with just enough traditional portraiture to capture those "shots for mom" we all need. I feel so incredibly lucky to have found Sally O'Donnell Photography and to have such incredibly photos of my very memorable wedding day!